‘It still hasn’t sunk in,’ loan forgiveness will help Illinois Valley college graduates’ finances

Jessica Bursztynsky, an Ottawa High School and University of Illinois graduate, was relieved when she heard the national news Wednesday about student loan forgiveness.

She knew information was coming Wednesday in the form of a President Joe Biden announcement after she received a Push notification on her phone, but it wasn’t until after a text from her mother she discovered it would be $10,000 in relief to student loan borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year

“My mom texted me, ‘Why haven’t you texted me yet,’ " Bursztynsky said. “I checked Twitter and there it was.”

Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 a year, or families earning less than $250,000, would be eligible for the $10,000 loan forgiveness, Biden announced in a tweet. For recipients of Pell Grants, which are reserved for undergraduates with the most significant financial need, the federal government would cancel up to an additional $10,000 in federal loan debt.

Biden is also extending a pause on federal student loan payments for what he called the “final time” through the end of 2022.

Bursztysnky, who lives in Manhattan, New York, and works as a staff writer for Fast Company magazine, owes $11,153 in federal loan debt. She had been paying $150 per month, prior to the pandemic, then payments were not required.

Bursztynsky was able to budget the payments on top of living expenses and transportation to New Jersey where she worked, but it meant making fewer trips home to Illinois to visit family and saying no to recreational activities, such as concerts.

“Even buying a cup of coffee, I’d have to ask myself if I’d have the money,” Bursztynsky said.

She admitted she was fortunate to get a scholarship to the University of Illinois after attending Illinois Valley Community College, which limited her debt, and getting a job at CNBC in January 2019 out of college brought in income to make her payments right away.

$10,000 in relief from the federal government will reduce her student loan debt to just a little more than $1,000.

“It still hasn’t sunk in, because this is something I figured I’d have to pay for several years of my life,” she said. “I do appreciate they are doing this. It’s a really good first step in helping this crisis for people, because there are millions of others with a lot more debt than me. I’m excited to see if this leads to more progress.”

Bursztynsky was only one of many affected by Wednesday’s news.

Clayton Gosnell, 25, grew up in Peru and graduated from Northern Illinois University law school in May. Now he works at the Aplington Kaufman McClintock Steele and Barry law firm in La Salle.

The cost of higher education has always been a concern for Gosnell.

“I was already searching for a best value law program, being a first generation student,” he said.

Gosnell said the federal student loan forgiveness could decrease his debt by 10%. He said knowing his debt will be decreased and payments will be pushed back to January is helpful for him as he starts his career.

“Once I’m able to move past the debt, the best thing is the amount of savings I can have,” Gosnell said. “It’s going to set me off and make living [later in life] much easier.”

Tyler Towne graduated from La Salle-Peru Township High School in 2016 and IVCC in 2018. He now works as an event planning manager for Hyatt Regency in Chicago. He’s grateful for the savings.

“$10,000 helps me because I don’t have a ton of debt, but it’s probably a drop in the ocean for those people who have larger amounts of debt,” Towne said. “The pause extension is nice for people to regather themselves with their new totals, and come up with a new plan for repayment.”

Ed Hettel is an Ottawa native now working as an attorney in Chicago and he harbors some concerns about how the relief is funded.

“I think the plan as proposed will certainly help alleviate some financial strain for loan recipients, especially younger borrowers who are trying to begin their professional lives,” Hettel said. “Hopefully, the plan is funded by cuts to the federal budget deficit, as President Biden has stated, and not by increasing the tax burden on middle and working-class people or by increasing the national debt.”

Henry-Senachwine graduate Travis Grush, a political science at Heartland Community College who worked in a trade previously, worries this loan forgiveness is only temporary.

“It might be coming off your credit report and everything but then they’ll turn around say that nearly $300 million in student loan forgiveness they are estimating is going to turn back around on the taxpayers,” Grush said. “It’ll help your credit score out in the long run, but you’ll be paying for it regardless.”

Grush’s concerns lie with the ever-rising national budget deficit and national debt, specifically with how certain funds in the COVID-19 relief packages were spent in places that he believes weren’t COVID relief. While he has about $20,000 in student loans, that doesn’t prevent him from having concerns with this relief money.

“When you look at our deficit and how it’s climbing and climbing, you know, I understand it’s good to help out the world, but in the same instance, we also need to focus on ourselves to keep our country afloat.”