Education Dept. cancels $1.5 billion of student debt for Westwood College attendees
CHICAGO (CBS) – Nearly 80,000 people who attended Westwood College are getting a clean slate.
The Department of Education is canceling $1.5 billion in student debt.
More than 12,000 of those borrowers have ties to Illinois.
On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) called out the "predatory #4profit colleges that lie & lead Illinoisans into mountains of student debt without a viable degree or career path."
Today's announcement is a victory for Westwood students, but we must do more to crack down on predatory #4profit colleges that lie & lead Illinoisans into mountains of student debt without a viable degree or career path.
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) August 30, 2022
Back in 2012, former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan sued the college for deceiving students about its criminal justice program, which is not recognized by Illinois law enforcement agencies.