DOJ Closes Illinois DEI Loan Repayment Program Review After State Removes Criteria
Summary
The DOJ announced closure of a compliance review of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The review examined ISAC's Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program, which required setting aside at least 30% of funding for applicants of specific racial or ethnic origins. After receiving notice of the compliance review, Illinois voluntarily removed the DEI criteria from this program and other ISAC-administered programs. No penalties or enforcement actions were imposed.
What changed
The DOJ Civil Rights Division closed its compliance review of ISAC after Illinois removed race-based funding criteria from its loan repayment programs. The original program provision required ISAC to set aside at least 30% of Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program funding for applicants who are African American, Black, Hispanic, Latinx, Asian, or Native American.\n\nState educational agencies and other recipients of federal financial assistance should note that Title VI prohibits using race, color, or national origin in determining program beneficiaries. The DOJ's closure of this review without imposing penalties demonstrates that voluntary removal of unlawful criteria can resolve compliance concerns, but entities should ensure their funding criteria comply with civil rights requirements to avoid federal review.
Archived snapshot
Apr 16, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
MENU News
Archived Press Releases
Press Release
Justice Department Announces Completion of Compliance Review After Illinois Removes Unlawful DEI Criteria from Loan Repayment Program
Thursday, April 16, 2026
Share For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs Today, the Justice Department announced that it has closed a compliance review of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI). The Department opened this review based on a provision of the Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program that required ISAC to set aside at least 30% of funding for applicants who are of “African American or Black, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, or Native American origin.” After the Department notified ISAC of the compliance review, Illinois removed this DEI criteria from the Program as well as a number of other programs administered by ISAC.
“State agencies may not accept funds from the Department of Justice and then use race, color, or national origin to decide who benefits from them,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department appreciates that the State of Illinois has recognized that ISAC cannot lawfully base its funding decisions on unlawful criteria and has removed them from this program and others administered by ISAC.”
Title VI prohibits race, color, or national origin discrimination by recipients of Federal financial assistance, including the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Additional information about the Civil Rights Divisions is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt.
Updated April 16, 2026 Topic Civil Rights Component Civil Rights Division Press Release Number: 26-366
Related Content
Press Release Justice Department Announces Settlement to Combat Antisemitism in Massachusetts School District This week, the Justice Department and the Concord-Carlisle, Massachusetts School District entered into a voluntary settlement agreement to ensure the district appropriately responds to incidents of antisemitic harassment of students...
April 16, 2026
Press Release Federal Jury Convicts Louisiana Deputy U.S. Marshal of Civil Rights and Obstruction of Justice Charges Yesterday, a federal jury in the Western District of Louisiana, convicted Deputy United States Marshal Joshua Firmin of subjecting a prisoner to cruel and unusual punishment by severely assaulting the...
April 16, 2026
Press Release ADT to Pay $1.3M to Servicemembers for Illegal Charges The Justice Department today announced that ADT LLC doing business as ADT Security Services, the nation’s largest home security services company, will pay over $1.3 million to resolve allegations that...
April 14, 2026
Named provisions
Related changes
Get daily alerts for DOJ Civil Rights Press Releases
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Source
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from DOJ.
The summary, classification, recommended actions, deadlines, and penalty information are AI-generated from the original text and may contain errors. Always verify against the source document.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when DOJ Civil Rights Press Releases publishes new changes.
Subscribed!
Optional. Filters your digest to exactly the updates that matter to you.