State Senator Jason Barickman/Photo Courtesy of WJBC/WJBC.com
By Neil Doyle

State Senator Jason Barickman is not on board with a bill to give each baby born or adopted in Illinois $50 to start a college savings account.

The legislation is sponsored by Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) who says the account would be set up with $50 from the state, and parents would be encouraged to add money. It’s estimated to cost about $9 million a year for at least the next 10 years.

In an interview with sister station WJBC in Bloomington, Barickman (R-Bloomington) said the program sounds like a great idea, but the state has to look at past initiatives which have struggled.

“We have a program called College Illinois… it sounds wonderful, but this year College Illinois comes to the legislature and says we promised a little bit more money than we have, now we need $500 million to make our finances break even,” said Barickman.

“Wow, how do we get in these places? We do so by making quick, feel good decisions that later become financial disasters for the state,” Barickman added.

Supporters say kids are more likely to go to college if they have even a small amount saved up.

The bill passed Wednesday in the House and now heads to the Senate for a vote.