CHICAGO — Gov. Pat Quinn on Saturday named a diverse group of educators and community leaders to serve on a state commission that will raise scholarship money for college-bound students from immigrant families.
Quinn announced members of the Illinois DREAM Fund Commission at a rally hosted by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
The commission will create a not-for-profit entity to raise money for immigrant students, in addition to choosing recipients and publicizing the program.
Rigorous fundraising must take place before any scholarships can be awarded, officials said.
“We have to tap the resources of people who understand that an investment in our kids is an investment in the future of this country,” said commission member Ronald Perlman, president of a professional development services organization.
Some commissioners include Tanya Cabrera, associate director of minority student outreach at Illinois Institute of Technology, Nam Paik, part at the Baker and McKenzie law firm, and Moises Zavala, director of organizing at United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881.
The Illinois Dream Act, signed into law last year, created a privately funded scholarship program for high school graduates from immigrant families.
