Grant Program for Exonerees

To be eligible, you must: 

• be an Illinois resident
• meet one of the following exoneree criteria:
  • have received a pardon issued on the grounds of innocence; 
  • have received a certificate of innocence from a circuit court; or
  • be designated as the dependent of an eligible exonerated person with unused benefits
• be an exonerated person who:
  • has not yet received a high school diploma or a high school equivalency certificate and is completing a high school equivalency preparation course through an Illinois Community Board-approved provider and/or is seeking an Illinois high school equivalency certificate; or
  • is enrolled at an ISAC-approved public university or community college in an eligible degree or certificate program for either a semester or quarter term, throughout the institution's tuition refund/withdrawal adjustment period;
• maintain satisfactory academic progress, as determined by your college 
• not be in default on any student loan or owe a refund on any state or federal grant. If you are in default, you may re-establish your eligibility using the  Default Resolution Options to Regain Federal and State Student Aid   
• not be incarcerated during the term(s) for which this grant is being requested

1. Create a profile in the ISAC Application Portal or log into your existing account.
2. Complete and submit the Exonerees Application online. You must complete the annual program application every academic year  you want to be considered for an award.  You will be asked to submit Required Documentation. An application is not considered complete until you submit the following: (A) A copy of the exoneree’s pardon from the Governor of the State of Illinois or certificate of innocence from the circuit court, and only if required  (B) proof of dependency. See Exonerees FAQs for Applicants for details.    
3. You will get a confirmation email when ISAC receives your application. Applications may take up to 12 weeks to process. 
4. After your application has been reviewed, ISAC will notify you of your eligibility status and provide information about the next steps. If your application remains incomplete, ISAC will contact you with instructions on how to provide the missing information.

Applications are reviewed and processed in “first come, first served” order. To receive priority consideration for an award, you should submit your complete application as soon as possible after the application becomes available. Because the number of grants awarded is based on limited annual funding, it is possible that not all applicants will receive a grant.

ISAC will notify all applicants of the decision on their application, including whether they have been selected to receive an award. Exoneree grants may pay up to the cost of your tuition and mandatory fees for up to eight semesters or 12 quarters (equal to four years of full-time enrollment). Students attending a private institution can receive a maximum award up to what a student would receive for a similar program at the most expensive public college in Illinois.

All Exoneree grant recipients are assigned “eligibility units,” which is how ISAC tracks your grant use for each term you attend college and enroll in classes. (review Program Definitions for further details).

ISAC pays the scholarship funds directly to the college. Depending on the college, students may be responsible for making payments until scholarship funds are received. Awardees who are waiting for scholarship funds should contact their college’s financial aid office, provide the scholarship award notice, and ask about the college’s payment policies.

• Eligibility Units:  Eligibility units are the way the Exoneree Grant Program tracks how long you can use the grant. Each time you use the Exoneree Grant for a school term, you use a certain number of units. The number of units you use depends on the credit hours you are enrolled in. For example, full‑time students use more units than part‑time students. You may receive up to 48 eligibility units. 

  See the chart below for examples of how eligibility units are calculated:

  Number of Hours	Semester Term
  12 or more hours	6 units
  6 - 11.99 hours	3 units
  0 - 5.99 hours	1 unit

• Exonerated Person: Any individual who has received a pardon from the Governor of the State of Illinois stating that the pardon is issued on the grounds of innocence of the crime for which the individual was imprisoned, or an individual who has received a certificate of innocence from a circuit court pursuant to Section 2-702 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
• Exoneree Dependent: For the purposes of this program, an exoneree dependent is any spouse, natural child, legally adopted child, or child in the legal custody of an individual that can be designated to receive unused program awards.