WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after ITT Tech announced it will close. The company announced last week that it was no longer enrolling new students.
“Every time I looked up at the ITT sign on the side of White Oaks Mall in Springfield I knew this day would come, and I knew that hundreds of innocent students, families, and ultimately the taxpayer would pay dearly for the exploitation by for-profit colleges that Congress and Washington fail to properly regulate,” said Durbin. “ITT Tech has no one to blame but itself for its failure. For years, the company exploited students and fleeced American taxpayers. Today, its predatory practices have finally caught up to it. As a result of its actions, ITT Tech has put the futures of tens of thousands of students across the country in jeopardy. I call on the Department of Education to swiftly make these students aware of their eligibility for closed school discharges of their student loan debts and other options. Just as I said when Corinthian collapsed, we can’t leave students holding the bag for ITT Tech’s misdeeds.”
Last week, Durbin urged community college presidents across Illinois to assist students whose futures are at risk from the then-potential financial collapse of ITT Tech, which announced last Tuesday that it stopped enrolling new students.
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ITT Tech operated four campuses in Illinois – Arlington Heights, Oak Brook, Orland Park, and Springfield. The company had been under investigation by at least 18 state Attorneys General for a variety of misleading and deceptive practices and is being sued by the New Mexico Attorney General, Massachusetts Attorney General, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Securities and Exchange Commission.
