It is becoming a tougher financial burden to afford a college education, Baise said. Students who need loans end up returning a high interest rate because banks are more reluctant to loan to that age group.

Baise, a 38-year-old Republican from Jacksonville, said he developed a three-part College Savings Plan to allow the treasurer’s office help students and families afford higher education costs.

The first part of the plan is to encourage parents to plan early for college costs, Baise said.

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The family would be given a credit card to deposit money in accounts at any time, he said, adding that parents could have money automatically transferred to accounts through payroll deductions.

Baise said the treasurer’s office then would invest the money in high-yield mutual funds or money market accounts.

We will try to get the best possible rate of return for the money invested, he said.

The second part of the plan begins when the student attends college. The credit card will become a debit card for the student, Baise said. The money will be transferred to the Illinois college or university to be used as needed for tuition, housing and other college expenses.

As the third part of the plan, Baise said he intends to make $50 million available for the program in his first year as treasurer to ensure the investments will be high-yield.

According to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, $150 to $200 million is loaned annually to college students. The loans are usually high-interest because financial institutions are reluctant to loan to college students, he said.

Baise said unlike his opponent, Democrat Patrick Quinn, he is in favor of renewing the two-year income tax surcharge that raised $100 million for higher education.

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Illinois is losing top-drawer professors to other states, Baise said. Tuition is increasing in leaps and bounds, and the cost of living is skyrocketing. Higher education cannot afford to lose more money.

He said he also intends to set up an investment advisory board comprised of 10 members representing academic, economic and banking interests to advise the treasurer on investing $4 billion annually.

Some of the members would be from higher education. I feel it is important for them to have a say in the investments the treasurer’s office makes, Baise said.

Baise has served on Gov. James R. Thompson’s staff for 14 years, including two periods (1984-1985; 1987-present) as secretary

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of the Illinois Department of Transportation.

He said his experience with IDOT’s annual budget of more than $3.8 billion gives him the needed qualities for treasurer.

During his tenure as secretary, he oversaw the continuation of work on Route 51, the state highway that serves as a north-south link through central Illinois.

Other proposals Baise said he would like to start include:n Modernizing the treasurer’s office with new technology to move money more efficiently.

n Expanding the Illinois Public Treasurers’ Investment Pool by working with municipal governments and local treasurers. The IPTIP allows county and municipal treasurers to pool their tax dollars to earn higher interest rates.

n Expanding and better utilizing the Financing Agricultural Retail Markets Illinois and Agricultural Production Loan Deposit programs, which back loans to foreign investors buying Illinois commodities with state funds.