225 ILCS 454/25-25
A special fund to be known as the Real Estate Research and Education Fund is created and shall be held in trust in the State treasury. Annually, on September 15th, the State Treasurer shall cause a transfer of $125,000 to the Real Estate Research and Education Fund from the Real Estate License Administration Fund. The Real Estate Research and Education Fund shall be administered by the Department. Money deposited in the Real Estate Research and Education Fund may be used for research and for education at state institutions of higher education or other organizations for research and for education to further the advancement of education in the real estate industry or can be used by the Department for expenses related to the education of licensees. Of the $125,000 annually transferred into the Real Estate Research and Education Fund, $15,000 shall be used to fund a scholarship program for persons of historically marginalized classes and who wish to pursue a course of study in the field of real estate. For the purposes of this Section:
"Course of study" means a course or courses that are part of a program of courses in the field of real estate designed to further an individual's knowledge or expertise in the field of real estate. These courses shall include, without limitation, courses that a broker licensed under this Act must complete to qualify for a managing broker's license, courses required to obtain the Graduate Realtors Institute designation, and any other courses or programs offered by accredited colleges, universities, or other institutions of higher education in Illinois.
"Historically marginalized classes" means a person of a race or national origin that is Native American or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or is a member of a protected class under the Illinois Human Rights Act within the context of affirmative action.
The scholarship program shall be administered by the Department or its designee. Moneys in the Real Estate Research and Education Fund may be invested and reinvested in the same manner as funds in the Real Estate Recovery Fund and all earnings, interest, and dividends received from such investments shall be deposited in the Real Estate Research and Education Fund and may be used for the same purposes as moneys transferred to the Real Estate Research and Education Fund. Moneys in the Real Estate Research and Education Fund may be transferred to the Professions Indirect Cost Fund as authorized under Section 2105-300 of the Department of Professional Regulation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.
225 ILCS 454/25-25