College students concerned with the threat of recession, loss of employment and rising expenses caused by inflation will have a chance to hear an expert view on the economy this week at COD. Researching these financial topics online through articles and presidential releases may be time-consuming for busy students. 

The college is hosting an Economic Forum featuring expert speaker, Charles Evans, who is the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Audience members will have the exclusive opportunity to ask their own questions in a Q&A.

Evans has served in his positions since 2007. He directs the Federal Reserve’s research into U.S. economic activity and financial institutions. He is also a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, which is an organization that analyzes the current economic situations of the Chicagoland area. Their research data is accessible to people through the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank’s website. There are yearly reports and interactive graphs showing regional economic conditions. 

The new student loan forgiveness program by President Joe Biden has increased attention to financial situations. It’s a potential topic for the forum as people have lingering questions about student eligibility requirements and more permanent debt solutions. The possible consequence of canceled debt increasing inflation is also a key aspects of why many Republicans oppose student loan forgiveness. 

According to this White House fact sheet  on the student loan relief program, it is set to cancel up to $20,000 for borrowers who make less than $125,000 a year and have federal loans with the Department of Education. If borrowers in the same income bracket did not receive a Pell Grant, they are still eligible for $10,000 in loan forgiveness. Be aware of all the sources of your financial aid and tuition payments by checking your myAccess account. Review the College of DuPage student financial aid information. These will help you understand whether you’re eligible or not for loan forgiveness.

Another pressing topic in the economic sphere are employment outlooks. According to FRCB regional economic data, in July 2022, the national unemployment rate was 3.5%. It was even higher in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metropolitan statistical area, at 4.4 %. Students may be curious about the employment outlooks in the Chicagoland area for their own specific fields of study

If you can’t make it to this week’s forum, you can still access the print versions of speeches, economic reviews and other research publications on the Federal Reserve website. There are also student resources and employment opportunities for economics and business majors. Register here for the economic forum, which is at 11 a.m., Sept. 8, in SRC Room 2000.