"As various lenders and some of its peers in other states announced in recent months that they would stop making federal or private loans because of disruptions in the capital markets, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission steadfastly held firm," Inside Higher Ed reports. "The only problem, [Andrew] Davis acknowledges, is that officials at the agency - which guarantees student loans and oversees most student aid programs in Illinois - 'weren't quite sure how we would fund' the operations behind that promise. Like many nonprofit lenders, particularly, Illinois had seen its primary source of financial backing for its loans dry up, because of the collapse of the auction-rate securities market."