SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Legislature has approved a bill to allow a handful of private out-of-state colleges to sponsor Illinois specialty license plates to raise money for Illinois student scholarships to their schools.

The measure, which won final passage in the Illinois Senate Wednesday, is limited to private out-of-state schools with at least 10,000 alumni living in Illinois. Supporters say those criteria are met by perhaps 10 universities in the nation.

"The only ones we're sure of are St. Louis University, Notre Dame (in Indiana), and Marquette (in Wisconsin)," said Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, a sponsor of the legislation.

The bill passed the Senate 37-18, over objections of some who questioned whether Illinois license plates should be promoting out-of-state schools.

Link countered: "If they're going to help an Illinois resident get a scholarship to go to that university, God bless them."

If Gov. Rod Blagojevich signs the measure into law, those colleges would be able to sponsor Illinois specialty license plates with their school logos on them, for sale to Illinois drivers.

The specialty-plate fee a first-time $118 payment and $105 a year after that, compared to the regular $78 annual license registration fee in Illinois would be used to provide scholarships to Illinois students to attend those sponsoring schools.

Blagojevich's office didn't return a message asking whether he intends to sign the bill into law.

The bill is SB169.