SPRINGFIELD - This month, many students will walk out of universities all over Illinois with smiles, hopes, degrees - and the debt used to pay for them.

And it's obviously no secret the newly minted alums will face the tough economy in an effort to find their first jobs and begin paying down the costs of their educations.

The national Project on Student Debt says the average Illinois graduate in the class of 2007 left school with about $18,500 in student loan debt. About 56 percent of Illinois students graduated with debt.

Those are the most recent data available. The numbers probably are a little different for the class of 2009, but the bottom line remains: When students leave school they at least need to know who they owe, how much they owe and how they plan to pay them.

The best way to deal with it, said Edie Irons, spokeswoman for the Project on Student Debt, is to just get rid of it.

"Pay back that loan as fast as you can," Edie Irons said.

Some people, though, won't be able to - a problem that could be exacerbated by rising unemployment rates.

Programs are available to help people. Last week, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation aimed at jump-starting a stalled program that helps people get back in good standing after they've defaulted on student loans.

They have to make nine consecutive on-time payments to get back in good standing. About 3,000 Illinoisans are in various stages of repayment under the program.

"During the current credit crisis, I am pleased the Illinois Student Assistance Commission will assist those who have defaulted on student loans but have seriously tried to make amends and repayment," Quinn said in a statement Friday.

State Rep. David Miller, D-Lynwood, sponsored the plan, which solves a problem that arose because of the country's credit crunch.

Whether or not the economy causes more loan defaults is yet to be seen.

"That didn't help," Miller said.

Illinois State University's director of financial aid, Jana Albrecht, said students can relieve the stress of their student loan debt if they keep in communication with their lenders. She said rough spots sometimes can be smoothed out.

"They really will work with you," she said.

Sometimes, she said, when a student misses a payment, the lender will contact the university, which then contacts the student. Albrecht said the university might be a little less intimidating than a lender.

"They'll feel better about calling us back," she said.

For more information about loans, visit: www.ibrinfo.org and www.dl.ed.gov.