CHICAGO (WLS) — If you are one of the 8 million borrowers enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, Plan student loan forgiveness program, you could start getting big bills again.

The SAVE Plan is currently being challenged in court, and experts say even if it survives, the Donald Trump administration will likely terminate it at a time when debt is snowballing. Borrowers in Illinois hold more than $62 billion in federal student loan debt.

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Kathy Broome Duke was the first in her family to graduate from college, and earned a master’s degree in human resources. But the Auburn Gresham resident also faces $75,000 in federal student loan debt.

“It’s like having a house you can’t physically enter but you know you need to pay for,” she said.

Broome Duke is one of millions enrolled in the SAVE program, which had brought her loan payments from about $900 a month to $300 a month, and put her on a faster track to loan forgiveness of the balance. But the Trump administration could do away with the program altogether.

“Because it’s an executive order and there is a new administration coming in its likely it will go away,” said Rae Kaplan of Kaplan Law Firm.

Kaplan helps borrowers like Broome Duke manage student loan forgiveness, and said current court challenges complicate matters with the SAVE Plan further.

“We are waiting on that decision from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals but in the meantime what the Department of Education said was OK, rather than continue to make borrowers pay in the SAVE Plan, is we are going to continue to put everyone in this state of forbearance which is nice because you get a break from making monthly payments,” Kaplan said.

She said if SAVE is squashed, the full monthly payments will come back. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average student loan debt balance in Illinois is about $39,000.

Kaplan says that while SAVE was the best option for student debt, it is not the only option and there are other good payment plans available.

If you’re employed by a government or not-for-profit organization, you might be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and anyone can apply for an income-driven repayment plan. Those can also bring costs down and offer a path to forgiveness of the balance down the road.

“If you are paying under an income driven payment plan, either 20 years is the term or 25 years,” she said. “And no matter what your balance is. under IBR the entire loan balance plus the interest will be forgiven by operation of law. Thats a very unique thing with federal student loans.”

Kaplan also said you should switch over to an income-driven plan if your loans are under forbearance under the SAVE plan and it’s affecting other aspects of your life. That’s the case for Lindsay Brockman, who can’t get a second mortgage.

Because Brockman’s loan payments are current under forbearance under SAVE, pending the court challenge, she said she’s being denied a loan to make home repairs. Kaplan said that’s a common issue right now.

“Because when you are applying for a mortgage, they want to know what your monthly expenses are right,” she said. “If you are in forbearance they are not able to see what that monthly student loan payment is going to be.”

Brockman, a veterinarian, worries about her financial futures as she chips away at $370,000 in student loans.

“And I love what I do, but sometimes I wonder if it was worth it now having to deal with student loans,” she said.

Broome Duke said she’s planning on getting into an income-driven repayment plan if SAVE goes away.

“I think about this loan balance almost every day,” she said.

There is also another option to completely erase federal student loan debt. Under the law you can apply for borrower defense relief, which can potentially give you complete loan forgiveness if your school was ever accused of misconduct or accused of misleading students about job placement rates.