State attorneys general called the agreement a victory for students, saying it will provide debt relief to more than 179,000 borrowers across the country. In Illinois, where $48 million will be cleared, Attorney General Lisa Madigan said it’s a fair outcome for students who were deceived by the company’s schools.

“Today’s settlement ensures the company treats students the way they should have been all along – with honesty and respect for their futures,” Madigan said.

At its peak, Career Education Corporation ranked among the largest for-profit college companies in the nation, enrolling more than 100,000 students at several chains including Sanford-Brown College and Le Cordon Bleu, a group of culinary schools.

But after years of government scrutiny and deep enrollment declines, the company announced in 2015 it would begin closing or selling most of its schools.

Aside from the state investigations, the company has also been the subject of a Federal Trade Commission inquiry since 2015, according to company records filed in September with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The FTC has been examining potential deception in advertising, according to the company, which says it is cooperating with the inquiry.

The for-profit college industry faced a heavy crackdown under President Barack Obama but has seen a shift in its favor under President Donald Trump. Over the last two years, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has sought to loosen regulation and reverse policies created under the previous administration.

But the sector has come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks following the abrupt closure of Education Corporation of America, which was one of the nation’s largest chains before it collapsed amid deep financial trouble. Democrats have cited the closure as evidence that the industry needs sharper oversight.