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In most states a 2 percent budget increase wouldn't exactly be cause for celebration. But Thursday's passage of a state budget in Illinois -- on time, no less -- brought praise from leaders in public higher education, given the decade-long tumult wrought by pension woes and political corruption, among other factors. Most public colleges will receive a 2 percent increase in operating budgets, plus some other new funds.
The three University of Illinois campuses will receive an increase of $11.6 million for day-to-day operations, to $594.6 million for the 2019 fiscal year that begins July 1. The system's leaders also noted that legislators had approved the first capital budget for the universities since 2010-11.
"The state’s second straight, full-year budget reflects a much-needed return of stability and reinvestment in higher education after a two-year impasse that cut sharply into funding and hampered our ability to plan our future," they wrote.
Randy Dunn, president of Southern Illinois University, told a local radio station that legislators "saw with their own eyes and heard the testimony about the real needs that exist on campus. They see the numbers of students from Illinois we’re losing to other states, and really helped spark not just their own separate package of bills that they want to see move forward, but also a general appreciation for the investment that public higher education provides.”
