By Joe Ragusa
NORMAL – There wasn’t much talk of higher education during the governor’s budget address this past week, but there was some afterwards with the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
Jonathan Lackland, Director of State Government Affairs for Illinois State University, said Education Secretary Beth Purvis held a briefing after Bruce Rauner’s budget speech Wednesday where she outlined the governor’s proposal for a 20 percent cut in general state aid for fiscal year 2017.
That’s for next year’s budget, though. ISU president Larry Dietz is wondering where this year’s budget is.
“There has been talk about how everyone values higher education but no one seems to be putting it into any bills much and we still don’t have any money,” Dietz said. “So to me, if you really value something, you invest in it and we haven’t seen the investment.”
Dietz said the university has already planned a budget around a ten percent cut and it’s prepared for any number of funding scenarios.
“We just simply need a decision so we can implement our plans and move on,” Dietz said.
Illinois is in its eighth month without a budget.
Joe Ragusa can be reached at joe.ragusa@cumulus.com.
