By Andy Dahn

BLOOMINGTON – A bill passed today by state legislators gives nearly $600 million to help fund Illinois colleges and universities during the ongoing budget impasse.

Illinois State University will receive nearly $21 million in funding from the bill, good news for ISU President Larry Dietz.

“We know it’s a stopgap measure, which means that work is not yet finished by any stretch,” Dietz said. “But having a good start and agreeing to the measure that passed today is really a good indication that folks can work together for the better of the whole education enterprise. We’re delighted about that.”

Dietz said he’s proud of students, staff and local legislative leaders who helped advocate and make this bill possible. The university will now get a portion of the $15 million in state appropriations they had hoped for this year, some of which will go towards student Map Grants.

“My understanding is that we’ll get basically one semester of that, or $7.5 million,” said Dietz. “That’ll help but we’re not there in terms of coverage of our Map Grant expenditures yet. Again, a great first start, let’s keep the momentum rolling and get something done.”

Dietz said it will be right back to work next week as he plans to meet with Governor Rauner to discuss the ongoing budget impasse. Rauner has said he will sign the bill that was passed today.

Andy Dahn can be reached at [email protected].