By Neil Doyle

NORMAL – Illinois State University President Larry Dietz is asking former students to reach out and lobby state lawmakers for a capital bill as the spring legislative session comes to a close.

In an e-mail to alumni, Dietz said it’s critical to have a capital bill approved because it would help secure funding for university operations and would help with repairs and enhancements to campus buildings, classrooms, and laboratories.

“It has been a decade since meaningful capital funding has been allocated and released to Illinois’ public colleges and universities. In that time, Illinois State has been forced to use internal funds to keep facilities safe and in good operating order,” said Dietz in the e-mail.

“Illinois State was allocated $54 million in FY2010 for the remodeling and construction of our Fine Arts Complex. The bulk of those funds were never released, and capital funding was suspended in FY2015. Five fiscal years later, we are still waiting for that capital funding to be restored. Illinois State’s other capital priorities include funding for our campus library, College of Nursing, and a host of capital renewal projects,” Dietz added.

Last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker released a six-year, $41.5 billion plan called “Rebuild Illinois.” It calls for spending $5.9 billion for repair and building projects at schools, universities and community colleges.  The remaining money would go towards transportation, public health and other infrastructure projects.

To finance the six-year plan, Pritzker wants to raise $1.8 billion in tax and fee increases.

The spring legislative session ends May 31.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]