The House and Senate was expected to vote on it Thursday, but instead adjourned for the night.
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The Illinois House and Senate passed SB 2059 on Friday morning, which aims to provide emergency funding to public colleges and universities in Illinois, as well as some MAP grant funding.
Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger says she’s going to “immediately” begin processing payments to universities and colleges after lawmakers approved a $600 million short-term funding fix during the state’s unprecedented budget impasse.
IL is the only state without a budget for the fiscal year that started July 1. In November, DePaul announced it would honor grants promised to current students through the end of the 2016 academic year, and this winter, the university announced it will also honor funding for incoming students during the 2016-17 academic year.
“This is short-sighted, it’s political, it’s done only for political cover”, said Rep. Jack Franks, a Democrat from Woodstock.
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill into law Monday that will help institutions of higher education survive through the summer and fund Monetary Award Program grants.
The Senate bill came only days before Chicago State University – a public university serving largely low-income, minority and non-traditional students – planned to shut down.
Western would have $14.9 million more dollars in the bank if Governor Rauner signs the measure.
Fewer than half of states have statewide assistance programs for indigent funeral and burial expenses, but IL is the only statewide program not operating because of budget disagreements, according to Jessica Koth, spokeswoman for the Wisconsin-based National Funeral Directors Association.
According to SIUE’s chancellor, it only adds up to about 28% of the money they would normally receive, which is a total of $60 million a year.
The votes benefit Chicago State University, which serves a predominantly minority enrollment in Chicago.
“If he continues his unwillingness to assist our human service providers, he will be successful in destroying the safety net for those most in need and for critical state services”, Madigan said.
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“Again, we are pleased with this measure to provide some level of funding for Fiscal Year 2016”, Thomas said in a letter to the community. The governor has called on state universities to cut administrative costs and curtail their spending on goods and services.
