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At Northern Illinois University, school officials recently reported a $31.8 million deficit, while at Western Illinois University as many as 124 faculty and staff members were recently shown the door as part of a plan to erase a $22 million hole. At the same time, at Southern Illinois University early projections forecast a $14 million deficit.
Summary and audio linked here.
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
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Audio and summary
It costs roughly the same to go out of state to a school in the SEC as it does to go in state for U of I. Gee, why would anyone choose to not stay here? We also just get a recruitment flyer from SIU stating that if your family income was less than $100K, tuition would be waived. While part of me appreciates what they are trying to do, I don’t see how that helps their deficit issue.
I don’t think they’re trying to solve their deficit issue. Remember when SIU had it’s nationwide reputation as a party school? Remember how many students that school used to attract? Go hiking and camping in Shawnee all weekend, party at the bars and frat houses all week? Now they can’t hardly give away tuition for free.
I totally agree with this. I would NEVER send my kids to Carbondale. There are plenty better choices for an average student. Carbondale is not a cool party school like it was when I grew up in that area. I well remember the push to change their “party school” image; the kids were shipped off during Halloween and SIU lost its appeal. The better students won’t apply, and the town becomes sketchier with each passing year.
““They’re going out of state because they’re finding value….” You need to first identify the problem. The problem sure as heck isn’t value. It’s quality. The picture above the article is everything you need to know. Two morons wearing masks and lanyards outdoors, with jackets and shorts, all by themselves, with few people around. This pretty much describes the craphole Illinois university experience. Most schools no longer even require test scores, or decent grades, they just accept everyone ‘to get their learn on’, few of whom graduate in 6 years, and they wonder why no one wants to attend these… Read more »
Every university in the US could eliminate 40% of their course catalog and not reduce the amount of learning. The amount of waste (aka welfare) we tolerate in paying mediocre intellects at universities is staggering.
Why should IL colleges be any different from the very many IL state, county, township, city, etc. entities that irresponsibly overspend?
Unfortunately, many of the state, county, township, cities also vastly overspend and are never held accountable. Wirepoints is full of such examples.
Accountability in this state means voting for the other candidate of the other political party. But Democrats can’t ever vote Republican. It’s too icky!