Rich Miller: What’s ailing and can fix higher education in Illinois – Daily Chronicle

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nixit
4 years ago

This later Miller column is a bit disingenuous. It talks about the state’s perceived lack of “higher education appropriations” lately but glosses over the #1 reason for this: Pensions. He states “State higher education appropriations peaked in fiscal 2002 at $2.4 billion” but fails to mention the state was only obliged to contribute only $300M to SURS back then (POB doesn’t count). This year, I think the pension contribution tops $1.7 billion. If you take into account ALL higher ed funding (operations, grants, pensions, etc), higher ed appropriations have tracked quite well with inflation, it’s just that pensions have consumed… Read more »

debtsor
4 years ago
Reply to  nixit

Mr. Miller, quite frankly, is a goof with a pen.

nixit
4 years ago
Reply to  Mark Glennon

Mark – This goes back to how Miller is clever in manipulating the conversation. He’s so focused on the 2-to-1 funding ratio between lower and higher ed, which deflects from the main issue why funding for higher ed has lagged in general. And this question goes unasked: If the 2-1 ratio is so important, why not take a third of that $300M per year for “equity based funding” and pump it into higher ed? He kinda touches on that point, but more in the sense of a separate equity based funding for higher ed. Basically, his article is a marketing… Read more »

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A statewide concern: Illinois’ population decline outpaces neighboring states – Wirepoints on ABC20 Champaign

“We are not in good shape” Wirepoints’ Ted Dabrowski told ABC 20 Champaign during a segment on Illinois’ latest population losses. Illinois was one of just three states to shrink in the 2010-2020 period and has lost another 300,000 people since then. Ted says things need to change. “It’s too expensive to live here, there aren’t enough good jobs and nobody trusts the government anymore. There’s just other places to go where you can be more satisfied.”

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