Leatherneck Nation

I am starting to think that the Illinois legislators should come to a budget consensus in the same manner that the Catholics choose a new Pope:

The cardinals vote by secret ballot, processing one by one up to Michelangelo's fresco of the Last Judgment, saying a prayer and dropping the twice-folded ballot in a large chalice. Four rounds of balloting are taken every day until a candidate receives two-thirds of the vote. The result of each ballot are counted aloud and recorded by three cardinals designated as recorders. If no one receives the necessary two-thirds of the vote, the ballots are burned in a stove near the chapel with a mixture of chemicals to produce black smoke.

When a cardinal receives the necessary two-thirds vote, the dean of the College of Cardinals asks him if he accepts his election. If he accepts, he chooses a papal name and is dressed in papal vestments before processing out to the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. The ballots of the final round are burned with chemicals producing white smoke to signal to the world the election of a new pope.

The senior cardinal deacon, currently French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, announces from the balcony of St. Peter's "Habemus Papam" ("We have a pope") before the new pope processes out and imparts his blessing on the city of Rome and the entire world.

The State Universities would finally get funding under the Senate's budget. The end of the budget stalemate awaits House passage and the governor’s signature.


After two years of crisis management because of the lack of state funding, Illinois universities would finally be in line for a full year of funding under a balanced budget the Illinois Senate recently approved.

The Senate deal also restores the student financial aid Monetary Award Program to the state’s budget in an effort to continue educational opportunities for children of working-class families.

“Our universities have a proud tradition of educational and economic leadership, and what the state has done to them the past two years is nothing short of shameful,” said Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton. “I wish we could do more for these schools, but this stops the bleeding, ends the chaos and begins to rebuild the state’s commitment to the state’s universities.”

The balanced budget that recently passed the Illinois Senate includes the following resources for the state’s public universities.

$21.6 million for Governors State University.
$32.7 million for Chicago State University.
$33.2 million for Northeastern Illinois University.
$38.7 million for Eastern Illinois University.
$46.3 million for Western Illinois University.
$65 million for Illinois State University.
$82 million for Northern Illinois University.
$179.6 million for Southern Illinois University.
$582.4 million for the University of Illinois.

This funding is for the state budget year that runs from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018. The universities haven’t had a full budget from the state since the 2015 budget year and had been trying to maintain student services and staff despite losing hundreds of millions of dollars in state support. The Senate budget reverses that and restores the schools to levels approaching those of the 2015 budget.

In addition, the Senate’s balanced budget provides $364 million to fund MAP grants. These funds have been promised to students but not released because of the budget impasse.

“This plan provides the long overdue stability of a full year of funding for universities and makes good on the MAP grants we promised students,” said Cullerton. “I urge the House to pass it and the governor to sign it as soon as possible.”

The balanced budget requires a favorable vote in the Illinois House and the governor’s signature to take effect. The General Assembly’s spring session faces a Wednesday, May 31 deadline for action.

The president of Northeastern Illinois University has announced today that there will be 180 layoffs. Northeastern will be eliminating at least 50 Administrative and Professional positions and approximately 130 Civil Service positions, which account for about 25 percent of each of these employee groups.

NEIU has a $10.8 million projected cash flow shortfall through September 30.

Today is May 31. Last day of the spring session of the General Assembly. Will this be the year that we finally get a state budget ????

It's not looking very promising at this time. The headline in this morning's paper is: Hopes Dim for Budget Deal As End of Spring Session Nears.

In today's Phil Luciano column in the PJS, he wrote: Eastern Illinois University, because of budget woes, seems on the brink of extinction with every payroll run.

The Macomb merchants are getting worried.

If the worst might actually happen to one of the state supported schools (closing), hopefully Western's officials have a plan in place to recruit any displaced students. You can bet other schools are being pro-active and aggressive if anything like that would happen. Student recruitment is a business- marketing and sales.

leatherface wrote: Wed May 31, 2017 9:21 am If the worst might actually happen to one of the state supported schools (closing), hopefully Western's officials have a plan in place to recruit any displaced students. You can bet other schools are being pro-active and aggressive if anything like that would happen. Student recruitment is a business- marketing and sales.

They do and they already have been, although they have to tread pretty carefully at this point. They can't be seen as spreading misinformation (like saying a school is about to close when they really aren't, or don't end up closing) but they are recruiting some areas pretty strongly. I bet that if a school were to actually announce that they were closing, they'd be more than willing to allow other state schools to come recruit or set up transfer plans/assistance, and Western would be very aggressive in working to attract those students. It would also probably help that the students who go to the schools that seem to be in the most "danger" are often the kinds of students that come to Western. Acceptance rates and requirements at Chicago State or Eastern are much different than at the U of I.

State budget deal not happening before spring session deadline.

Illinois lawmakers will leave Springfield again this year without a permanent budget in place.

Democratic leaders emerged from a four-hour closed door meeting of House Democrats on Wednesday to say no votes will be taken on a spending and tax plan ahead of a midnight deadline to approve legislation with a simple majority vote.

Any legislation considered this summer would need a three-fifths majority vote to be approved.

SIU-Carbondale to lay-off nearly 80 employees.

From WSIL-TV, Harrisburg:
http://www.wsiltv.com/story/35558007/si ... -employees

not good

This whole thing is a travesty which has really put pressure on higher education! With or without a budget, WIU will move forward! jc