* Capitol News Illinois…

University students and faculty urged the Illinois Board of Higher Education to press Gov. JB Pritzker to release more than $29 million in funding for state colleges and universities that state lawmakers approved this year but the Pritzker administration is holding back.

But the governor’s office said in an email to Capitol News Illinois that it does not intend to release the state-approved funding until it sees “stability” on federal education policy coming from Washington.

“(President) Trump’s budget bill and reckless tariffs have wreaked havoc on state revenues nationwide, making it essential to double down on fiscal discipline,” a spokesman in the governor’s office said. […]

In his budget proposal to the General Assembly in February, Pritzker proposed a 3% increase in higher education funding. But the $55.3 billion budget bill that lawmakers approved in May contained only a 1% increase, with an additional 2% — or $29.5 million — that could be distributed only “after the purpose and amounts have been approved in writing by the Governor.”

Democratic leaders in the General Assembly said at the time the money was intended to be used if there were significant cuts in federal higher education spending.

But in its statement this week, the governor’s office said it was always Pritzker’s intent to hold the money back as a cushion against uncertainties caused by the Trump administration.

“When the budget was approved by the legislature and signed, the Governor was clear that a 2% reserve would remain in place until we saw stability on education from Washington, which has yet to materialize,” the statement read.

In addition to holding back the higher education funding, Pritzker issued an executive order in September directing executive branch agencies to make plans to hold back as much as 4% of their budgets this year. The IBHE and Illinois Community College Board were not subject to that order.

I get why the union leaders, advocates and students quoted in the story want the money released. But this is not previously appropriated money that is being withheld from the system. It’s new money that is being held back just in case. And these days, “just in case” is a reasonable assumption, even though inflation is eating up all of that 3 percent hike.

Anyway, there’s more, so go check it out.