* I heard yesterday that Reps. Ken Dunkin and Reggie Phillips were working on a bill to help ease the “squeeze” on higher education, but I couldn’t get anyone to respond. Here’s their bill…

Appropriates $160,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Board of Higher Education for emergency assistance to public universities. Appropriates $40,000,000 from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois Community College Board for emergency assistance to community colleges. Effective immediately, but does not take effect at all unless Senate Bill 3044 of the 99th General Assembly becomes law.

SB 3044 would “forgive” $450 million in special funds borrowing the state did at the very end of Fiscal Year 2015.

* That’s a truly “odd couple” of sponsors, but Chicago State University and Eastern Illinois University are in the worst trouble of all the state’s public universities. So, it makes perfect sense, particularly since both men have primary opponents.

*** UPDATE *** I’ve asked for responses from the governor’s office and all four leaders. Here’s Leader Jim Durkin…

“These two bills should be given a fair hearing and awarded an up or down vote. These initiatives actually have money attached for Higher Education unlike the insincere bill regarding MAP the Governor rightfully vetoed.”