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* Press advisory…

Higher Education Coalition Kicks Off Statewide Push for State Funding
Group Unites to Urge Lawmakers, Governor to Solve Months-Long Funding Stalemate

* On January 4th, the Illinois Municipal League’s executive director Brad Cole sent his higher education ideas to the U of I’s government relations office. I’m told the proposals received a “mixed” response. The IML got involved because the universities want to work with mayors of college towns…

Here are my suggestions for moving forward on the higher education funding issue. What seems to be lacking is any kind of plan that everyone can get behind, and without that there will probably be no movement by the General Assembly or Governor. I think everyone needs to agree to a few points and then present a focused effort. Thanks for coordinating this group, we’re looking forward to hosting the meeting tomorrow. This is what I would do (which doesn’t mean they are necessarily good ideas):

1. Ask for a six month appropriation to be passed immediately in January based on the same levels as what was passed and vetoed last year, I think that included a 6.5% overall reduction. As part of that, though, ask for a six month extension on the lapse period spending authority (through 12/2016). This would give schools half the budget now (since it is halfway through the fiscal year) and if something isn’t worked out on-time in the upcoming budget they would have more flexibility in holding it over into the fall. The chance of getting a full twelve month budget at this point seems very slim, and the fact that schools have managed thus far doesn’t help them in saying they need the full appropriation. It also shows a willingness by the schools to take a massive cut and move on. This could be coordinated by campus presidents/board leaders to make the ask officially.

2. Ask for the full fiscal year funding of MAP. By default this would mean some money to offset the lost appropriation, as it would bring in money that was floated for students enrolled in fall 2015. Then bring in a thousand students, whether they all get MAP or not, and let the story be about students… since that’s what each school should be about, anyway. I would do this a few days before either the State of the State Address or the Budget Address, but not too close prior or immediately after either. Put the story in the news about three days before the Governor gives his speech and make him and the legislative leaders react or account for it in all of their remarks. Timing is important and having the capitol under siege by students is critical; one bus load of students from every university campus and community college would be overwhelming. The local chambers of commerce could pay for the buses and the student government associations can coordinate from each campus; give everyone a t-shirt or hat or sign or something and set them loose in the capitol with the name and office location of their home district legislators… the organized chaos would be quite interesting and better than any AFSCME rally (and they know how to rally).

3. Find a judge/court in a county seat that houses a public university, probably downstate or in St. Clair County where the other suit was filed, and file a motion to consider all public university employees in the same class as all other state employees that are getting paid without a state budget. Public university employees are state employees (with state sponsored health care, retirement, etc) and the courts have already ruled on this issue, but the rulings didn’t specifically include university employees. I realize this won’t help the private schools or community colleges, but it will help the public universities. I would throw-in an extra motion that seeks repayment of employee salaries that were paid during the first six months of the fiscal year, as reimbursement, which would obviously further strengthen the cash flow for those schools that are hurting most. Maybe there is a bigger reason why the universities were left out of the original suit so this may not work, or maybe it was not seeing the forest for the trees; I don’t know, but it seems worth a try. The employee unions could take the lead on this like they did in the original employee payroll suit last July. I have a marked-up copy of the Fifth District Appellate ruling that I will give you for more information.

4. Have each college and university put money toward a major statewide public relations campaign that would promote the value of higher education, tie it to the brain drain and population out-migration hitting Illinois, show how the local economies are impacted, and tell the story of students who might not get their diplomas because of the lingering impasse. If every school, through their private foundation funds and not with state funds obviously, would contribute $20,000 or $50,000 or $100,000, there would easily be a couple million dollars to launch a comprehensive and immediate press/media campaign throughout the state and in targeted legislative districts to get attention on this issue. Radio, television, print and social media advertisements bombarding the issue would be impressive. That amount of money to contribute to this effort is minimal considering the tens- and hundreds of millions of dollars the campuses are losing. Have everyone contribute, pick a major firm to handle it, and then let them go (without a university-style committee to slow it down forever) and get it done. A lot of this should be focused on the FY17 budget process.

5. Key to any future (FY17) appropriation is making an offer of what schools are willing to do without. If a reasonable plan was submitted to the Governor and General Assembly, and reasonable in the sense of the overall state budget problems not just keeping the status quo for the campuses, there would be more of a chance of getting something agreed to by the leaders. There are lots of suggestions I could make, which I will save for another conversation, but asking for a multi-year budget appropriation or anything that doesn’t resemble a significant cut to really transform the funding levels is likely a non-starter. Unless the higher education community goes on offense with a plan, they will be on defense and other plans will be made without them.

I’ve been surprised at the lack of involvement by the U of I’s alumni group. The school has fired up that much-feared (at the Statehouse) group several times to stop what it considered to be harmful legislation. But where are the alumni now?

Anyway…

* The Question: Which of Brad’s 5 suggestions is the best? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.

free polls

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:21 pm

Comments

=”I’ve been surprised at the lack of involvement by the U of I’s alumni group. The school has fired up that much-feared (at the Statehouse) group several times to stop what it considered to be harmful legislation. But where are the alumni now?”= Are they in Rauner’s camp?

Comment by Mama Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:27 pm
On the above post, I forgot the “/S”.

Comment by Mama Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:38 pm
===Have everyone contribute, pick a major firm to handle it, and then let them go (without a university-style committee to slow it down forever) and get it done.===

That’s good advice, except it’s almost impossible for a meeting of higher ed presidents to agree on a lunch order let alone a multi-institutional issue advocacy campaign.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:45 pm
A lawsuit is the only way to deal with this administration.

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:45 pm
The offering of concessions is most likely to get Rauner’s people to talk and consider proposals. If that’s off the table, though, the funding for MAP grants (and Brad’s plan for pushing it) could be the most effective for pushing public sentiment overwhelmingly to the side of universities.

Comment by Blue Demon Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:46 pm
“Are they in Rauner’s camp?” - not hardly.

As a proud Alum and a member of Illinois Connection we have been very involved and proactive when it comes to the UofI.

Yet the IML, which I did belong to when I was an elected local official, and Brad Cole, who has a long involvement in the Republican Party do appear to have their own agenda.

That is not to say that some of the points being raised are not worth discussing, but I will only suggest that some are probably non-starters.

Comment by illini Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:46 pm
Torn between 1 & 2, but I voted “1″. The schools need funds not just in grants to students, but for overall operations - salaries, building maintenance, etc. etc.

3: Lawsuits are iffy things, and who knows when it would be ruled on? And then appealed. And then ruled on again.

4. Again, very iffy in terms of results. And, frankly, I don’t think there are a lot of people who don’t know the value of a higher education. It would be spending money for very little return.

5. Have we not yet learned that the Governor is not interested in a “reasonable plan”?

Comment by JoanP Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:47 pm
3 - has lawsuits not worked yet? Rauner more than happy to remove “pressure points” for any constituency but the poor.

Comment by lake county democrat Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:52 pm
The PR campaign makes the most sense out of many good ideas. The disinvestment in higher education is the most middle-class impact from the 2015 tax cut. I’m surprised that there hasn’t been more a campaign to show people that shoving higher education to the side is a direct result of the tax cut, not of a nebulous “budget impasse”.

Comment by Dan Johnson Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:53 pm
So it really isn’t about the kids.

Comment by Trydge Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:54 pm
I agree with Honeybear. A lawsuit seems to be the only response that creates action in this administration.

Comment by cardsmama Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:58 pm
run PR campaign and send a bus load of LOCAL kids from each district to their GA members offices. Do this state wide, notify the area media have a spokesman or two and let them know how many lives are being affected, dreams delayed or not realized. Illinois dysfunctional gov is a big reason why my nephew went out of state and is not returning after his graduation in the Spring.

Comment by the Cardinal Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:01 pm
Alumni- 2 U of I alums in the Legislature are Rep Sandack and Senator Rose. Neither seems to be pushing to get their University back up to speed on funding. Both are big in the Gov camp so I imagine you won’t see their loyalties head back to their alma mater anytime soon.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:06 pm
5
No leader on either side of the aisle is in a rush to fix higher education funding because they have yet to see the schools do anything about bloated administrations. All the talk about laying off professors or shuttering programs shows they still don’t get it. There is a message in all this, and the Speaker and Gov probably aren’t that far apart on this one.

Comment by mcb Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:14 pm
I voted for a lawsuit, not because I personally think that’s the best course of action but because this is the language spoken and understood by the superstars. Sometimes you have to trade fire with fire.

Comment by Dome Gnome Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:14 pm
The U of I hasn’t done much because there is nobody there. The U of I GR department is mostly vacant, I suspect its because Rauner has put a freeze on those types of hires.

If I were a Mayor or City Manager from a municipality who paid dues to the IML - I would wonder if Brad Cole has maybe waded too deep into waters that have nothing to do with my issues.

Some of his strategy makes sense - I like the full year MAP concept. (my vote) But again, if that’s what he wants to do - go freelance - go be a consultant. This does not seem to be the IML mission.

Comment by siriusly Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:32 pm
PR campaign is an absolute necessity at this point. There are a lot of parents and alumni who are completely unaware of what is going on and how it will affect the long term interests of the state and/or their own children.

Comment by Dance Band on the Titanic Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:34 pm
I can see why this received mixed reviews. I voted for 5. Concessions. Let me have a crack at budget,curriculum, and administration costs. Won’t be any Turnaround nonsense, but cuts aplenty!

Comment by Blue dog dem Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:44 pm
A successful lawsuit is the only one of the above that Rauner can’t talk his way around - or continue to use to hold the budget hostage.

- six month funding. I’m not sure half a university works.

- funding for MAP grants. Its essential, but if the universities have to close because they have not been funded, the MAP grants wont’ help much.

- PR campaign. As mentioned, there is plenty of info out there about the value of an education. The value of an education is not what needs to be fought - Rauner’s turnaround agenda holding the budget hostage is what needs to be fought. And its kind of hard to outdo Rauner in a PR campaign with all of the money he has available.

- Concessions. The universities need to cut where they can. But they have already, when allowing for inflation, pretty much seen their state appropriations cut in half over the last 14 years. As a result they have already had to have made huge concessions in their budgets.

Comment by Joe M Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:46 pm
I voted for #5. Like mcb, I believe administrative bloat is a serious problem, but has not been taken seriously by the university chiefs. Perhaps they believe that if they wait, they can keep the bloat or even increase it. Maybe, maybe not. But betting everything on an economic turnaround and/or a massive tax increase on the middle class seems pretty risky at this point.

Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:47 pm
I’ve been surprised at the lack of involvement by the U of I’s alumni group.

Maybe there is a price to be paid from 95% in state kids to 73.1%?

How many Alums had kids who could not get in, and so are on the sidelines?

Comment by Pat C Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:59 pm
How about a Monsters of the Midway Solution?Robert Maynard Hutchins pulled the University
of Chicago out of the Big Ten when it became
a distraction from the core mission of the
institution. Let us just have a vote. Since the
board of Trustees oversees Chicago and Springfield
as well as Champaign they have a duty to students
directly impacted by the loss of state grants
and should be required to justify why the games
go on when there’s no cash for the institutions
and the students.

Comment by Illinoisvoter Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 2:01 pm
I said “2″ because the public really isn’t paying enough attention to the overall issue. If constituents start calling their legislators and the governor’s office about this issue, it’ll might finally start to get the ball rolling.

Comment by The Muse Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 2:14 pm
Pat C - When I attended many years ago, the UofI was a quality and affordable national university. At that time, state funding was at over 50%. Times, and state funding, have changed and adjoining states are making very attractive offers and scholarships available to many of our best students.

The UofI will survive. Admission standards are rightly high and if some students can not make the cut I can understand the frustration.

But are you suggesting “legacy admissions” based on family affiliation with the University? Don’t blame the Alums for the problems faced in our state universities - look at the GA.

Comment by illini Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 2:29 pm
Lawsuits. The judicial branch steps in when the others fail to act. Plus what everyone else says about administration recalcitrance.

BTW, Brad Cole knows well what this budget-hostage situation is doing to the economy of Carbondale, as its former mayor.

Comment by Ray del Camino Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 2:34 pm
If CPS can layoff 1/3 of the central office staff in the face of fiscal stress the universities should take the hint and severely cut their overhead.

Comment by anon Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 2:41 pm
But are you suggesting “legacy admissions

Certainly not.

I AM referring to stories in the Trib, and things I have heard about 30+ ACT, higher than 3.7 GPA and can’t get in.

Comment by Pat C Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 3:04 pm
Pat C - Thank you, but can you cite your source in the Tribune. And I have not heard of 30+ on an ACT not being admitted ( maybe they got better offers out of state or with private universities ). Just suggesting.

And, please, we do not want to go back to the “clout list” that we previously had.

Comment by illini Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 3:28 pm
Pat C.=== I concur.

Comment by Blue dog dem Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 3:51 pm
“The UofI will survive.”

That may be the answer to Rich’s question about why their alumni have not been engaged.

Kileen, the new UofI president, has talked about aggressively growing undergrad enrollment, which has raised eyebrows on campuses throughout the state. Won’t that goal be easier to achieve if a couple of the states existing public universities are struggling to pay bills and in danger of going out of business?

Comment by Tommy Boy Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 4:15 pm
“The U of I will survive.”

But Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, and State may not. Ask those small-town voters (a lot of them Republican) what they think about their economic engines being shut down.

Comment by Ray del Camino Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 4:37 pm
I voted 3 since the courts appear to be running the state now.

Comment by Mama Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 4:40 pm
Tommy - As I stated previously - the Alumni are engaged and focused on keeping the UofI a world class and nationally recognized University.

And I fully realize the reality of what is happening at our other state universities. Some are definitely going to be struggling and the “short term pain for long term gain” is only going to hurt our State.

The UofI should not lower its admissions standards to increase enrollment - and I would be disappointed if it did. The UofI is not competing with other State Universities - each has their own drawing cards and reason for continuing to exist as a vital part of of our economy.

Comment by illini Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 4:40 pm
Why in the world would higher ed take strategic political advice from one of the first guys to shill out his association to help rauners local right to work effort?

Students and parents are the ones who can carry the day, and strike fear into legislators, far better than academics–if they do it in numbers, w measured anger

Comment by Langhorne Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 4:50 pm
The U of I Alumni Association is overwhelmingly Republican. That’s your answer.

Comment by Filmmaker Professor Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 6:01 pm
FP—absolutely spot on.

Comment by Blue dog dem Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 7:47 pm
Filmmaker and BBD - you might very well be right - except for me!!!!

Comment by illini Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 8:09 pm
The University of Illinois alumni are engaged - just not in the state’s budget issues. The first result, and most recent hit of a Google news search of University of Illinois alumni:

“U. of I. alumni vent over sports woes”

Comment by Joe M Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 9:24 pm