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* From the AFT…
Northeastern Illinois University has shut down for spring break. The school says the closing, for the week of March 20, is a necessary move to ensure there will be enough money to stay open the rest of the year. […]
NEIU has finally reached a breaking point. The campus is shuttered for the week: computer labs, the writing center, the library—all closed. Only police and building engineers are on call. More than 1,000 employees will be furloughed, forced to take a week without pay. Worse, about 300 students who rely on their campus jobs will be out of work too. […]
Universities across the state have already laid off hundreds of employees. They’ve also furloughed staff before; last year at NEIU, it was one unpaid day a week for six weeks. At Chicago State University, 900 faculty, staff and administrators got layoff notices last year and more than one-third of the employees are currently laid off, including instructors, tenured and tenure-track faculty, and student-support professionals. Enrollment there has dropped by half, as the school’s status has become increasingly unstable.
Eastern Illinois University has laid off 177 support staff and instructors and is now moving to eliminate academic programs. Governors State University has cut 22 programs and hiked tuition by 15 percent, with additional program eliminations expected. Western Illinois University has laid off more than 100 instructors, including tenure-track faculty, and an additional 100-plus noninstructional employees, and has forced pay deferrals and furloughs. The schools have all deferred maintenance, cut travel budgets and begun to spend their reserves. And students all over the state are worried about their Monetary Award Program, or MAP, grants—need-based state aid grants that have not been funded for the current academic year. Without the grants, designed for the lowest-income and most disadvantaged students, many will be unable to enroll.
* Perhaps the governor should consider all the small businesses operating in college towns…
Officially proclaimed today Small Business Development Center Day in IL in support of SBDCs & the great work they do! #SBDCDay @IllinoisDCEO pic.twitter.com/Dku0wBvxMB
— Bruce Rauner (@GovRauner) March 22, 2017
* Not to mention that several of those SBDCs have closed during the impasse. From last September…
Springfield’s fiscal mess continues to rack up victims: small-business development centers on college campuses around the state, which are shutting their doors or retrenching because of funding shortfalls.
About a quarter have closed, the latest at Governors State University in south suburban University Park, which is going the way of abandoned locations at Joliet Junior College, Illinois State University in Normal and Waubonsee Community College in Aurora.
For three decades, the centers have been a free resource for fledgling entrepreneurs starting companies or trying to keep them going. Juicy Luzy Sangria owner Luz Cavazos is opening a 1,500-square-foot plant in Oak Lawn with $20,000 from small-business lender Accion and said it wouldn’t have happened had Governors State’s SBDC not helped draft a business plan.
Once numbering 36 statewide, the centers typically serve a few hundred clients each and cost in the neighborhood of $200,000 annually to operate. They’re jointly funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and matching state funds; some directors said schools chip in an amount equal to three-quarters of the state match through employee salaries and in-kind contributions.
But the state budget standoff during fiscal 2016 upended the equation. Colleges and universities had to front money to keep the centers open, and several gave up. The stopgap budget approved in late June to keep state government afloat through the end of the year did not include current-year earmarks for SBDCs.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 2:21 pm
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At no time in Illinois’ history has a governor refused to fund higher education or a Governor thought not fully funding higher education an option since Illinois higher education funding began in 1850s.
#RaunerLegacy
But… the Rauner Library and Rauner Dormatoty exists at Dartmouth.
#RaunerChoices
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 2:28 pm
Job creators get excited about eliminating possibilities for continuing education for the workforce.
Social Darwinism creates economic growth.
Tossing people onto unemployment creates jobs.
Gutting Downstate higher ed will stop rural depopulation.
Just trying to match up Rauner rhetoric with reality.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 2:29 pm
This issue presents a natural opening for Chris Kennedy.
Comment by Downstate Dem Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 2:37 pm
Hope the democratic governor candidates can keep it civil; if they do, Rauner’s money might not buy him the election next time….
Comment by downstate commissioner Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 2:37 pm
Silly people, Rauner is trying to help small business by ensuring wages will remain low. People with a higher education expects to get paid more. /s
Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 2:40 pm
Rauner is using the Trump playbook more and more. Make bizarre and contradictory statements and take actions that so confuse the public that they walk away dizzy and disgusted and just give up.
Comment by don the legend Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 2:48 pm
Nr/Ms Norseman
BigBrain is helpin’ small biz by keepin’ wages small. Zaniest idea ever
Comment by Annonin' Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 2:50 pm
Willy and Wordslinger nailed it!
Comment by illini Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 2:58 pm
Perhaps the universities should have been consultants on the new state computer system. /s
Comment by Demise Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:02 pm
Not funding SBDC is boneheaded and plain bad business.
It takes money away from colleges.
It takes money away from centers that were responsible for 493 new business starts and expansions, 6,983 new jobs and $15.8M in tax revenues. (If one believes the Guv’s tweetin)
And it forgoes Federal funds - free money!
Businessman Guv hits the trifecta on this one.
Comment by Henry Francis Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:03 pm
“…small-business development centers on college campuses around the state, which are shutting their doors…”
Heck of a way to “Bring Back Illinois”.
Comment by Dance Band on the Titanic Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:06 pm
Just what exactly do the Rauners support about education? What good does it do to support early childhood education if you want to pull the rug from K-12 and higher ed? The Rauners only support public education if it is essentially made private but paid for with public money.
Comment by Johnnie F. Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:09 pm
Given the behavior of this so called governor (exactly what has he done for the betterment of ILlinois and her citizens?), Barney the Dinosaur could challenge him in the next election and win.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:09 pm
Love EIU. It’s basically a feeder school for central IL. Books are rented not bought. Small classes, hometown feel for reasonable price.
Comment by eiu grad Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:14 pm
Chicago can survive the economic damage caused by big cuts at Northeastern and Chicago State. Charleston, Macomb, Carbondale, etc. cannot. Hopefully Downstaters are realizing the damage Rauner is doing.
Comment by TLR Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:16 pm
Northeastern Illinois University currently has an interim president. The prior president was a good person and a thoughtful administrator who economized to limit the impact of the budget impasse. After the stop gap plan was passed, she chose to retire rather than go through the whole ordeal again during the next session.
Comment by W Flag Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:18 pm
Although Rauner is intending to inflict as much damage as possible to certain higher ed facilities, once he takes in the devastation to businesses in the area, he’ll rethink. One thing to destroy Education and those involved in it, quite another to hurt those who make the world go round
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:23 pm
…..as if there were absolutely no correlation between those two.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:23 pm
@TLR - ” Hopefully Downstaters are realizing the damage Rauner is doing.”
Unfortunately most downstate voters are oblivious to the “squeeze the beast” agenda that is being implemented. But not all of us!
Comment by illini Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:24 pm
This is why people are leaving the state. My wife and I will be leaving. Our reason: Illinois is looking more and more like West Virginia. Illinois is on its way to becoming the Appalachia of the Midwest.
Comment by illinoised Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:25 pm
Chicago State is sui generis. No other public university in Illinois has been so badly mismanaged or used as patronage dump. I am not aware of any other university that gets a percentage of the Lottery revenue simply to try to keep the campus afloat. It is unseemly that the former university president is still running around CSU trying to protect his overpaid cronies and blaming Rauner and Vallas for his misconduct that damaged the university.
Comment by Walter Concrete Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:29 pm
Winning, right christine and jim?
You arent leaders. You are rauners tools
Just resign
Comment by Langhorne Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:36 pm
–Officially proclaimed today Small Business Development Center Day in IL in support of SBDCs & the great work they do! –
–Springfield’s fiscal mess continues to rack up victims: small-business development centers on college campuses around the state, which are shutting their doors or retrenching because of funding shortfalls.–
The dude has a real twisted sense of humor. Way creepy.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:52 pm
Brutal, provocative comment from Langhorne.
One does wonder when the heck Jim and Chris will emerge from the fog and say “Bruce - you’re hurting us.”
Comment by Handle Bar Mustache Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:54 pm
“One does wonder when the heck Jim and Chris will emerge from the fog”
Perhaps when the $50 million “hammer” is no longer hanging over their heads.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 4:04 pm
- Handle Bar -
Christine and Jim are bystanders…leaders in name only. It’s not there fault — there are 50 millions reasons why their members follow the governor and not them. I suppose they could resign rather than be eunuchs, but that wouldn’t really accomplish anything.
Comment by Roman Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 4:09 pm
Morale is low where I work. We feel undervalued. We see our student enrollment numbers dropping. We see the impact on the community. We see the economic impact statewide. We have do not understand why Rauner feels destroying our higher education infrastructure is going to improve Illinois.
Comment by Illinoised Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 4:21 pm
They will emerge from their fog when they fear their constituents more than they do that $50 million.
Comment by Former hillrod Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 4:22 pm
“Perhaps the universities should have been consultants on the new state computer system. /s”
————-
You’ve obviously never used many of the computer systems in place at most of the 4 year state universities. If they ever lost the ability to use MS Access / Excel, it’s likely nothing would ever get done anywhere.
I’ve seen more strange, totally obsolete, orphaned databases run on software that I’ve never even heard of at State universities. Oh, the stories….
Comment by Judgment Day Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 4:24 pm
==Unfortunately most downstate voters are oblivious to the “squeeze the beast” agenda that is being implemented. But not all of us!==
Agreed. Many downstate conservatives do not pay attention to state and local politics so they just default to what they know about federal and just ape the same lines they pick up from talk shows.
Comment by Nikolas Name Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 4:45 pm
Don’t forget, it is just not the 4 years that are suffering. The two years are also in bad shape, laying off faculty and staff, forcing remaining staff to take furlough days, and burning through their reserves. Two years have more than half of all Illinois college students.
Comment by G'Kar Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 7:02 pm
Without taking away anything from the success of the SBDC Program over the years or the current problems, it is a fair statement to say that some of the Uni “Match” was a lot softer than what one might expect. I saw the funding requests and the books for six years, so I’m not talking out my nose.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 9:02 pm
Thanks Rich for bringing attention to the damage done to SBDCs in Illinois. They are one of the best (free!) resources for small business owners, and those who want to become one… but aren’t allowed to advertise.
As noted above, federal money covers a great percentage of their cost, and all they do is help the community.
Comment by Vote Quimby! Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 10:21 pm
I think Rauner may have provided the blueprint for the Trump presidency. Lie like crazy and whistle past the graveyard. The GOP has become a party composed almost entirely of ignoramuses who almost exclusively do damage to anything they touch.
Comment by Chucktownian Thursday, Mar 23, 17 @ 7:08 am