Pritzker proposes spending over $2 billion on Illinois colleges and universities

[February 12, 2022]  By Kevin Bessler

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been making the rounds touting his $2.2 billion proposed investment in Illinois colleges and universities.

It is a familiar theme around the country. Governors in many states, including California, Kentucky, Missouri and Colorado, have proposed overall increases to state higher education appropriations for fiscal year 2023.

In Illinois, the budget proposal includes a 5% increase for state universities and community colleges over last year.

“Reliable state funding allows us to be confident in our planning process, between years, and provide our students with a world-class education at an affordable price,” said Terri Goss-Kinzy, president of Illinois State University.

Tuition for one year at Illinois State is $15,319, not including room and board.

Pritzker said his three goals for higher education affordability were increasing Monetary Award Program (MAP) funding by 50%, making Illinois a top five state in federal student aid, and increasing the state’s support for higher education as a whole.

The budget proposal would appropriate an additional $122 million for MAP grants, $2.5 million in new funding for adult education programs and $2.3 million in new funding for minority teacher scholarships.

“More than 6,400 additional degree-seeking low-income students could be offered grants who wouldn’t have qualified previously,” said Eric Zarnikow, executive director of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. “MAP grant size could increase by an average of 20%, significantly improving the purchasing power of MAP and increasing the chance that a student will enroll, persist and graduate with less debt.”
 

The budget also calls for eliminating the remaining liabilities for the state’s beleaguered and now defunct pre-paid tuition program, College Illinois, at a cost of $230 million.

“My latest budget proposes to pay off the entire remaining liabilities, keeping our promise to thousands of families and saving taxpayers $75 million in future accruals,” said Pritzker.

The budget proposal now goes to the Illinois General Assembly for consideration. If authorized by lawmakers and signed by the governor, the proposed $45.5 billion budget would go into effect on July 1, 2022.