Why Illinois should increase investments in higher education

In the past 25 years, who pays for college in Illinois has changed dramatically. It used to be that “we the people” footed most of the bill — a strong public investment in the future of our state’s people and economy. And a situation that meant many middle class families could help their kids go to a university without the burden of student loans.
 
Today, the buying power of what Illinois invests in higher education is dramatically lower than it was in the year 2000 and beyond that, there’s also a move in the General Assembly to change how that smaller pie is apportioned. At present, the University of Illinois System  gets more state funding than every other public university combined.
 
The push is to mimic the K-12 Evidence-Based Funding model, which would calculate what each university needs based on student demographics and program costs, with an emphasis on equity. The bottom line is that — when new money would go to higher education — a lot less of it would go to the U. of I. than in the past. On top of that, the Trump administration is looking to significantly cut federal funding for higher education. A policy expert from a think tank argues Illinois should be significantly increasing investment in higher education.

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Elaine Gaberik 
Director of Policy Analysis, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability