79 Losing Jobs At Southern Illinois University As School Cuts Spending

Southern Illinois University in Carbondale is laying off 53 people and will not renew the contracts of another 26 employees as it tries to cut $19 million dollars in spending, spokeswoman Rae Goldsmith said Wednesday.

The university is making the cuts to deal with declining finances due to the state budget dispute and the school’s declining enrollment.

Those who will lose jobs include a range of civil service employees and non-tenured faculty, Goldsmith said. Their jobs will end July 1. Another 158 open positions will remain unfilled.

SIU will not cut back on classes it offers, though, Goldsmith said.

Illinois has gone almost two years without a full state budget. SIU received just six months of state funding during fiscal year 2017, which ends Wednesday.

SIU has cut about 400 positions since the last state budget in fiscal year 2015, Goldsmith said.

SIU's job cuts follow an announcement Tuesday that Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago will eliminate about 180 jobs this summer.