U of I Employees Safe From Possible Government Shutdown, Officials Say
In this April 28, 2014 photo, students walk past the Alma Mater statue, a landmark on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana. (AP Photo/David Mercer)
The University of Illinois will be able to continue operating, even in the case of a possible state government shutdown.
Governor Bruce Rauner and Democratic leaders in the General Assembly are engaged in a budgetary stalemate, and with 20 days left until the next fiscal year, the state’s comptroller says her office could cease payments come July first.
But U of I spokesman Tom Hardy says the university and its employees wouldn’t be immediately affected.
"We have reserves in place," he said. "We have various sources of funds that we can utilize and so I don't think there's anticipation right now of some point where we wouldn't be able to fulfill our financial obligations."
Hardy declined to go into detail on the school’s contingency plans, but says he's confident a budget compromise will be reached.
Comptroller Leslie Munger will be in Champaign Friday to lay out more possible doomsday scenarios.