The University of Illinois Board of Trustees has approved a 2018 spending plan.

The Champaign Unit 4 School District has some good news after board members voted 7-0 to approve a new budget Monday night.

There were mixed results Wednesday in Springfield, when Illinois Senate Democrats went ahead with voting on the so-called “grand bargain”. It's been widely seen as the best hope for ending Illinois' nearly two-year budget stalemate. 

Mayor Diane Marlin says declining tax revenues mean Urbana’s general fund balance is in danger of falling below the 15% of recurring expenditures recommended by city policy guidelines. So she’s proposed a new $45.9 million city budget for fiscal year 2018, that includes spending cuts and a tax increase.

The Illinois House is set to return to Springfield this week. Policymakers are still puzzling through last week's budget proposal by Governor Bruce Rauner. That’s partly because the Rauner administration made a significant break with tradition.