Presidents of Illinois' nine public universities say going four months without money is putting their institutions "at the brink of serious operational damage."  On Thursday, some of them pleaded their case in private meetings with Governor Bruce Rauner.

Wes Lunt threw for 316 yards in interim coach Bill Cubit's second straight win to open the season. It was the Illini's first shutout since a 44-0 win over Charleston Southern three years ago.

Records show that a shell company linked to GOP Congressman Aaron Schock paid a political donor $300,000 last year for a commercial property in Peoria, then took out a $600,000 mortgage for the property from a local bank run by other donors.

The heads of EIU, SIU, and WIU warned a House panel of what Gov. Rauner's suggested 31-percent cut in state support would mean to their schools.