WIU president attends state hearings on appropriations - Lainie Steelman, McDonoughVoice

As Western Illinois University budgets for $128 million in state appropriations for the 2014-15 fiscal year, administrators are appearing at Illinois General Assembly budget appropriation hearings this week and next. On Thursday, WIU President Jack Thomas and others attended the House budget appropriation hearing and testified on the university's financial pressures. "For us, we always say that the main pressure has to do with the cash flow situation," Thomas said Friday. "Right now, the state owes us a little over $26.1 million for the state appropriation and about $6.1 million for MAP funding. Other states get their state appropriation up front, and this hinders us in terms of our planning and reaching our goals and vision that we have for this university." http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/article/20140301/NEWS/140309955/1001/NEWS