Grappling with the Illinois budget mess - Ave Rio, Vidette Online

November 1 marked the fourth month without a state budget. Universities across Illinois have had to plan funding without definitive knowledge of money appropriation from the state. A University administrator said it will likely not be until month six, January, until a budget is agreed upon. “It’s affecting us mostly in the uncertainty in our planning,” Vice President for Finance and Planning Greg Alt said. Without an official state budget, Illinois State University has had to plan for all scenarios, including Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s first proposal of a 31 percent budget cut to higher education — that’s $22.9 million at ISU. “We’ve had to continually be much more contingent in our spending,” Alt said. Typically, universities receive state payments by early fall. Alt said the state has been late in payments in past years, but this time it is different. http://www.videtteonline.com/index.php/2015/11/01/grappling-with-the-budget-mess/