State undermines its future by shortchanging higher education funding - Ted Slowik, Daily

"Cuts to Illinois' higher education system are making college less affordable and threatening the quality of education students receive at the state's public four-year and community colleges," the CBPP says. "Having a highly educated workforce is critical to our economic future, and we need a strong and high-quality higher education system to make that happen. Ensuring adequate investment in our state's colleges and universities requires that policymakers make sound decisions about how to raise and use resources and avoid shortsighted tax cuts." I think it's important to note that while the stopgap budget provided about $1 billion for higher education, state universities will only receive 82 percent to 90 percent of funding they received in 2015. Plus, the temporary budget is only good through Dec. 31 (except for K-12 education). Colleges and universities still face uncertainty in the middle of the current academic year. http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/opinion/ct-sta-slowik-higher-ed-st-1002-20160930-story.html