Western Illinois University Hoping for Higher Education Funding - RICH EGGER, Peoria Public Radio

Many state lawmakers in Illinois are in campaign mode right now. And that means nothing is being done about the state budget. Lawmakers and the Governor agreed to a stop-gap spending measure at the end of June. It will keep state government services running until early January. But it’s been nearly a year-and-a-half since the state had a true budget. Western Illinois University President Jack Thomas says the lack of a budget creates a great deal of uncertainty for state agencies and social service providers that rely on state funding. Despite that, Thomas says there seems to be no sense of urgency from lawmakers. “Legislators, even in my testimonies, they say that they understand. But you don’t see any actions. So we’re going to continue to put the pressure on and encourage them.” http://peoriapublicradio.org/post/western-illinois-university-hoping-higher-education-funding