Stepping back into the Illinois state political bull-ring reluctantly, but it needs to be discussed.

By now, all of us, or those of us who care, have heard or seen what Governor Rauner is proposing for the new Illinois budget. Massive cuts in Medicaid, moving state pensions into a lower level than they've been, and, most important for NIU, big cuts in funding to the state's universities.

Shocking? Probably. A lot of people will be pissed off, but instead of being pissed off at the Governor, I'm more pissed off at the people who put the state in such a huge s***-hole to begin with. The state has dug itself a bigger and bigger s***-hole when it comes to the budget the last 20 years ever since Jim Edgar left office. That goes for Republicans and Democrats alike.

I give the Governor credit for at least being honest about the budget situation and not trying to pass it off as a small issue like others have done in the past. Doesn't mean I agree with everything he's proposing, but I give him props for not sugar-coating or bull-s***ting us.

This won't be the finished budget because at the moment the Governor doesn't have the legislative backing to pass it: I believe the Democrats have veto proof majorities in both houses of the General Assembly.

You'll hear the usual "I can't believe he's proposing this!" from the opposition, but if the Governor is smart, what he should do is say to the Democrats, "I'm willing to talk about this. Come up with a decent counter-proposal and new ideas for me.". It would be interesting to see what they come up with.

Lastly, I'm still not sorry to say I voted for the Governor last November. It sucks now, but I doubt Pat Quinn would've been as honest and up-front about it.

Let's see where this goes...

You cant tax your way out of this mess. Need a governmental overhaul.

Rauner proposes $29.3M state funding cut to NIU

http://northernstar.info/campus/rauner-p...7503d.html

Here is a good visual from NS.

I am all for cuts but hope some internal governmental cuts happen more so than something like higher ed.

Those of us that can donate to NIU will be all the more important to actually do so.

(02-19-2015 03:04 PM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  I am all for cuts but hope some internal governmental cuts happen more so than something like higher ed.

Those of us that can donate to NIU will be all the more important to actually do so.

There's gonna have to be some cuts in funding to higher ed no matter what, the toxic fiscal situation essentially guarantees it.

I actually think this'll be one of the few things the opposition doesn't oppose when it comes to the proposed budget.

So far I really have no issue with anything Rauner has done. His budget proposal is pissing off almost everyone, typically a good sign IMO. Certainly we will all feel the impact...hopefully equally.

https://www.illinoispolicy.org/bruce-rau...t-30-days/

Everyone has to make sacrifices. As for me, I hope to be out of this state in a few years. I don't like that it has come to that, but it sucks here.

(02-19-2015 05:32 PM)BleedsHuskieRed Wrote:  Everyone has to make sacrifices. As for me, I hope to be out of this state in a few years. I don't like that it has come to that, but it sucks here.

Same, though there are other factors that are a part of it.

I looked around at how this is going to impact the other schools in comparison to NIU.

The proposed cuts are $29.3 mil for NIU, $209mil for UofI, $44 mil fro SIUC and $23 mil for IL St.

(02-20-2015 09:42 AM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  I looked around at how this is going to impact the other schools in comparison to NIU.

The proposed cuts are $29.3 mil for NIU, $209mil for UofI, $44 mil fro SIUC and $23 mil for IL St.

Can you put that into a percentage of their total funding from previous years? Be interesting to see how that balances out.

(02-20-2015 09:45 AM)BarsemaBone2 Wrote:  

(02-20-2015 09:42 AM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  I looked around at how this is going to impact the other schools in comparison to NIU.

The proposed cuts are $29.3 mil for NIU, $209mil for UofI, $44 mil fro SIUC and $23 mil for IL St.

Can you put that into a percentage of their total funding from previous years? Be interesting to see how that balances out.

It is 31.5% for everyone.


Also found NEIU's 31.5% is 7.55mil

For some reason I cannot find UIC's 31.5%...but I can find articles where they are concerned about the proposed cuts, so they are included.

(02-20-2015 10:22 AM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  

(02-20-2015 09:45 AM)BarsemaBone2 Wrote:  

(02-20-2015 09:42 AM)HuskieJohn Wrote:  I looked around at how this is going to impact the other schools in comparison to NIU.

The proposed cuts are $29.3 mil for NIU, $209mil for UofI, $44 mil fro SIUC and $23 mil for IL St.

Can you put that into a percentage of their total funding from previous years? Be interesting to see how that balances out.

It is 31.5% for everyone.

That's good. At least everyone is treated equally.

I do not see this passing. There is no way that the universities can take that kind of a hit and keep their doors open unless programs are cut and staff/faculty are laid off. The state is slow pay and has owed the universities millions for quite some time. My guess is that this will end up around a 20% decrement, which is bad enough. We already have enough students leaving the state. This will make it worse.

(02-20-2015 10:46 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  I do not see this passing. There is no way that the universities can take that kind of a hit and keep their doors open unless programs are cut and staff/faculty are laid off. The state is slow pay and has owed the universities millions for quite some time. My guess is that this will end up around a 20% decrement, which is bad enough. We already have enough students leaving the state. This will make it worse.

I agree it'll be bad for the universities and the staff/faculty, but as I said, of all the cuts in the proposed budget, I think this is the one that will stick. The reason? The state government and General Assembly, both Democrat and Republican alike, has shown the last decade that keeping the universities adequately funded isn't a high priority for them. The only reason NIU got the $$ that was promised for Cole Hall and Stevens Hall was because Peters kept haggling Blago & Quinn about it.

(02-20-2015 11:05 AM)BarsemaBone2 Wrote:  

(02-20-2015 10:46 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  I do not see this passing. There is no way that the universities can take that kind of a hit and keep their doors open unless programs are cut and staff/faculty are laid off. The state is slow pay and has owed the universities millions for quite some time. My guess is that this will end up around a 20% decrement, which is bad enough. We already have enough students leaving the state. This will make it worse.

I agree it'll be bad for the universities and the staff/faculty, but as I said, of all the cuts in the proposed budget, I think this is the one that will stick. The reason? The state government and General Assembly, both Democrat and Republican alike, has shown the last decade that keeping the universities adequately funded isn't a high priority for them. The only reason NIU got the $$ that was promised for Cole Hall and Stevens Hall was because Peters kept haggling Blago & Quinn about it.

If this goes through, it will definitely accelerate my departure from this state.

No doubt there needs to be spending cuts - everywhere. But you do not hit the universities with a 31.5% decrement. Especially when they have been operating on less every year. Start small and build it up, forcing them to become more efficient with less. However, there always seems to be enough money for the politicians to fill their pockets.

(02-20-2015 11:21 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(02-20-2015 11:05 AM)BarsemaBone2 Wrote:  

(02-20-2015 10:46 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  I do not see this passing. There is no way that the universities can take that kind of a hit and keep their doors open unless programs are cut and staff/faculty are laid off. The state is slow pay and has owed the universities millions for quite some time. My guess is that this will end up around a 20% decrement, which is bad enough. We already have enough students leaving the state. This will make it worse.

I agree it'll be bad for the universities and the staff/faculty, but as I said, of all the cuts in the proposed budget, I think this is the one that will stick. The reason? The state government and General Assembly, both Democrat and Republican alike, has shown the last decade that keeping the universities adequately funded isn't a high priority for them. The only reason NIU got the $$ that was promised for Cole Hall and Stevens Hall was because Peters kept haggling Blago & Quinn about it.

If this goes through, it will definitely accelerate my departure from this state.

No doubt there needs to be spending cuts - everywhere. But you do not hit the universities with a 31.5% decrement. Especially when they have been operating on less every year. Start small and build it up, forcing them to become more efficient with less. However, there always seems to be enough money for the politicians to fill their pockets.

That, in conjunction with reckless spending and the loss of tax revenue through people and businesses leaving the state due to Illinois already having one of the nation's highest tax rates, is probably the big reason for this crisis. I'd like to see it hit the universities less, but given the current situation, and the Governor's promise not to raise property & income taxes, which are already high to begin with, I don't think there's an alternative. They've already put off fixing the budget for years and that's only exacerbated the situation.

Of course, when you think about it, the current Governor is probably the only person in Springfield who doesn't fit the model of a crooked politician lining their pockets off of the taxes of the state citizens, because he's already a billionaire. Doesn't mean he won't be, but it's interesting to consider.

Other donors probably received this, but here's Dr. Baker's statement on the proposed budget.

Quote:The start of the state budget debate

On Wednesday, Gov. Bruce Rauner presented state legislators his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016 during his first budget address. While it was not specifically mentioned in the address, the proposed budget includes a significant 31.5 percent reduction in the state’s appropriation for public universities.

For Northern Illinois University, the governor’s proposed budget would mean a $29.2 million reduction in state support, dropping the state’s contribution to NIU’s budget from $93.1 million to $63.8 million.

The financial systems we have put in place over the past year and the significant contingency planning we’ve done in advance of the governor’s budget proposal position us to better deal with the current situation. Still, the cuts proposed in the governor’s budget are of a magnitude well beyond anything we’ve ever dealt with and would have a serious impact on our ability to deliver on our mission.

I am thankful for the leadership of Nancy Suttenfield, who today concludes her service as interim chief financial officer, in this regard. The work she and her team have done to improve financial transparency, establish guiding principles for budgeting and financial planning and create an infrastructure to bring those principles to life have helped keep NIU affordable for students and families.

We have actively undertaken efforts to hold the line in terms of cost of attendance. Last year, by dropping room rates, NIU was able to hold that cost constant for students this academic year. A streamlined and simplified university pricing structure will result in a drop in cost of attendance this fall.

The governor’s budget proposal and the implications for the financial sustainability of higher education is a reminder of the important work on which we have embarked with the launch of our program prioritization effort. This effort to align our resources with our mission and vision will help ensure that we are delivering the programs that will facilitate the success for our students as well as faculty, staff and stakeholders.

In addition, it is apparent that we need to continue to look for ways to deliver our services in the most efficient manner possible. We will look for the best thinking across our university and in partnership with other schools to discover creative ways of dealing with this challenge. Our objective is to be good stewards of our public funding and to hold ourselves accountable not only to the state, but to our students, parents and other stakeholders. I want to reiterate our commitment to college affordability as we strive to minimize the effects of state reductions on tuition and fees.

The magnitude of the governor’s budget proposal puts stress on our institution and others that ultimately could affect affordability in terms of time to obtain a degree, the number of program offerings available and resources available to deliver these programs. Unfunded state mandates and less-than efficient state purchasing procedures, while well-intentioned, put additional strain on universities like ours.

It is important to note that the governor’s budget proposal reflects the reality of the state’s revenues as they are today, and does not contemplate additional revenue sources or borrowing. Similar to how we are addressing our own university financial situation, the state has to look at both revenues and expenses. Dealing with the state’s $6.2 billion structural deficit is not an easy task, and tough choices will need to be made.

This is just the beginning of a legislative process that will play out over the next few months. During that time, a great deal of discussion and negotiations will occur. In conjunction with our peer institutions and stakeholders, we will continue to make our case to the governor and the state legislature for the value of higher education and what we deliver to the State of Illinois. In late March, we will address the higher education appropriations committee to make our university’s case.

Higher education is critical to our state’s economic prosperity. Budget conversations offer the perfect opportunity to show the impact our institution has made not only in workforce training, but in improving college and career readiness for students through engagement efforts, partnerships with school districts and community colleges and in the state’s research and innovation ecosystem. We look forward to having those discussions about the value we provide to our region and state.

A frequently-asked-questions resource has been developed and will be posted online. We are committed to continuing to be transparent and timely in our communications about the FY 2016 budget and will update our state budget website with appropriate information moving forward.

Together Forward,

Doug

Couldn't have asked for a better response from the NIU President, IMO. [/align]

Its called government mismanagement. We still have the same people controlling the purse strings. The plan is you elect me and i will give your raises and nice benefits.

(02-20-2015 11:21 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(02-20-2015 11:05 AM)BarsemaBone2 Wrote:  

(02-20-2015 10:46 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  I do not see this passing. There is no way that the universities can take that kind of a hit and keep their doors open unless programs are cut and staff/faculty are laid off. The state is slow pay and has owed the universities millions for quite some time. My guess is that this will end up around a 20% decrement, which is bad enough. We already have enough students leaving the state. This will make it worse.

I agree it'll be bad for the universities and the staff/faculty, but as I said, of all the cuts in the proposed budget, I think this is the one that will stick. The reason? The state government and General Assembly, both Democrat and Republican alike, has shown the last decade that keeping the universities adequately funded isn't a high priority for them. The only reason NIU got the $$ that was promised for Cole Hall and Stevens Hall was because Peters kept haggling Blago & Quinn about it.

If this goes through, it will definitely accelerate my departure from this state.

No doubt there needs to be spending cuts - everywhere. But you do not hit the universities with a 31.5% decrement. Especially when they have been operating on less every year. Start small and build it up, forcing them to become more efficient with less. However, there always seems to be enough money for the politicians to fill their pockets.

The state of Wisconsin is trying to cut $300 million in funding to the University of Wisconsin.

Here is a Budget Presentation from President Baker presented yesterday (feb 25th)

http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews....46.pdf.pdf