Universities on budget chopping block

The presidents of the University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University are telling state Senators this morning what a 10 percent budget cut would mean to their schools. It's part of a hearing examining the effects of across the board cuts to the bigger state agencies that account for more than half of the state's operating budget.

Stan Ikenberry, head of the U of I, said the cuts proposed would mean a $74 million cut in state support to that university's campuses. For perspective, he said that is the amount of support combined for Illinois' Springfield campus, law school, med school campuses, dental school and college of education.

Glenn Poshard said such a cut would immediately trigger a 15 percent layoff across the SIU campuses, something he said is “not practical, prudent nor possible.”

The underlying but publicly unmentioned goal of today's discussion in a Senate budget committee -- discussion that will carry over to tomorrow -- is to focus political ire on state Sen. Bill Brady, a Bloomington Republican and the likely GOP nominee for governor. On the campaign trail, he's denounced tax increases and called for across the board 10 percent cuts.

The Democrats who control the General Assembly are now giving members and the public a taste of what Brady's budget would do. So far, the state's two largest public universities are describing layoffs, program cuts and double-digit tuition increases, which will further drive up the costs of a degree.