State commission says Illinois underfunds public universities by $1.4 billion

A state commission created in 2021 has issued a new report calculating that public universities in Illinois are underfunded by approximately $1.4 billion.

It found that dedicating an added $100 million to $135 million annually to public universities would allow the state to bridge the funding gap in 10-15 years.

Without state funding the financial burden has fallen on students. Ralph Martire, the executive director at the left-leaning Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, said the amount of operational funding covered by the state has decreased from 72 percent covered in 2002 to 35 percent in 2021.

Read more from Capitol News Illinois.

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