WIU to lay off 110 staffers due to lack of state budget

MACOMB, Ill. (AP) - The president of Western Illinois University says the school will lay off 110 non-instructional staffers because of the lack of state budget.

The Quincy Herald-Whig reports (http://bit.ly/1SCEKby ) that WIU President Jack Thomas made the announcement Wednesday in a letter to the Macomb campus. The employees who will be laid off are to receive a 30-day notice within the next week.

Thomas said in the letter that the layoffs are necessary "to protect the university's cash resources." He says that without state money WIU "will face even greater financial challenges."

In February WIU said it would cut $20 million from its budget.

The state of Illinois has been operating without a current fiscal year budget since July due to an impasse between GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic leaders in the state Legislature.

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Information from: The Quincy Herald-Whig, http://www.whig.com