University of Illinois resolution urges end to budget battle

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) - University of Illinois trustees are set to vote on a resolution urging state lawmakers to end an impasse and pass a budget.

The resolution set for a vote Thursday urges immediate adoption of a state budget. It also says the university has taken steps to cut spending and plan for "shared sacrifice" in light of the state's financial challenges, The (Champaign) News-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1O3WPQ5 ) reports.

Illinois colleges have gone without state funding since July 1. University of Illinois President Tim Killeen told a state House committee Tuesday that the university is going through cash reserves at a rate of $75 million per month, and that the university would be "very different" if there's still no budget next spring.

"If we go through May next year then you will see a very different University of Illinois," he said. "It will no longer be a top 25 university which we can point to with pride. I can tell you that."

University of Illinois students who get need-based financial aid from the state were told in a mass email Tuesday they might be billed for part of their grants next semester if lawmakers fail to fund the Monetary Award Program.

Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson told more than 6,000 MAP grant recipients in the email that the Urbana-Champaign campus would cover $13 million in grants for the spring. But she said students might have to repay it if the budget impasse continues.

Wilson wrote that officials believe the scenario is "highly unlikely," and that the university financial aid office would work with students to explore other funding options.

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Information from: The News-Gazette, http://www.news-gazette.com