The new state budget passed by the Illinois General Assembly and expected to be signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker will provide $655.2 million in general operating funds to the University of Illinois System for the coming fiscal year, as well as a $122 million increase for the Monetary Award Program (MAP), the state’s primary student financial aid program.
The state budget for the 2023 fiscal year, which begins July 1, will increase the U of I System appropriation by 5 percent over the current year.
The budget passed also applies an additional $28.1 million supplemental appropriation to the current fiscal year’s $622 million in state operating funds, essentially providing the fiscal year 2023 increase a year early.
U of I System President Tim Killeen called the increase a much-needed investment in public higher education and vital to the system’s ability to serve the people of Illinois.
“I am grateful that Gov. Pritzker and the members of the General Assembly see the value that the University of Illinois System provides to our more than 94,000 students, but also to the state as a whole,” Killeen said. “The additional funding represents a vote of confidence in our ability to serve the public in so many ways and to do it at scale – from the education that will change the lives of each of those students to the innovation that creates the kinds of jobs and opportunities needed to build a vibrant, sustainable economy for Illinois.”
The U of I System operating budget for the current fiscal year, which runs through June, is $7.18 billion. The system’s Board of Trustees will consider a budget for fiscal year ’23 later this year.
The just-approved state budget also includes the 27 percent increase in funding for MAP, raising the available funds to $601 million. MAP provides financial aid to Illinois college students, including more than 22,000 across the U of I System universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield.
The new state budget also reappropriated $1.36 billion for capital projects across the system. This includes $496.7 million for the system’s Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) and Discovery Partners Institute (DPI).
Capital funding also includes $862.5 million for ongoing construction projects, including $91.7 million for the Computer Design Research and Learning Center at the University of Illinois Chicago, $99.9 million for a new Data Science Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and $34.3 million for the new Library Learning Student Success Center at the University of Illinois Springfield.
Killeen said the new state appropriation and increased funding for financial aid were products of a strong partnership between Gov. Pritzker, lawmakers and the U of I System.
“We thank the governor and other elected leaders, including the U of I System Caucus, for their work over the past few weeks, and for their decision to support a budget that reflects the importance of the U of I System and public higher education,” Killeen said. “We look forward to continued partnership in the years ahead.”
