From September 22-25, the University of Illinois System leadership traveled to 12 stops across the state on its sixth annual state tour, speaking with students, educators, business leaders, government officials, and community members. This tour gives participants active opportunities for engaging in dialogue, strengthening partnerships, building new relationships, and celebrating established programs.

The tour carried a theme of "Invested in Illinois" — the U of I System is not just present in Illinois, but actively investing in its future and exploring opportunities to help our state thrive.

Throughout the group’s travels, U of I System President Tim Killeen stressed the importance of the system’s origins as an institution of public higher education and its ability to serve many people across every county in Illinois. Enrollment now tops 102,000 students, and system universities graduate more than 28,000 people a year.

“Our scale is important — it means we can impact more people. But without access to what we offer, there is no scale,” Killeen told attendees at a reception at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago. “Our commitment means roughly four in 10 of our in-state undergraduates have tuition and fees fully covered. Affordable, accessible education is part of the promise Illinois made when it created our institution in 1867, and we continue to keep it.”

The state tour stopped at Lindblom Math and Science Academy in Englewood, a neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. U of I System trustees and staff spoke to high school students, faculty, and administrators about the U of I System’s many benefits, including financial aid, college pathways, transfer opportunities, and student programs.

“I love seeing colleges turn out for the South Side,” Lindblom senior Kyleigh Jones said. “This is an opportunity a lot of high schools on the South Side don’t get. I felt seen by the U of I System.”

Jones plans to be a history teacher and is looking at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as an option.

“Hopefully, the University of Illinois System will come back again and again so that our students know that if they want a quality education, they can stay in Illinois,” said Lindblom Principal Starlet Banks, a proud Urbana alumna. “Everything they need is right here.”

Along the tour, U of I System leaders also:

• Joined the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce for a forward-looking conversation on research, healthcare innovation, civic leadership, AI/Quantum, and workforce readiness, and how university-business partnership can help Illinois lead its next economic transformation.
• Held a discussion on health and workforce pathways with Englewood community leaders, local elected officials, and Kennedy-King College in Chicago.
• Engaged with students and school leadership at Southland College Prep in Richton Park.
• Filmed an “In the Arena” segment for WTVP, and a panel discussion with renowned scientist Marty Burke, University of Illinois Chicago Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda, and President Killeen, including community and business leaders at Distillery Labs in Peoria.
• Experienced a live virtual physics lesson, discussed the Illinois Virtual Course Catalog and sustainable funding for statewide access, and heard from district leaders at North Mac High School in Virden.
• Held three receptions recognizing the work of legislators at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Eckert’s Cider Shed in Belleville, and Distillery Labs in Peoria for alumni, civic, education, business, and community leadership.
• Visited NPR Illinois at the University of Illinois Springfield for a live discussion attended by government, civic, and business leaders.

See photos from the 2026 Leadership State Tour

Engagement with communities and high schools throughout the state gave U of I System leaders a chance to continue building strong partnerships, learning about each entity’s vision for collaboration and what they deem important and valuable. Each stop reaffirmed to students that the system’s universities are accessible and affordable.

In Metro East, U of I System leaders met with community leaders to discuss the Rural Health Transformation Program. The discussion took leaders to an affordable housing development called Vivian’s Village, along with a stop at SIFH Healthcare. These partnerships further strengthen the system’s commitment to addressing rural healthcare needs.

Dr. Terrance Jordan, superintendent of Springfield Public Schools District 186, welcomed the leaders to Lanphier High School, where a panel of students asked them about preparing for the college experience.

Jordan said students benefitted not only from the profiles of the system’s three universities, but also from the inspiration to believe in themselves. “I love how the leaders were so encouraging and told the students to just take a chance and apply, go to college.”

Jordan hopes the students return to Springfield after college graduation and bring their skills and knowledge to their community. “Investing in Illinois means the system is invested in everyone — youth, community, seniors, colleges, the education system — not just the university system. You’re providing resources and support that make our communities thrive.”