> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • Student Success Resource Center
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
Ticker circle logo

The Ticker

Breaking news from all corners of academe.

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

2 Public Colleges in Illinois Announce More Layoffs and Cuts

By  Sarah Brown
February 26, 2016

Two public colleges in Illinois announced additional belt-tightening measures this week as they enter their ninth month without state funding due to a budget impasse in the legislature.

The most alarming news came from Chicago State University, which sent notices of possible layoffs to all 900 of its employees on Friday. It’s not yet clear how many faculty and staff members could lose their jobs.

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

Two public colleges in Illinois announced additional belt-tightening measures this week as they enter their ninth month without state funding due to a budget impasse in the legislature.

The most alarming news came from Chicago State University, which sent notices of possible layoffs to all 900 of its employees on Friday. It’s not yet clear how many faculty and staff members could lose their jobs. According to the Chicago Tribune, the university’s president, Thomas J. Calhoun Jr., said the campus would still hold classes this summer and fall.

Chicago State announced last month that it would be unable to meet payroll in March unless lawmakers passed a budget. Officials later declared financial exigency, and they said on Wednesday that the university would end the semester early to ensure that its students could finish the academic year.

Western Illinois University officials said on Friday that the institution would trim $20 million from its operating expenses over the next two years, lay off 100 faculty and staff members, and begin a hiring freeze. The university had announced late last year that it would lay off 50 faculty members. That list included a dozen with tenure, although officials later said tenured professors’ jobs were safe for the time being.

Moody’s Investors Service this week downgraded the credit ratings of Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, and Eastern Illinois University. Eastern Illinois dropped to junk-bond status. A Moody’s analyst said in a statement that the university’s “liquid reserves are expected to be exhausted by the end of the fiscal year,” in July.

ADVERTISEMENT

Although the state’s public colleges are becoming increasingly desperate for money, the budget deadlock shows no sign of letting up. Bruce V. Rauner, Illinois’s Republican governor, vetoed a bill last week that would have provided $721 million for community colleges and the state’s low-income grant program.

Sarah Brown
Sarah Brown is The Chronicle’s news editor. Follow her on Twitter @Brown_e_Points, or email her at sarah.brown@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin