PCC Executive Director, Kyle Southern, Ph.D., addressed the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) during a virtual testimony on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025.
In his remarks below, Dr. Southern discusses the challenges that Illinois’ public universities are currently facing as a result of fiscal restraints and federal-level policies, advocating for statewide policy implementation that would improve financial conditions for both Illinois’ higher education students and institutions.
Dear Chair Kothari, Vice Chair Herrero, Members of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Executive Director Ostro, and Dedicated IBHE Staff Members:
Our Illinois public universities are facing an emergency–one driven by a combination of fiscal constraints at the state level and extra-legal actions at the federal level that jeopardize both institutional stability and student success.
On May 31, the General Assembly passed the Fiscal Year 2026 state budget, which Governor Pritzker signed into law on June 16. The final budget provides only a 1% increase for public universities and a 1.5% increase for community colleges—well below the 3% originally proposed by the Governor and far short of the rate of inflation, the equivalent of a cut for our already underfunded colleges and universities. We recognize the constraints of a difficult budget year, but these limited increases fail to meet the moment. They leave behind the very institutions that have done the most to close equity gaps and expand opportunity for students marginalized by our educational and economic systems.
Photo by Robin Steans, Advance Illinois
The budget also authorizes 2% in discretionary higher education funding, which the Governor can release to respond to emerging needs. The need for action could not be more urgent. This summer, the federal government cut millions of dollars in support for Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs), Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)—funds essential to helping underrepresented students enroll, persist, and graduate. At the same time, the federal administration has withheld or slowed the release of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dollars, leaving countless low-income students uncertain about how they will afford food, housing, and basic needs this semester. Many of these same students rely on campus pantries or emergency aid funds that are already stretched thin.
Meanwhile, the federal government has brazenly cut grants to institutions, and it is now pressuring universities to sign a so-called Compact of Excellence for Higher Education—essentially conditioning funding on compliance with politically driven mandates. Our students and institutions cannot afford to be collateral damage in these battles. We cannot build a stronger Illinois on such an unstable foundation.
Now is the time for the state to step up. Illinois must use every tool available to sustain its higher education system—because an investment in Illinois higher education is an investment in Illinois’ economy and the future of our democracy.
Every public dollar invested in higher education pays dividends: higher lifetime earnings for graduates, increased tax revenues for the state, reduced dependence on social safety nets, and stronger local economies. Graduates of Illinois public universities become teachers, nurses, engineers, and small business owners. They buy homes, start families, and contribute to the state’s tax base. When students succeed, Illinois succeeds.
That’s why PCC and our partners are calling for an additional $71 million increase in the Monetary Award Program (MAP) for Fiscal Year 2027—to ensure affordability, stability, and access for every student, regardless of income or background.
Today, we are urging this Board to join us in calling on Governor Pritzker to release that 2% discretionary funding to Illinois public universities immediately. We urge that this additional 2% not only be released immediately, but that it is allocated based on the needs of institutions and their students. There are better ways to target universities that most need funding than the status quo, across-the-board approach. IBHE could use the latest estimations from the Adequate and Equitable Funding formula to give out funding to the universities with the greatest adequacy gaps between the amount of funding they need and the resources they have. The Board could dole out funding based on the percentage and number of Pell recipients that each institution enrolls, which IBHE has recommended in past years. Either of these methods would not only be more equitable, but it’d be a more effective use of taxpayer funding. Though allocating funding the way we have always done it may be the most politically expedient, Illinois must prioritize its most vulnerable students and the institutions that serve them.
And we continue to advance the Adequate and Equitable Funding Formula (SB13/HB1581), sponsored by Representative Carol Ammons and Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford. This legislation would finally ensure that state funding aligns with student need, institutional capacity, and equity—not outdated, across-the-board models that perpetuate disparities.
Our state’s universities are among Illinois’ most powerful economic drivers and greatest equalizers. They deserve investment, not austerity. The choices made in this moment will determine whether Illinois continues to lose talent—or builds a future where every student, regardless of race, income, or zip code, can achieve their full potential right here at home.
Thank you for your leadership, consideration, and continued partnership in ensuring Illinois’ higher education system remains a catalyst for opportunity and prosperity.
Dr. Southern Provides Public Comment at IBHE November Board Meeting
• Featured, PCC Blog, Public Policy, Staff • AEF, affordability, Equity, higher education, IBHE, MAP • Tags: AEF, affordability, Equity, higher education, IBHE, MAP
PCC Executive Director, Kyle Southern, Ph.D., addressed the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) during a virtual testimony on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025.
In his remarks below, Dr. Southern discusses the challenges that Illinois’ public universities are currently facing as a result of fiscal restraints and federal-level policies, advocating for statewide policy implementation that would improve financial conditions for both Illinois’ higher education students and institutions.
Dear Chair Kothari, Vice Chair Herrero, Members of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Executive Director Ostro, and Dedicated IBHE Staff Members:
Our Illinois public universities are facing an emergency–one driven by a combination of fiscal constraints at the state level and extra-legal actions at the federal level that jeopardize both institutional stability and student success.
On May 31, the General Assembly passed the Fiscal Year 2026 state budget, which Governor Pritzker signed into law on June 16. The final budget provides only a 1% increase for public universities and a 1.5% increase for community colleges—well below the 3% originally proposed by the Governor and far short of the rate of inflation, the equivalent of a cut for our already underfunded colleges and universities. We recognize the constraints of a difficult budget year, but these limited increases fail to meet the moment. They leave behind the very institutions that have done the most to close equity gaps and expand opportunity for students marginalized by our educational and economic systems.
The budget also authorizes 2% in discretionary higher education funding, which the Governor can release to respond to emerging needs. The need for action could not be more urgent. This summer, the federal government cut millions of dollars in support for Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs), Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)—funds essential to helping underrepresented students enroll, persist, and graduate. At the same time, the federal administration has withheld or slowed the release of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) dollars, leaving countless low-income students uncertain about how they will afford food, housing, and basic needs this semester. Many of these same students rely on campus pantries or emergency aid funds that are already stretched thin.
Meanwhile, the federal government has brazenly cut grants to institutions, and it is now pressuring universities to sign a so-called Compact of Excellence for Higher Education—essentially conditioning funding on compliance with politically driven mandates. Our students and institutions cannot afford to be collateral damage in these battles. We cannot build a stronger Illinois on such an unstable foundation.
Now is the time for the state to step up. Illinois must use every tool available to sustain its higher education system—because an investment in Illinois higher education is an investment in Illinois’ economy and the future of our democracy.
Every public dollar invested in higher education pays dividends: higher lifetime earnings for graduates, increased tax revenues for the state, reduced dependence on social safety nets, and stronger local economies. Graduates of Illinois public universities become teachers, nurses, engineers, and small business owners. They buy homes, start families, and contribute to the state’s tax base. When students succeed, Illinois succeeds.
That’s why PCC and our partners are calling for an additional $71 million increase in the Monetary Award Program (MAP) for Fiscal Year 2027—to ensure affordability, stability, and access for every student, regardless of income or background.
Today, we are urging this Board to join us in calling on Governor Pritzker to release that 2% discretionary funding to Illinois public universities immediately. We urge that this additional 2% not only be released immediately, but that it is allocated based on the needs of institutions and their students. There are better ways to target universities that most need funding than the status quo, across-the-board approach. IBHE could use the latest estimations from the Adequate and Equitable Funding formula to give out funding to the universities with the greatest adequacy gaps between the amount of funding they need and the resources they have. The Board could dole out funding based on the percentage and number of Pell recipients that each institution enrolls, which IBHE has recommended in past years. Either of these methods would not only be more equitable, but it’d be a more effective use of taxpayer funding. Though allocating funding the way we have always done it may be the most politically expedient, Illinois must prioritize its most vulnerable students and the institutions that serve them.
And we continue to advance the Adequate and Equitable Funding Formula (SB13/HB1581), sponsored by Representative Carol Ammons and Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford. This legislation would finally ensure that state funding aligns with student need, institutional capacity, and equity—not outdated, across-the-board models that perpetuate disparities.
Our state’s universities are among Illinois’ most powerful economic drivers and greatest equalizers. They deserve investment, not austerity. The choices made in this moment will determine whether Illinois continues to lose talent—or builds a future where every student, regardless of race, income, or zip code, can achieve their full potential right here at home.
Thank you for your leadership, consideration, and continued partnership in ensuring Illinois’ higher education system remains a catalyst for opportunity and prosperity.
Sincerely,
Kyle Southern, Ph.D.