The Spring 2025 legislative session concluded with meaningful progress on some of the toughest topics facing Illinois’ higher education system, but without the major reinvestments and policy changes the state needs to get more students to and through college.
The Partnership for College Completion (PCC) extends its gratitude to the Illinois General Assembly for its consideration of higher education through policies that expand access, promote equity, and support student success. While the session ended with both victories and ongoing challenges, there is no question that momentum has continued to build over the last several years toward a more equitable future for Illinois’ college students.
Advancing a New Funding Formula for Public Universities: SB13 and SB118
This session, PCC and our partners continued advocating for a long-overdue funding reform through the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act, originally introduced as HB1581/SB13.
Throughout this session, PCC led efforts to educate students, faculty, staff, legislators, and other residents about the historic impact the bill would have on Illinois’ higher education system and future economy. Through the Coalition for Transforming Higher Education Funding, PCC collaborated with partner organizations to host The Time Is Now: Equitably Funding Our Public Universities, a series of events dedicated to helping stakeholders and potential advocates across the state learn more about HB1581/SB13. These events started in Fall 2024 and went through Spring 2025. Additionally, PCC and the Coalition hosted a monumental 2025 Higher Education Advocacy Day in Springfield in early March. More than 200 people signed up to descend upon the state capitol to pressure state legislators to invest in higher education.
The Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act was also the focus of two subject matter hearings on both sides of the chamber, resulting in thousands of witness slips, and hundreds of phone calls and letters submitted in support of the bill. During the hearing, advocates, students, union representatives, and the majority of public universities came together to provide both data-backed testimonies and convey real-world implications of HB1581/SB13.
PCC leads this work because we know that all public universities and their students will benefit from the implementation of SB13/HB1581 and no university would lose funding. By both growing state investment in universities and ensuring all institutions benefit, the new funding model will enhance statewide programs, innovation, research and more, at every university. With that data-backed assertion, all but one of the state’s public universities and systems supports the bill. If Illinois commits to fully funding this formula over the next 15 years, PCC estimates the state will see 15,000 more university graduates every year, a powerful and necessary inflow of talent into our near-term future economy. These graduates would generate $692 million in new state tax revenue every year, save $156 million in spending on Medicaid, SNAP and incarceration, and spend $5.3 billion more in their local economies every year.
While the bill did not advance in either chamber this session, we are especially grateful to Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford and Representative Carol Ammons for their unwavering leadership in championing SB13/HB1581 and their leadership in advancing policy to support affordability, access, and accountability in Illinois higher education over many years. Their vision and persistence continue to lay the foundation for transformative change in Illinois higher education.
PCC looks forward to regrouping throughout the summer with legislators, partner organizations, and advocates to strategize and work toward passing the Adequate and Equitable Public University Funding Act.
This Year’s Budget Falls Short of Supporting Higher Education
On May 31, the legislature passed the Fiscal Year 2026 state budget, which Governor Pritzker signed into law on June 16. The final spending plan includes a 1% increase for Illinois public universities and a 1.5% increase for community colleges, lower figures than the governor’s proposed 3%. These appropriations will unfortunately fall short of keeping up with inflation this year. There is also 2% discretionary funding for higher education that was approved and can be deployed by the governor if he identifies the need based on needs from the dramatic and ongoing changes in the federal policy landscape or other issues that arise. While we recognize that it is a difficult budget year, this minimal increase is short-sighted and will hurt the most underfunded institutions at a historically difficult time for higher education, undercutting the engine for future prosperity and socioeconomic mobility for Illinois. Most immediately, this slight increase does nothing to close long-standing disparities between institutions and address the growing needs of under-resourced campuses.
The Monetary Award Program (MAP) also received nominal increases (e.g. $10,000,000 added), which are effectively cuts when considering inflation. However, the General Assembly did maintain a baseline level of funding for student access and support programs that remain lifelines for low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students.
Legislative Wins Promoting Equity, Transparency, and Student Support
- SB1958 (Castro/Costa Howard) – Strengthening Transfer Pathways
This bill enhances the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act by requiring Illinois public universities to enter formal articulation agreements at the request of community colleges. It improves guidelines for credit evaluation, and annual reporting to IBHE. SB1958 promotes transparency, equity, and seamless credit transfer, making it easier and faster for students to earn a bachelor’s degree after completing an associate degree. - HB3522 (Belt/Stuart) – Public University Direct Admission Program
Illinois has enacted the Public University Direct Admission Program Act to streamline the college admissions process and expand access to higher education. Beginning in the 2027–2028 academic year, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, in partnership with the Illinois Community College Board, Illinois Student Assistance Commission, and State Board of Education, will automatically offer general admission to eligible high school and community college transfer students based on GPA standards set annually by public universities.
The program targets first-generation, low-income, rural, and students of color. It eliminates application fees and requires parental consent for schools to share student data. It also includes a preselection outreach campaign encouraging juniors and seniors to apply to the University of Illinois at Chicago and Urbana-Champaign. Annual reporting will evaluate enrollment outcomes and program effectiveness, with the first report due by August 1, 2029. - SB2039 (Villanueva/Syed) – Statewide Higher Ed Data Dashboard
Both chambers have passed and await the governor’s signature. This bill requires IBHE and ICCB to develop a centralized, public-facing dashboard of institutional data to support better policy decisions and equity outcomes.
Bills Requiring Further Dialogue
- SB1298 (Guzman/Hernandez) – Expanding SNAP Access for College Students
This bill aims to expand SNAP EBT eligibility for low-income students enrolled in public higher education. While it passed the Senate, it did not advance out of the House Human Services Committee. This critical initiative, led by our external partner Young Invincibles, is part of a broader effort to combat food insecurity among Illinois college students. - HB2466 (Ammons/Johnson) – MAP Eligibility for Incarcerated Students
This bill did not advance in the Senate, but remains a top priority for the Freedom to Learn Campaign, of which PCC is a collaborator. We remain committed to restoring access to higher education for incarcerated individuals and eliminating barriers to reentry and opportunity. - HB3717 (Katz/Muhl) – Community College Bachelor’s Degrees
This bill, which would have authorized community colleges to offer applied bachelor’s degrees. The bill was reassigned to the House Rules Committee after the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus raised concerns about possible enrollment declines at four-year universities, increased tuition and fees, and reliance on property tax revenue. - SB1331 (Peters/Buckner) – Expanding MTI Eligibility to all Pell Recipients
This bill would have addressed legal concerns with the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) and Diversifying Higher Education Faculty in Illinois (DFI) scholarships by primarily basing eligibility on the income of recipients, prioritizing students from K-12 schools with high teacher vacancy rates or where 70% or more of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. It passed the House but received no Senate concurrence vote before adjournment.
Looking Ahead
Though the state did not take the monumental steps toward the reform and adequate investment we were hoping for, Illinois is still making meaningful strides toward a more just and student-centered higher education system. The General Assembly’s growing support for these initiatives, as well as its overall backing for college access programs, student support infrastructure, and accountability measures reflects growing recognition of the need to close racial and economic equity gaps in postsecondary education.
Yet, much work remains, particularly in enacting a fair and adequate funding formula that reflects the diverse needs of all public universities and the students they serve. As we look ahead to the 2025 veto session and beyond, PCC remains steadfast in our mission to advance equity in higher education policy and funding.
We thank the students, institutional leaders, coalition partners, and legislative champions who stood with us throughout this session.
Together, we are building a stronger, fairer future for higher education in Illinois.
FY26 Budget Details
