General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHigher Education in Illinois Is Dying.
Urbana, Ill. THIS spring my friends daughter received exciting news: She had been accepted to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Its our hometown campus, but also the states flagship public university and one of the best research institutions in the country.
My friend is a single mom with a few part-time jobs; finances are tight in her house. But the university offered them a decent financial aid package, one that would have made it possible for her daughter to attend. If, that is, it was an offer they could count on. But they couldnt. The financial aid letter clearly stated that their award was contingent upon continued funding from the state, and might need to be reduced or rescinded, depending on what happened in Springfield, the state capital.
Ah, Springfield.
Our lawmakers have spent the last year locked in a staggering budget impasse, with no end in sight. The state is deep in debt, with mountains of unpaid bills, while the Democratic-led Legislature and the Republican governor fight a war of attrition. Another deadline just blew by this week: May 31 was the last official day of the legislative session. Still no budget. Any proposal now needs a three-fifths majority to pass, an even higher bar. Meanwhile, the collateral damage is swirling like sand in a windstorm.'>>>
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/04/opinion/higher-education-in-illinois-is-dying.html?
On Wisconsin!
Ilsa
(61,698 posts)Lousiana does have a new, pretty decent governor, but after what's his name, their problems may be intractable.
Person 2713
(3,263 posts)Gabi Hayes
(28,795 posts)elleng
(131,107 posts)They are such f*****s! NO shame, NO interest in a better city/state/nation, purely centered on THEIR OWN JOBS!
hill2016
(1,772 posts)Illinois is broke.
It has the largest unfunded pension and healthcare liability in the nation.
Promises made without the necessary taxes to pay for them.
Generation after generation of politicians thinking it's the next guy's problems. Voters and beneficiaries who don't bother to check these politicians' maths because it's the next guys problem.
Well, the next guy (the millennials) are here and they wonder why they have been screwed by previous generations.