Higher education will see a funding cut next year, but Democrats want to lessen the impact compared to what the Republican governor called for.
Governor Bruce Rauner suggested a more than 30% reduction. Democrats are proposing a 6.5% cut to universities.
Republicans voted against the Democrats' measure in committee. GOP Representative Mark Batinick from Plainfield says the cost of doing business in Illinois is too high. That includes the business of higher education.
"The reality is, versus other states, we actually dramatically over fund education, higher education, yet we're not seeing it in the tuition for the students."
Despite the cuts, Democrats propose an increase for MAP grants, which make college more affordable for low-income students.