Community colleges in Illinois say they've cut frills, suspended travel, and even laid off teachers. Now they need state lawmakers to come through with funding. That was the gist of a letter sent last week from the Illinois Council of Community College Presidents to the governor and legislative leaders.
So far, they say they’ve gotten zero response. Tom Ramage, president of both the council and Parkland College, says there’s little left to cut.
"We offer GED programs, we offer College for kids, we have daycare facilities... All those things are at-risk. For many of our communities, the community college is the hub relative to advancing yourself career-wise or supporting your family."
Public higher education in Illinois hasn’t had a full budget in more than a year. Instead colleges and universities have been subsisting on small, stop-gap budgets, but those are set to expire next month.
