Western Illinois to make massive cuts

[Laker]

First, Chicago State, now WIU............

http://www.wgem.com/story/31327994/2016/02/26/local-university-to-cut-100-jobs-in-20-million-budget-slash?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_Jennifer_Tapley_-_WGEM_News

[ST_Lawson]

We're not really in the same boat at Chicago State though.

CSU is, for all intents and purposes, done after this semester. They barely have enough money to limp along until the end of April (having cancelled spring break and moved up graduation by a few weeks so they can close early). They have sent out layoff notices for literally all of their employees (from the president on down). I honestly don't see a way where they can recover from this.

Eastern made layoffs and cuts last summer. Western was able to hold off for longer than Eastern without doing layoffs, but going for that long without any state money did finally catch up with us too. That being said, Western is still in a much better position than probably half of the schools in the state. In terms of financial standing and the ability to keep the university running, we're closer to Northern and Southern than we are to the Chicago area schools and Eastern.

I'm not going to lie and say the situation isn't bad, but Western is still open for business and we will still have classes (and football) next year. We may have to cut a few programs to keep going, but we'll be here.

[dgtw]

Any possibility WIU will cut some non-revenue sports?

Even if the school survives, Chicago State should shut down their athletics if they are that broke. Playing in a league where you have to fly everywhere (except maybe a 510 mile drive to UMKC) is a crazy.

Not good news for the WAC as they are at eight right now. If New Mexico State finds a permanent football home they'll be gone and UTRGV is considering starting football.

[MR. CHICKEN]

.....EVERAH TIME...AH LOG ONTA.....INTERNET.....AN' DERE'S UH POLL O'......WORST RUN STATES/CORRPUTION......ILLINOIS...IS ALWAYS...IN TOP 5.....EVEN CATERPILLERAH......CAIN'T KEEP YA'S....UH FLOAT.......CAPONE...AN' MAYOR DALEY.......SUCKED YA'S DRY........AWK!

[ST_Lawson]

Any possibility WIU will cut some non-revenue sports?

Even if the school survives, Chicago State should shut down their athletics if they are that broke. Playing in a league where you have to fly everywhere (except maybe a 510 mile drive to UMKC) is a crazy.

Not good news for the WAC as they are at eight right now. If New Mexico State finds a permanent football home they'll be gone and UTRGV is considering starting football.

Western is discontinuing Men's tennis at the end of the year: http://goleathernecks.com/news/2015/12/9/MTEN_1209155756.aspx?path=mten
We don't have great tennis facilities (all our "home" matches have to be played in Galesburg, about an hour away, until April every year since we don't have indoor facilities) and we haven't had a lot of success with tennis. Although, if you look at the list of which schools sponsor which sports in the Summit League (http://goleathernecks.com/news/2015/12/9/MTEN_1209155756.aspx?path=mten) Western was the only school to sponsor all sports that the conference offers (9 for the men, 10 for the women), so we were essentially "overextending" ourselves in terms of all the sports we offer anyway. North Dakota State and South Dakota also do not offer men's tennis.

I have not heard of any further cuts, although it would not surprise me if at some point down the road we end up cutting swimming and diving. It was actually announced once maybe 5 years ago, but there was enough "stepping up" of swimming/diving alumni and parents to be able to make things work and continue the sport. With the current budget climate, I doubt there will be as much support behind keeping the program if the athletics department decides that they need to go that direction.

Chicago State had announced enrollment numbers (fall 2015) of 4,767. This is fewer than the ~5.4k at U of I Springfield (who competes in DII athletics), ~5.9k at Governors State (NAIA), or Northeastern Illinois U's ~9.8k (was D1, discontinued sports in '98, offers only club sports now). I don't know for sure that they're the smallest public D1 university, but I'd bet they're one of the smallest. If they do somehow survive, then I agree, they need to discontinue sports, at least at the D1 level. There's plenty of local talent in the Chicago area to be competitive at a lower level, and much more local opponents (for example, the NAIA DII Chicagoland Collegiate Conference...bright green on this map: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/NAIA_DII_bb_map.png)

[dgtw]

So how does the women's team do? They have the same situation the guys do, why not cancel that program?

[bonarae]

Chicago State had announced enrollment numbers (fall 2015) of 4,767. This is fewer than the ~5.4k at U of I Springfield (who competes in DII athletics), ~5.9k at Governors State (NAIA), or Northeastern Illinois U's ~9.8k (was D1, discontinued sports in '98, offers only club sports now). I don't know for sure that they're the smallest public D1 university, but I'd bet they're one of the smallest. If they do somehow survive, then I agree, they need to discontinue sports, at least at the D1 level. There's plenty of local talent in the Chicago area to be competitive at a lower level, and much more local opponents (for example, the NAIA DII Chicagoland Collegiate Conference...bright green on this map: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/NAIA_DII_bb_map.png)

OK, don't discount the many D-III programs in the area that are competitive in some sports: (e.g. Chicago, playing in the multi-region UAA for all non-football sports, Wheaton and North Central, who both play in the CCIW) and also don't forget St. Xavier's football program (among the top NAIA programs in football today.)

[ST_Lawson]

Yea, there's some really good teams at every level. I wasn't really meaning that they'd jump down and immediately destroy everyone, I was just putting those out as examples of spending significantly less on athletics through fewer scholarships and MUCH closer opponents. There's conferences at a couple of levels where every road game would be a relatively short bus trip for them.

[TheKingpin28]

So how does the women's team do? They have the same situation the guys do, why not cancel that program?

Title IX crazies will flip out if women's sports are cut, even if they do not produce revenue. The only way they can be cut is if they cut equally or more men's sports. And they say sexism is a 1 way street. This is not the political board so I cant rant, but I will leave it at this, I believe that if the sport does not generate revenue, it should be up to the AD and boosters to determine if it should be cut without consequences, not the government and NCAA

[dgtw]

I asked because prior to this, WIU had ten sports for both, with volleyball being the only sport for just women. How was that not Title IX issue?


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[Bisonoline]

I asked because prior to this, WIU had ten sports for both, with volleyball being the only sport for just women. How was that not Title IX issue?


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Youve got me confused?

[DFW HOYA]

100 employees represents just 4 percent of the combined WIU workforce. Not exactly a "massive" cut given how bloated college payrolls have become.

[dgtw]

Youve got me confused?

Every other sport they sponsor has both a men's and women's team (golf, track, etc.). I'm counting baseball and softball as the same. They have football for men and volleyball for women. I know men play volleyball, but WIU doesn't sponsor it.


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[JayJ79]

and football uses a ton more scholarships/resources than volleyball.
though frankly, given the situation, if they were to cut mens tennis, it wouldn't be unfair to cut womens tennis as well

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

Cut football?

[ST_Lawson]

and football uses a ton more scholarships/resources than volleyball.
though frankly, given the situation, if they were to cut mens tennis, it wouldn't be unfair to cut womens tennis as well

That's a possibility that has been mentioned (not by anyone in charge, just by us fans and other interested parties). It looks like they're going to try to make a go of women's tennis, at least for now: hired a head coach, signed some new recruits, etc.

[ST_Lawson]

Cut football?

Nope, not while we still sponsor athletics at all.

[ST_Lawson]

Looks like SIU is getting ready to announce another round of cuts as well: http://thesouthern.com/news/local/siu/siu-system-to-consider-million-in-cuts/article_d86c4e0d-711b-5899-81a0-140eae78a403.html

[TheKingpin28]

I asked because prior to this, WIU had ten sports for both, with volleyball being the only sport for just women. How was that not Title IX issue?


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You can have more women's sports then men. It's a screwed up rule but that's how that rule works.

[JayJ79]

You can have more women's sports then men. It's a screwed up rule but that's how that rule works.

is there a womens sport that allows 63 scholarships and 85+ participants like FCS football does?

[ST_Lawson]

is there a womens sport that allows 63 scholarships and 85+ participants like FCS football does?

I know you're probably being rhetorical, but for those that don't know...that would be a nope: http://www.scholarshipstats.com/ncaalimits.html
D1 Basketball is 13 scholarships, Ice Hockey is 18, Lacrosse, T&F, and XC all have 12.5. Softball is probably around there too (don't see it on the list) Everything else is fewer than 10. So, if you've got a D1 football team, you usually need to try to make up for it at least one women-only sport (like Volleyball). NCAA doesn't usually expect you to actually have exactly as many scholarships for women as for men (nearly impossible if you have a football team), but it's more about maximizing athletic opportunities for women. I don't know if there's a limit on number of participants on other sports though...like...maybe you can have 60 women on your Gymnastics team, but only 6.3 total scholarships across them, not really sure on that.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

I know you're probably being rhetorical, but for those that don't know...that would be a nope: http://www.scholarshipstats.com/ncaalimits.html
D1 Basketball is 13 scholarships, Ice Hockey is 18, Lacrosse, T&F, and XC all have 12.5. Softball is probably around there too (don't see it on the list) Everything else is fewer than 10. So, if you've got a D1 football team, you usually need to try to make up for it at least one women-only sport (like Volleyball). NCAA doesn't usually expect you to actually have exactly as many scholarships for women as for men (nearly impossible if you have a football team), but it's more about maximizing athletic opportunities for women. I don't know if there's a limit on number of participants on other sports though...like...maybe you can have 60 women on your Gymnastics team, but only 6.3 total scholarships across them, not really sure on that.


In women's athletics the max limits are:

BB: 15
T&F: 18
XC: 18
Rowing: 20
VB: 12
S&D: 14
Soccer: 14
Hockey: 18
Equestrian: 15


Some women's spots offer more scholarships compared to men's. Probably the NCAA's way of getting to total scholarships equality because football has so many.

[dgtw]

I thought teams had to have more women's sports than they do for men so women would have more opportunities. I get that having truly equal scholarship numbers is close to impossible, but that they required more women's sports in an attempt to balance the scales.

[Hammersmith]

I thought teams had to have more women's sports than they do for men so women would have more opportunities. I get that having truly equal scholarship numbers is close to impossible, but that they required more women's sports in an attempt to balance the scales.

Nope. DI requirement is 14 sports, and at least 6 must be men's and 7 of them must be women's. The manual specifies either 7/7 or 6/8. For FBS, those numbers go up to 16 total, with either an 8/8 or 7/9 split. If you want to go above the minimum number of sports, there's nothing in any rule preventing you from having more men's sports than women's. OTOH, you still have to follow Title IX, so it may not be feasible to have more men's than women's sports. But if you have significantly more male undergrads on your campus than female, it's very possible that you could have more men's sports than women's(I'm thinking historically male schools like VMI or Cit).

As for why fewer men's scholarships in similar sports(13MBB/15WBB, 12.6MT&F/18WT&F, etc.), that was a choice of the membership. The schools voted to basically set the men's scholarships at 90% of the women's. There are exceptions, but that was the basic format. This was done to help the football schools balance out the massive roster/scholarship imbalance that football causes.

[Sycamore62]

I dont know about the other schools in the state but Ive heard from people in the school that they were staffed for an enrollment of 12,000 and they have ~9000 or less now. even with a great budget they should have had less employees. It sucks people are losing their jobs but maybe they shouldnt have been replacing people for so long.

[clenz]

I dont know about the other schools in the state but Ive heard from people in the school that they were staffed for an enrollment of 12,000 and they have ~9000 or less now. even with a great budget they should have had less employees. It sucks people are losing their jobs but maybe they shouldnt have been replacing people for so long.
One of the biggest reasons tuition is sky rocketing like it has been is universities being so over-staffed, especially in the administrative/office positions, they have had to jack tuition rates to cover costs of operatings

[Sycamore62]

One of the biggest reasons tuition is sky rocketing like it has been is universities being so over-staffed, especially in the administrative/office positions, they have had to jack tuition rates to cover costs of operatings

they closed 2 dorms and continued to have the same amount of janitorial staff

[ST_Lawson]

Western has been mostly not replacing people in open positions for a while (not all positions, but many). In the office I used to work in we went from just over 20 positions to around 10 without replacing anyone (over about a 5-year span). Some of that was due to less "business", but also because we were essentially staffed for the "busy times" and went more to being staffed for the "slow times", then using more temp and student workers to fill in as needed.

Also, just heard that SIU-Edwardsville is discontinuing Women's golf.

EDIT - and men's tennis: http://www.bnd.com/sports/college/article63076947.html

[Daytripper]

One of the biggest reasons tuition is sky rocketing like it has been is universities being so over-staffed, especially in the administrative/office positions, they have had to jack tuition rates to cover costs of operatings

My experience with staffing is that the accreditation agencies often dictate how much support staff schools must have to provide necessary services. And with state funding drying up, it is my experience that college presidents would much rather maintain tuition rates and run on a minimal staff if possible. I know it seems like there are a lot of staff, but most people have no idea the red tape (academic, financial, and financial aid) that higher education has to navigate simply to remain in compliance. That requires people.

[dgtw]

Also, just heard that SIU-Edwardsville is discontinuing Women's golf.

EDIT - and men's tennis: http://www.bnd.com/sports/college/article63076947.html

Why not drop both golf teams or both tennis teams? Seems like you'd save more money that way since you could also fire a coach while you were at it.

- - - Updated - - -

[ST_Lawson]

Why not drop both golf teams or both tennis teams? Seems like you'd save more money that way since you could also fire a coach while you were at it.

Yea, that seemed kinda odd to me too. Usually you'd see them drop just the men's team (for Title IX compliance) or drop both M/W to save on facilities, coaches, etc. Looks like golf at SIUE has the same coach for men and women, so they're not saving anything there, but for tennis, they do have different coaches for men and women.

[REALBird]

No anticipated layoffs at Illinois State University FOR NOW. Our administration took the liberty of slashing our budget beyond the 10% recommended by our Board of Regents. Some 75 unfilled positions remain vacant, and additional positions were eliminated, major construction and campus initiative projects were placed on hold. Our President indicated that the Universities credit rating is actually higher than the State of Illinois credit rating (not saying much) and only second to the University of Illinois.

All this may change in the next few months, but hopefully we at least make it through the academic year.

I guess it helps that as far back as 2005-06 Illinois State University understood that reliance on the State of Illinois was a losing proposition. Whenever the State recommended withholding distributed funds 2-3%, Illinois State held back twice that amount. As noted above, slashing beyond the recommendations has suited us well......but we've also been proactive in increasing our private donations. $36.8 Million in private donations raised in 2015 is likely helping us not only offset the loss of State revenue, but helping us stay afloat.

[Sycamore62]

which other schools than EIU were super leveraged on MAP (poor people going for free) grants. I think EIU deciding that was a good plan was a mistake.

[Twentysix]

they closed 2 dorms and continued to have the same amount of janitorial staff

I think this problem goes beyond the janitors.

[Laker]

Any updates on the situation in Illinois? I ran across an old article that said Chicago State was supposed to start up men's soccer next fall. I'm wondering if they will still have the doors open but I haven't read anything new for almost a month.

[ST_Lawson]

Any updates on the situation in Illinois? I ran across an old article that said Chicago State was supposed to start up men's soccer next fall. I'm wondering if they will still have the doors open but I haven't read anything new for almost a month.

Well, I'd be highly surprised if adding soccer is still happening.

Last thing I heard was that Chicago State had sent out a directive for people to start turning in their keys, but that was rescinded: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-state-university-keys-backtrack-budget-20160330-story.html

As of last that I heard financially:
Chicago State - Will run out of money at the end of April. They've moved up graduation by a couple of weeks to be done by then.
Western - Plans to cut $20M over the next 2 years. Has already implemented graduated furlough days (based on salary) for many employees and may be laying off up to 100 employees. Has also cut Men's Tennis.
Eastern - Had to lay off 198 employees earlier this month and the remaining employees are being asked to take 1 furlough day per week until further notice.
Southern - Planning on $49M in cuts across the SIU system (SIUC, SIUE, and SIU Medical School in Springfield). SIUE also cutting Men's Tennis and Women's Golf.
Northern - Cutting $30M from planned budget.
Northeastern Illinois - $11.9M in cuts, currently some employees taking one furlough day per week.
Illinois State - I have heard that they are planning cuts but are keeping things pretty "close to the vest" at this point.

In general, the furlough days are currently being taken by Administrative and non-union employees. In most cases, the unions are still negotiating with the universities to be able to come to an agreement that works for everyone.

All of these cuts are based on the governor's proposed budget cuts for higher education...that's IF they actually get a budget done at some point. If things continue without a budget or some type of agreement (and therefore $0 in state funding for all state universities) for quite a while longer, then the results could be catastrophic. I don't know when each university's "drop-dead-date" is, but I'm sure that pretty much all except for U of I have one...the point at which the money will completely run out if they continue to get no support from the state.

As for the state reaching any kind of agreement...doesn't sound like there's been any movement on that at this point. As of tomorrow, the Illinois public universities will have gone 9 months without any financial support from the state.

[Laker]

Well, I'd be highly surprised if adding soccer is still happening.
. As of tomorrow, the Illinois public universities will have gone 9 months without any financial support from the state.

That is what I thought too. Why add a sport if you are ready to shut the place down?

I notice that Illinois isn't listed at all, or UIC. I assume that, like Minnesota, there are two different educational system?

Another reason why I posted is a rumor I heard from Sid Hartman, the Twin Cities 95 year old sports guru. He said that he wouldn't be surprised to see Illinois reinstate hockey and become the 8th team in the BIG. I think that the Illini have enough problems without adding that sport.......

[ST_Lawson]

That is what I thought too. Why add a sport if you are ready to shut the place down?

I notice that Illinois isn't listed at all, or UIC. I assume that, like Minnesota, there are two different educational system?

Another reason why I posted is a rumor I heard from Sid Hartman, the Twin Cities 95 year old sports guru. He said that he wouldn't be surprised to see Illinois reinstate hockey and become the 8th team in the BIG. I think that the Illini have enough problems without adding that sport.......

Kinda...U of I has three "campuses"...Champaign (the big one), Chicago (smaller than Champaign but still pretty big, obviously more urban), and Springfield (much smaller than the other two...like you'd normally think of a "typical" public D2 or D3 liberal arts college). The U of I system, because of it's research interests, much larger endowment, and other assets, requires much less $ from the state to continue. I've heard something around 3-4% of their $ is from the state. For comparison, I believe Chicago State has the highest % of their funding from the state...something around 30% if I remember correctly.

In general, the U of I system is doing relatively well (financially, as compared to the other universities). The problem is that people see the issues with the U of I administration the last few years, and since it's the "figurehead" of Illinois higher education, people think that administrative problems (crazy high salaries, benefits, retirement packages, etc.) that they see there is widespread across the entire IL educational system. The reality is, once you look outside Champaign, there's much less of that going on. In many cases, university employees, faculty and staff, are barely making enough to survive, not getting huge salaries (my brother-in-law is a HS choir director who is almost done with his PhD...he's looked into working at a university, but it'd be about a $20k a year pay cut at this point...and for the most part, K-12 teachers aren't making much $ either).

As for the educational "systems", there's not really any system outside of the U of I system. The other universities pretty much all operate independently with their own board of trustees or regents.

[REALBird]

Well, I'd be highly surprised if adding soccer is still happening.

Last thing I heard was that Chicago State had sent out a directive for people to start turning in their keys, but that was rescinded: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-state-university-keys-backtrack-budget-20160330-story.html

As of last that I heard financially:
Chicago State - Will run out of money at the end of April. They've moved up graduation by a couple of weeks to be done by then.
Western - Plans to cut $20M over the next 2 years. Has already implemented graduated furlough days (based on salary) for many employees and may be laying off up to 100 employees. Has also cut Men's Tennis.
Eastern - Had to lay off 198 employees earlier this month and the remaining employees are being asked to take 1 furlough day per week until further notice.
Southern - Planning on $49M in cuts across the SIU system (SIUC, SIUE, and SIU Medical School in Springfield). SIUE also cutting Men's Tennis and Women's Golf.
Northern - Cutting $30M from planned budget.
Northeastern Illinois - $11.9M in cuts, currently some employees taking one furlough day per week.
Illinois State - I have heard that they are planning cuts but are keeping things pretty "close to the vest" at this point.

In general, the furlough days are currently being taken by Administrative and non-union employees. In most cases, the unions are still negotiating with the universities to be able to come to an agreement that works for everyone.

All of these cuts are based on the governor's proposed budget cuts for higher education...that's IF they actually get a budget done at some point. If things continue without a budget or some type of agreement (and therefore $0 in state funding for all state universities) for quite a while longer, then the results could be catastrophic. I don't know when each university's "drop-dead-date" is, but I'm sure that pretty much all except for U of I have one...the point at which the money will completely run out if they continue to get no support from the state.

As for the state reaching any kind of agreement...doesn't sound like there's been any movement on that at this point. As of tomorrow, the Illinois public universities will have gone 9 months without any financial support from the state.

Just took my daughter on a campus visit at Illinois State. Curious to hear what, if anything you're hearing about cuts. I know during the campus presentation they indicated that they have decided to fully fund all MAP grants for students for this year, to eliminate the concern of students and how they would meet the deficiency in academic aid.

Interesting enough.....I had a friend who's daughter chose Bradley over Illinois State because Bradley offered more financial aid. Apparently they are just as dependent on State Aid as a private because she indicated BU sent her a $13,000 bill for the loss of MAP grants and other aid.

[ST_Lawson]

Just took my daughter on a campus visit at Illinois State. Curious to hear what, if anything you're hearing about cuts. I know during the campus presentation they indicated that they have decided to fully fund all MAP grants for students for this year, to eliminate the concern of students and how they would meet the deficiency in academic aid.

Interesting enough.....I had a friend who's daughter chose Bradley over Illinois State because Bradley offered more financial aid. Apparently they are just as dependent on State Aid as a private because she indicated BU sent her a $13,000 bill for the loss of MAP grants and other aid.

Nothing official...from what I've heard, it's mostly smaller cuts here and there. No "big" sweeping cuts like some of the other universities. ISU is also in a much better place than many of the others...increasing enrollment, higher endowment, better-off financially. That being said, if the state continues without a budget for an extended period of time, all the universities other than U of I will be seriously impacted. ISU just has the luxury of that "drop-dead-date" being maybe a couple of years away, as opposed to Chicago State's "end of April".

You're right though, MAP grants and other public aid go towards both public and private school students. Even if Bradley (or other private schools) don't get their funding directly from the state, enrollment is going to drop significantly if large numbers of their students can't afford to attend.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Nothing official...from what I've heard, it's mostly smaller cuts here and there. No "big" sweeping cuts like some of the other universities. ISU is also in a much better place than many of the others...increasing enrollment, higher endowment, better-off financially. That being said, if the state continues without a budget for an extended period of time, all the universities other than U of I will be seriously impacted. ISU just has the luxury of that "drop-dead-date" being maybe a couple of years away, as opposed to Chicago State's "end of April".

You're right though, MAP grants and other public aid go towards both public and private school students. Even if Bradley (or other private schools) don't get their funding directly from the state, enrollment is going to drop significantly if large numbers of their students can't afford to attend.

I personally attribute this to their MVFC championship-contending football program xlolx

[frozennorth]

What the hell is happening Illinois?

Why are they blowing up their education system?

[REALBird]

I personally attribute this to their MVFC championship-contending football program xlolx

Every little bit counts LFN. But that 6 to 1 Female/Male ratio doesn't hurt either. Contributions from State Farm putting their name on the College of Business, fundraising, and as ST mentioned....increased enrollment helps keep the wheel on.
But my money is mostly on the women.

[REALBird]

What the hell is happening Illinois?

Why are they blowing up their education system?

That's what happens when you put crooked liberal Democrat Governors in jail and replace them with union hating, conservative, we want to privatize EVERYTHING even education and pension reform Republican governors who will probably end up going to jail. The beauty of Illinois is that there are few states where you can actually elect the next person you want to go to federal prison. xnodx

[Sycamore62]

What the hell is happening Illinois?

Why are they blowing up their education system?
Years ago a "moderate republican" governor (pronounced deməˌkrat in 49 other states) decided it would be a good idea to balance the budget by taking a 1 year "holiday" from paying the state's portion into the pension system. Proving that there cant be too much of a good thing, the lawmakers then took the wonderful "holiday" and decided to live there. All the while every state agency spent like their money was on fire. Now we are here.

[ST_Lawson]

Interesting enough.....I had a friend who's daughter chose Bradley over Illinois State because Bradley offered more financial aid. Apparently they are just as dependent on State Aid as a private because she indicated BU sent her a $13,000 bill for the loss of MAP grants and other aid.

Just a quick follow-up on this point, local private school, Quincy University (they play DII athletics) just today announced a 7% budget cut due to lack of state money for map grants: http://www.whig.com/article/20160331/ARTICLE/303319823



What the hell is happening Illinois?

Why are they blowing up their education system?

Many years of lawmakers voting to not fully fund the retirement funds for state workers eventually built up a HUGE budget deficit. As REALBird mentioned, the people were tired or what was happening and in large part voted pretty much for "anyone but the current guy". The guy who won is a businessman who wants to privatize everything (he has literally said that he thinks DeVry is the ideal "model" for higher education). So, you have a super-fiscally conservative Republican governor, but a state legislature that is still controlled by the Democratic party, and neither of them seem to want to give in at all to try to find any common ground.

I believe the phrase "fiddling while Rome burns" is particularly applicable in this situation.

[Sycamore62]

Just a quick follow-up on this point, local private school, Quincy University (they play DII athletics) just today announced a 7% budget cut due to lack of state money for map grants: http://www.whig.com/article/20160331/ARTICLE/303319823




Many years of lawmakers voting to not fully fund the retirement funds for state workers eventually built up a HUGE budget deficit. As REALBird mentioned, the people were tired or what was happening and in large part voted pretty much for "anyone but the current guy". The guy who won is a businessman who wants to privatize everything (he has literally said that he thinks DeVry is the ideal "model" for higher education). So, you have a super-fiscally conservative Republican governor, but a state legislature that is still controlled by the Democratic party, and neither of them seem to want to give in at all to try to find any common ground.

I believe the phrase "fiddling while Rome burns" is particularly applicable in this situation.

Not to get too political but I think he offered to sign their $8B deficit budget if they would rework Work Comp to be closer to what the surrounding states have.

I think Rome has been on fire for about 10 years.

[jimbo65]

That's what happens when you put crooked liberal Democrat Governors in jail and replace them with union hating, conservative, we want to privatize EVERYTHING even education and pension reform Republican governors who will probably end up going to jail. The beauty of Illinois is that there are few states where you can actually elect the next person you want to go to federal prison. xnodx
Don't count out NY. We have the former head of the Assembly (Dem) and head of the Senate (Rep) on the way to a Fed lockup. Party labels aside, these two skells share something in common, thievery.

[Penguin Nation]

I'll go political here. The two pro-war, pro-debt, corporate owned parties will always break your heart. The Libertarian party is the only other party on the ballot in all 50 states, is polling in double figures against Trump and Clinton II, and has a nationally televised debate.

Nice and short quiz to see if the LP is a good fit for you:

https://www.theadvocates.org/quiz/quiz.php

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

I'll go political here. The two pro-war, pro-debt, corporate owned parties will always break your heart. The Libertarian party is the only other party on the ballot in all 50 states, is polling in double figures against Trump and Clinton II, and has a nationally televised debate.

Nice and short quiz to see if the LP is a good fit for you:

https://www.theadvocates.org/quiz/quiz.php

Dude, you read my mind. I have been a Libertarian for 20 years. I am not impressed with the Republicans and the Democrats. Sanders strikes me as someone with a mild-ish libertarian streak but he's no Rand Paul.

[POD Knows]

Dude, you read my mind. I have been a Libertarian for 20 years. I am not impressed with the Republicans and the Democrats. Sanders strikes me as someone with a mild-ish libertarian streak but he's no Rand Paul.

You clearly have no clue what a Libertarian is if you think Sanders is somewhat Libertarian. He is probably the candidate that is furthest from the Libertarian point of view. Wow.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Don't tube this thread fella's. Political opinion pieces are not welcome on the FCS Discussion board. Keep those things to the poli forum.

POD won this one anyway. xlolx