With the state budget nearly $600 million in the hole, Gov. George Ryan has warned state-funded institutions further spending cuts are possible.

The legislature’s economic forecasting unit predicted Wednesday the state will collect $592 million less than expected this year, the Associated Press reported.

This recent addition to the state’s budget woes could lead to more callbacks of appropriated funds, which is a grim reminder of last year.

Last November, Gov. Ryan called back $624,000 from Eastern’s appropriated funds to combat the state deficit. In December, the governor also asked universities to pick up their own employee health insurance bill, and Eastern’s share of that was $1.7 million.

Jill Nilsen, vice president for external relations, said it is not known how Eastern might be affected by this news, but the university will prepare to look for additional money to return to the state.

At last month’s Council on University Planning and Budget meeting, Jeff Cooley, vice president of business affairs, said there is a 95 percent chance the university will fall victim to a mid-year recision.

One possibility the university could explore in the event of a callback is sacrificing dollars in each vice-presidential area for the state budget, which is something administrators did last year, Nilsen said.

“A year ago at this point in time, no one could anticipate we would have major budget problems,” Nilsen said. “It’s a difficult time for anyone who uses state-appropriated dollars as part of their budget.”

Nilsen and interim President Lou Hencken make regular trips to Springfield to visit legislatures and tell them the story of Eastern, she said. They plan to travel to the capital in December with the Student Action Team to lobby for funds.

Having just returned from Springfield, Nilsen said there is still no clear indication how the state deficit will affect Eastern, and the university is waiting to get direction from legislating bodies.