In the wake of recent budget cut warnings from Gov. George Ryan, representatives from Eastern will travel to Springfield for a session that could possibly affect the university’s current operating budget.

Jill Nilsen, vice president for external relations, interim President Lou Hencken and the Student Action Team will attend the General Assembly’s veto sessions Wednesday and Thursday in the state capitol.

During the veto session, legislators have an opportunity to review bills Gov. Ryan may have vetoed from the spring, override those vetoes and pass additional legislation, Nilsen said.

Although the General Assembly reviews the pending state budget after the governor makes proposals, Nilsen said next year’s budget will not be considered until January.

“It’s possible (the sessions) could affect the current budget,” Nilsen said. “The General Assembly could say the funds for fiscal year 2003 are not balanced, and it could call back money, but I doubt that will happen this time.”

The legislature’s economic forecasting unit recently predicted the state will collect $592 million less than expected this year, which could lead to more callbacks of appropriated funds for various state-funded institutions.

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

State Rep. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, who will be meeting with university representatives at the sessions, said he is concerned with the budget overall, particularly with regard to Eastern and other institutions of higher education.

Eastern has the Board of Trustees, administrators, faculty and students to decide how to prioritize state funds in times of a budget crunch, Righter said.

“My role is to try and work with people in Springfield to get more money back here,” Righter said. “The challenge is adjusting to different General Assemblies and state administrations.”

Governor-elect Rod Blagojevich will give his first budget address in February, and Righter is interested to see what he has in mind for higher education.

As for this week’s General Assembly sessions, he doesn’t think anything will happen for the state’s or Eastern’s budget.