Universities throughout Illinois are facing similar financial difficulties as Eastern due to lack of state funding.

On Jan. 11, The Daily Eastern News reported the university had only received $907,000 from the state of Illinois, about 3 percent of its total appropriations.

The university has billed the state for $35.8 million of its $47.4 million appropriation, but the state has been unable to meet the majority of its financial obligations to the university.

Because of this, Eastern will be relying heavily on tuition monies to keep up with operational costs, said Treasurer Paul McCann.

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville is facing a similar financial crunch. The SIU system is still owed $147 million for the 2011 fiscal year from the state of Illinois. This is the entire amount owed for the fiscal year, The Alestle reported on Jan. 13.

Dave Gross, SIUE executive assistant for government affairs, said $34 million is owed to SIUE for FY11 as of December.

Illinois State University is also facing a similar crisis.

For fiscal year 2011, ISU has been appropriated $79.78 million from the state, The Vidette reported on Jan. 13. The university has only received $4.26 million.

Dan Layzell, ISU’s vice president of finance and planning, told The Vidette he was not surprised the university was in this crunch.

“It was expected,” he said. “We had been told by the state that this was just the way it was going to be. The state budget continues to be problematic.”

ISU has an $80 million state appropriated budget and 22.9 percent of the appropriated funds come from the state of Illinois.

Some universities have to take dire measures to avoid being crushed by budgetary constraints.

On Jan. 5 of last year, the University of Illinois administration announced faculty and administrators would be required to take up to 10 unpaid furlough days by mid-June.

About 11,000 university employees at the campuses at Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield were affected by furloughs.

However, the U of I is not the only institution implementing furlough days. On Nov. 3, 2010, Rita Cheng, Chancellor for Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, informed the SIUC campus that four unpaid furlough days would be implemented.

Over 7,000 employees were affected by this action. On Jan. 3, the SIUC endured its third furlough day, with the fourth following in March.

SIUC’s 2011 budget projects an opening cash balance of approximately $40.9 million and an ending balance of $34.8 million, The Daily Egyptian reported.

Eastern will not have to worry about furlough days as of yet. As a part of the tentative agreement between Eastern’s chapter of University Professional’s of Illinois and the administration, furlough days will only be implemented in time of dire financial need and will be discussed with the union in such an occasion.

Come late February when the university will no longer be able to stay afloat by tuition money, the revenue collected from the income tax increase may arrive just in the nick of time.

Shelley Holmgren can be reached at 581-2812

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