During yesterday's budget address by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, the Governor proposed increasing public higher education funding by over $40 million, which would result in Western Illinois University's state appropriation increasing by two percent to $56.8 million, upon approval by the Illinois General Assembly. WIU's current state appropriation is $55.7 million.
"We appreciate Gov. Pritzker's recommendation to increase appropriations for higher education, and for his ongoing support and commitment to WIU and Illinois higher education," said WIU President Guiyou Huang. "We extend our sincere thanks to the Governor for recommending a greater investment in public higher education."
In total, the Governor's proposed higher education budget of $2.55 billion includes FY24 supplemental funding, an increase of $10 million for Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants, for a total of $711 million. The Governor has also recommended $450 million for deferred maintenance for WIU’s campuses.
The proposed budget now goes before the Illinois General Assembly for further consideration.