The Senate Executive Committee meets Wednesday in Springfield. 

Illinois’ public university leaders and Illinois lawmakers are split on a funding model similar to Evidence-Based Funding proposed in the Senate. 

The proposal comes from the Commission on Equitable Public University Funding, which was created by the General Assembly in 2021 to develop a funding model similar to Evidence-Based Funding for higher education in Illinois.  

Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Hillside) said the commission found that Illinois has been underfunding public universities, leading to schools charging higher tuition prices than neighboring states.  

Illinois has historically increased or decreased funding for all 12 public universities at the same rate. A report from the commission says this model does not take account for key factors such as the percentage of students from underserved communities that may require more resources.  

The report says that when adjusted for inflation, public universities have seen a 46 percent drop in funding from 2000 to 2020 under the current across the board model.  

The formula would mimic the one used for Evidence-Based Funding, which was passed by the General Assembly in 2017. It created a tier system for K-12 public schools in Illinois where funding is distributed based on need. 

The proposed formula would utilize two main numbers to determine funding. The first would be the adequacy target, which would be the full amount each institution needs to provide equitable and adequate education to students. That would be based on instruction and student services, mission and operations and maintenance, with a base cost per student for each category. 

Adjustments would then be made for overall institution size, research mission and number of students from underserved communities. Underserved communities are defined in the bill are students or student groups that have gaps enrollment, retention or completion. Student groups could be based on location, demographics or income level.   

The second number would be the resource profile, which would be the amount of resources an institution must meet that adequacy target. That would include current state appropriations, student tuition and resources such as grants or donations.  

The resource profile would then be subtracted from the adequacy target to determine the adequacy gap. That funding gap would be the number the state would look to fill each year in the state budget.  

That would be calculated by the Illinois Board of Higher Education, who would make the funding requests.  

Senate Bill 13 would enact that model. The bill has not yet been voted on in committee, but the Senate Executive Committee met Wednesday to hear subject matter on it.  

“This bill does not just aim to increase funding,” Lightford said during the meeting. “It tells us for the first time in our state's history what students and universities need to succeed and how to adequately fund universities over time to actually meet that need.”  

The model would be implemented over a number of years, similar to how Evidence-Based Funding was implemented.  

Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott, president of Chicago State University (CSU), said current funding issues predominantly impact Black and low-income students, with enrollment for both categories declining by more than 35 percent since 2013.  

She said CSU is an example of the need for an equitable funding formula. She said 89 percent of CSU students receive Pell Grants, 22 percent are parents, 20 percent can’t afford laptops or textbooks and more than 60 percent report they struggle to meet basic needs.  

“This student profile exemplifies the importance of the funding formula's intensive investment in the more vulnerable student populations at CSU,” Scott said. “We must not only keep our tuition low to keep college accessible, but we also must meet our students' basic needs by recognizing, for example, that our students use our food pantry to feed not only themselves, but also their families.”  

Senators also heard from the presidents of Western Illinois University, Illinois State University and Northern Illinois University, who all spoke in support of the legislation.  

Daniel Mahony, president of Southern Illinois University, said there are parts of the model that he does not agree with, such as including endowments as a resource. He said he believes that could hurt universities fundraising, which would be counterintuitive to the ultimate goal of the model.  

He said he also did not believe the model did not “sufficiently take into account” medical, dental, and other high-cost programs which require more funding. Mahoney said some of these concerns have been addressed through negotiations, which is why he was speaking in support of it Wednesday.  

Sen. Cristina Castro (D-Elgin), a graduate of Elgin Community College and Northern Illinois University, questioned why public universities opposed a measure adding some four-year baccalaureate degrees to community colleges. She said that measure also aims to make higher education more affordable and equitable for students, similar to this funding formula’s goal. 

Lightford interjected, saying the question has “zero to do with what we're trying to do.” She said she’d like to work on the community college level next to improve funding for those schools.  

She said the measure to add baccalaureate programs to community colleges — which is an initiative of Gov. JB Pritzker — puts the college system in competition with one another.  

“Community college students need to stay at the two-year community college level, and their students who are going for a bachelor's degree should stay at the university level,” Lightford said. “Because what happens is, when you continue, when you begin to offer four-year programs at a two-year school, those students who would traditionally go to the four-year university, will lose those students to the community college level.”  

Mahoney said there are ongoing negotiations over the bill and that they’re hoping to find a compromise.  

“We want to make sure the community college bachelor's bill is something that is good for the entire state,” he said. “[It] doesn't pit our universities and community colleges against each other in a way that's unproductive and not good for taxpayers and students.”  

The measure is opposed by the University of Illinois system. Nick Jones, executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs for the system, said the proposed model is not ready to be enacted. He said as it stands, institutions would be penalized for helping underserved students, as the more resources they provide, the smaller their adequacy gap would be. He said this means schools that provide more resources would get less state funding.  

“Although we support several of the key aspirational goals of the bill, we do not agree with the methodology proposed to achieve those goals,” Jones said. “Nor do we agree that this will provide what the University of Illinois needs to succeed.” 

SB 13 has had its third-reading deadline extended to May 9, meaning it could still be passed by the Senate. It would first need to pass committee.