NORTH PARK — Furloughs are still in place at Northeastern Illinois University while administration reviews how much of an impact a short-term funding bill will have on the school's bottom line.
As Illinois approaches nearly a year without a budget, state legislators passed $600 million in funds late last week to keep the doors open at the state's public universities and community colleges.
"We are appreciative of this stopgap funding bill and look forward to working toward a long-term solution to funding higher education in Illinois," NEIU spokesman Mike Hines said in a statement.
The school's finance team is clarifying details of the funding legislation and analyzing NEIU's budget and cash position before determining whether to suspend staff furloughs and other cost-cutting measures, he said.
"I don't have an exact time frame for when that decision will be made, but we hope it will be soon," Hines said.
The recent higher education funding bill includes nearly $170 million for the state's Monetary Award Program, or MAP grants. Earlier in 2016, Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed legislation that would have restored MAP grants, sparking a protest at NEIU, where more than 2,000 students rely on the grants to help cover tuition costs.
The university had fronted students $7.5 million in MAP funds, adding to its deficit on top of $34 million in state allocations that are past due, according to NEIU spokesman Mike Dizon.
At the beginning of April, NEIU joined the Chicago Teachers Union "Day of Action" to rally for education funding.
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