CHICAGO — In a move that could rescue the struggling Chicago State University, state legislators approved a $600 million funding plan for universities on Friday.
The university has struggled for months due to the stalemate over the budget in Springfield, even sending layoff notices to all of its employees in February. Administrators said the school was running out of money and some students were unable to pay tuition without grants from the state.
Chicago activists even took to City Hall earlier this week to demand that CSU receive aid, arguing that the university wasn't being helped because lawmakers didn't value black lives. CSU primarily serves black students.
"The City of Chicago and the State of Illinois are proving that they do not value black lives," Joan Fadayiro, an organizer with BYP 100, said before the protest started on Wednesday. "Police officers are enabled to kill black women with impunity while black community assets such as Chicago State University are divested from."
RELATED: Chicago State Takes Emergency Steps To Finish Semester With No State Budget
Gov. Bruce Rauner, who had opposed previous budget plans during his standoff with Democratic legislators, is expected to sign this bill, according to The Associated Press.
"By passing this bipartisan agreement, lawmakers in both chambers put aside political differences to provide emergency assistance for higher education, ensuring universities and community colleges remain open and low-income students can pay for school," Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said in a statement, according to the AP.
But House Speaker Michael Madigan advised people to think of the funding as a Band-aid rather than a solution, according to the AP.
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