A bill that would have established a new funding formula for state universities in Illinois was not included in the $55.2 billion dollar state budget approved by lawmakers in late May.
State Sen. Mike Halpin, D-36, introduced Senate Bill 13, which would have applied the evidence-based funding model for K-12 public schools in Illinois to state universities. The bill never came to a vote, but Halpin said it would have “leveled the playing field” for public universities.
“There are certain universities that are very, very well-funded, and are showing increased enrollment,” Halpin said. “And then you've got our regional universities, which are suffering because we've been underfunding them for so long. It's a great bill and hopefully we'll consider it in the veto session coming up this year.”
Halpin said making sure Western Illinois University can be successful is his top priority in a district that stretches from Moline and Rock Island down to Macomb and includes both WIU campuses. The proposed new funding model in the bill called for adding $135 million a year for state universities.
WIU would have had top priority for that additional funding because it’s the most underfunded public university in the state in terms of resources needed to meet adequacy targets in an evidence-based model, while the University of Illinois would have the lowest priority for that funding.
Halpin said the added funding would be worth the investment for state universities, especially when they’ve been underfunded for so long.
“We spend more than that on our healthcare. We spend more than that on our K-12 education. We spend much more than that on our roads and bridges. Now, these are all important priorities, but higher education needs to be at the top of that list as well,” he said.
Halpin said he was able to get a smaller line item in the fiscal year 2026 state budget for capital improvements at WIU for things like building repairs, sidewalk fixes, and parking lot issues.
“[That’s] money that the university would otherwise have to use its operations funds to pay for,” he said. “But it’s nothing compared to what can be done with the higher ed funding bill.”
Halpin also introduced Senate Bill 1308 this year. That legislation would appropriate $7.2 million for the Innovation Center at WIU’s Quad Cities campus.
“We're working with the university to try to gather more support to see if maybe in veto session we can get those things where they need to be, but it's going to take a lot of effort,” Halpin said. “Unfortunately, there's no other way, in my opinion, other than those additional resources, to really put the university on sound footing.”
But Halpin said he doesn’t see the situation at WIU as dire.
“Sadly, if the university hadn't made some changes or weren't forced to make some very hard decisions, then it might be more dire as we sit here today,” Halpin said. “I do believe that some of those personnel changes, as harmful and sad as they were for those employees, they’ve kind of stopped the slide, so to speak.”
Halpin said he feels for staff and faculty members who were laid off in the last year.
“But hopefully, the university has put itself in a position where it can start to build up again,” he said.
Halpin is also the senate sponsor for a bill that would allow Illinois community colleges to grant bachelor's degrees. He said he’s tried to bring state universities into that conversation by making sure the bill focuses on a group of students who wouldn’t likely go to a four-year college.
“It's really designed for those students who aren't choosing between community college or Western Illinois University, but are choosing between community college or no degree at all,” he said. “We've built in a lot of protections to make sure that that competition isn't taking place and I do think it will benefit students without hurting the universities.”
Another priority for Halpin is funding for K-12 education. He said evidence-based funding for those schools has been a success, with school districts getting enough money from the state that they aren’t raising their property tax levies.
TSPR talked with Halpin in Monmouth, where the senator helped secure $1.5 million to extend a downtown revitalization project and $300,000 to reconstruct West Harlem Avenue.
Halpin voted against Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s fiscal year 2026 budget, saying it didn’t include enough priorities for western Illinois.
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