The president of a union representing employees at more than half a dozen public universities in Illinois said they will be pushing state lawmakers next year to improve funding for the institutions, even though it’s an election year.
“There is no good year, right? Every year is always a reason not to do something. So when is the reason to do something?” said John Miller, President of the University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100.
“I like to tell folks to think about how much money you made in 2002, and imagine living on that today. And that’s what the state has done for public higher education with the exception of one university, and that’s the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.”
He’s grateful UIUC is well-funded, but he said the other public universities – including the University of Illinois campuses in Springfield and Chicago – and their students deserve a similar investment.
“Regional institutions reach out to new generation students, first-generation students, and move the state forward in ways that only a regional university is able to do, and that’s what attracts businesses,” Miller said.
Miller is promoting a funding equity bill that would generate revenue through a new tax on those making at least $1 million a year.
He said Illinois voters have twice supported advisory referenda for such a tax, and he cited Massachusetts as an example of how that would work.
Massachusetts voters approved the Fair Share Amendment in 2022. It imposes a 4% surtax on annual taxable income exceeding $1 million.
The Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center said the amendment is generating billions of dollars for public education and transportation.
Miller said the citizens of Illinois “deserve a quality education and deserve a real tax system that is going to meet the needs of the state.”
He said a greater state investment in public education would also help reduce property taxes.
He said other steps can be taken, too.
“There have been tax code changes on the federal level that gave big corporations, millionaires, billionaires, a significant amount of money, and yet the state still has tax breaks for Apple, Google, Amazon and so forth. Why are we giving these companies this money when we need this money for our education for our own students,” Miller said.
He called the Big Beautiful Bill Act one of the biggest shifts in wealth in the nation’s history. He said money needs to be put into schools so that working families can afford to send their children to regional institutions such as Western Illinois University.
Miller does not believe the wealthy and businesses will leave the state if a tax is imposed on millionaires. He said more people have moved into Massachusetts since its Fair Share Amendment was approved. He believes that’s due in part to the resulting investment in education and transportation.
“It’s what businesses and people want,” Miller said.
Miller said Illinois is one of the largest exporters of students in the U.S. because it’s cheaper to go to a university in another state. He said Illinois is still producing high quality high school seniors, but they’re going elsewhere for higher education and many times don’t come back, leading to a brain drain in the state.
Miller is also part of the new leadership team for the Illinois Federation of Teachers. He’s their membership secretary.
Miller feels his roles with UPI and IFT overlap. He said both are about improving education in Illinois and funding it adequately.
He called it a statewide issue.
Both groups are lobbying for new revenue for education.
Miller is a former professor of communication at WIU. He recently returned to the university to meet with the institution’s administrators in Macomb, where they talked about the need for improved funding for higher education.
Tri States Public Radio produced this story. TSPR relies on financial support from our readers and listeners in order to provide coverage of the issues that matter to west central Illinois, southeast Iowa, and northeast Missouri. As someone who values the content created by TSPR's news department please consider making a financial contribution.
