Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal outlines significant investment in Illinois’ higher educations institutions and students. Illinois four-year public universities, which includes Chicago State University (CSU), would receive a 7% (80.5 million) increase in funding for fiscal year 2024 relative to this year’s budget. The 2024 higher education budget would include $2.47 billion, an increase of $219 million (9.7 percent) compared to the previous fiscal year. If approved by the General Assembly, the budget would provide critically needed resources for CSU and its students.

Governor Pritzker’s budget also strengthens financial aid support for students highlighted by an increase in funding for the Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants for low-income student by $100 million. If passed by the General Assembly, this would result in a $300 million expansion of the MAP grant program since fiscal year 2019. The investments align with the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s Thriving Illinois strategic plan, which charts a path for a more equitable higher education system with meaningful access for students of color, low-income students, and students from rural communities. The timing of this work is critical as Black student enrollment declined in Illinois 34% (2013-2019).

The Governor’s proposed budget would also include a $2.8 million increase to the Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program (MTI) to recruit and retain minority teachers.

“Governor Pritzker’s budget recognizes the transformative power of higher education for our economy and families,” said Zaldwaynaka Scott, Esq., President of Chicago State University. “CSU’s 2021 Economic Impact Study determined that CSU generates $1.6 billion in income to Illinois’ economy annually and results in CSU graduates earning an additional $843,000 over the course of their careers. Governor Pritzker’s budget proposal creates a pathway for more Illinois families to secure careers that generate family sustaining wages from the transformative power of a college degree.”

“Governor Pritzker continued attentiveness and dedication to the higher education institution in Illinois have been remarkable, and we thank him for his unwavering support to provide resources to enhance the student’s needs. I also appreciate the Governor’s support of the state’s only four-year Predominantly Black Institution, Chicago State University,” said Demetrius Johnson, Jr., Founder, President and CEO of the HBCU Campaign Fund. “CSU invests a $1.6 billion income to Illinois’ economy annually, which also plays a transformative role in its surrounding community. Governor Pritzker’s budget proposal not just creates more pathways but provides those educational accesses that students need to secure careers they have worked so diligently towards. What a brighter future for our future students.”

Read more about Governor’s Pritzker’s proposed fiscal year 2024 budget here.

###