ILLINOIS (WAND) - Leaders of Illinois public universities are asking for more federal relief during the pandemic.
A letter penned by the presidents of the University of Illinois System, Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, Southern Illinois University System and Western Illinois University for Illinois' federal lawmakers said additional relief is needed to offset COVID-19 related costs. The leaders thanked Congress for pandemic relief approved in December and noted they're asking for help as President Joe Biden proposed a $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
"COVID-19 continues to have a devastating impact on higher education," officials said. "Our universities have taken extraordinary measures to continue operating during the pandemic, such as purchasing hardware and software for students to take online courses and providing COVID-19 testing for students and employees. At the same time, we have seen significant revenue declines due to closed facilities and room and board refunds, among other issues. All told, the financial impact of the pandemic on Illinois’ public universities through December 2020 was over $533 million, and that figure is estimated to reach $819 million by the end of spring semester."
Leaders said they're grateful for congressional support from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA). Illinois public universities will claim $147 million from the CRRSAA higher education relief fund, along with another $69 million in emergency financial aid grants for students.
In the words of the school presidents, specific requests for more relief include:
- Further financial assistance for institutions of higher education and students, for costs incurred since the beginning of the pandemic. We support the request made by the American Council on Education (ACE) and leading higher ed associations for an additional $97 billion in emergency funding.
- Funding to make up for disruptions to research grants, which have been particularly harmful to early-career and female researchers. We support ACE’s request for $26 billion in emergency funding for federal research agencies.
- Funding for state and local governments, so that they can continue to provide essential services.
- Temporary and limited liability protections to help ensure that universities acting in good faith and following applicable public health standards do not face expensive and time-consuming litigation, as detailed in the May 28 letter from higher education associations.
