U of I Opposes Proposed Higher Ed Funding Overhaul

University president says bill would disfavor flagship campus and lead to tuition hikes for Illinois families

Published on Feb. 26, 2026

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The president of the University of Illinois System said Wednesday that negotiations are continuing over legislation to overhaul the way the state funds higher education, but the state's flagship university remains opposed to the legislation in its current form. The proposed bill would add $1.7 billion in new higher education funding over 10 years, but would prioritize the most underfunded schools, leaving the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the state's largest campus, last on the priority list for new funding.

Why it matters

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the state's flagship university and educates over half of the state's undergraduate students. The proposed funding formula changes could have significant impacts on the university's budget and tuition costs for Illinois families.

The details

The proposed legislation, House Bill 1581 and Senate Bill 13, calls for adding about $1.7 billion in new higher education funding over the next 10 years. That money would be distributed under a formula similar to the Evidence-Based funding formula used for K-12 education that would prioritize the schools that are currently the most underfunded, including Western Illinois University, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and Eastern Illinois University. Under the proposed formula, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the state's largest university campus, currently ranks as the most adequately funded school and thus would be last on the priority list for new funding.

  • The University of Illinois president made the comments on Wednesday, February 26, 2026.

The players

Tim Killeen

President of the University of Illinois System.

Carol Ammons

Democratic state representative from Urbana and a lead sponsor of the House bill.

House Bill 1581

Proposed legislation to overhaul higher education funding in Illinois.

Senate Bill 13

Proposed legislation to overhaul higher education funding in Illinois.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The state's largest university campus and flagship institution of the University of Illinois System.

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What they’re saying

“Our calculations have demonstrated that the bill, as it stands, would disfavor us, and it would lead to rises in tuition for Illinois families that we don't think is the right answer to the kind of problem sets that are being looked at.”

— Tim Killeen, President, University of Illinois System (Capitol News Illinois)

“We look forward to bringing the University of Illinois on board so that we can adopt a more fair and equitable process to prevent the closure of our other institutions around the state of Illinois, so that we can meet the needs of all of our students in this state.”

— Carol Ammons, State Representative, Democrat from Urbana (Capitol News Illinois)

What’s next

Supporters of the proposed funding overhaul legislation say they will push for it again this year and continue negotiating with the University of Illinois on a compromise.

The takeaway

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the state's flagship university, remains opposed to the proposed higher education funding overhaul, arguing it would disfavor the campus and lead to tuition hikes for Illinois families. The debate highlights the challenges of balancing the needs of the state's various public universities and ensuring equitable funding.