Illinois Community Colleges’ 3% Budget Boost Shrinks to 1%: The Cost of Federal Uncertainty

By Troy Swanson, Local 1600 Legislative Chair

Equity can’t be achieved on a discount.

In Illinois, federal policy shifts and funding threats, particularly from the Trump administration, are directly forcing the state to withhold 2% of its higher education funding, effectively reducing a promised 3% increase for community college budgets to just 1%.

Illinois’s community colleges were told to expect a 3% increase in state funding this year. This promised increase keeps pace with inflation. But on paper that 3% boost has effectively shrunk to just 1%. Why? When lawmakers passed the budget, they made 2% of the higher education allocation contingent on later approval by the governor. In practice, Pritzker has opted not to release that 2% reserve, citing the need for caution amid fiscal uncertainty. The result is that community colleges are getting only about a 1% net increase in operating funds which is well below what they need to tread water with rising costs.

Why Hold Back Funds? The 2% holdback isn’t arbitrary. It stems from broader budget challenges driven by Washington. Illinois faces a perfect storm of federal headwinds: changes in Medicaid policy threaten to strip away billions in funding over the next few years, aggressive immigration enforcement directives have included threats to cut off federal funds to states with sanctuary policies like Illinois, and the Trump administration even ordered a sweeping review of federal funding to Democratic-led states, freezing roughly $1 billion in Illinois social service and child care grants over unproven fraud claims. In short, Illinois leaders are bracing for possible federal shortfalls. The 2% reserve in the budget is essentially a cushion against these risks. 

The immediate consequence of this funding shortfall is increased pressure on community colleges to raise tuition and fees to make up the difference. Decades of declining state support have already shifted costs onto students, from 2004 to 2023, Illinois community colleges saw a 23% drop in state funding with a corresponding jump in tuition and fees. Student advocates and faculty fear history will repeat itself. In other words, when the state falls short, students pay the price directly.

Tight budgets don’t just impact the balance sheet. They are felt in day-to-day student support. Community colleges serve many high-need and nontraditional students (working adults, first-generation college-goers, low-income families), who rely on services like tutoring, advising, libraries, childcare, and career counseling. Chronic underfunding makes it harder to expand or even sustain these supports. When resources are scarce, colleges often respond by increasing class sizes, leaving positions unfilled, and stretching student services thin. In Illinois, community colleges have even opened food pantries and provided transit passes to help students persist in school. But those programs cost money. When state funding lags, colleges may have no choice but to cut back on these very services that help vulnerable students stay enrolled and succeed. The 2% reserve might sound small, but for students it could mean fewer tutoring hours, less academic advising, or a waiting list for the childcare center.

Illinois’s community college funding formula is supposed to promote equity. A key component is equalization grants, which are “intended to ensure that each district has approximately equivalent financial means, regardless of a district’s taxable property wealth.” In theory, the state gives extra funds to colleges in areas with low property tax bases so that students in poorer districts aren’t shortchanged. However, that promise breaks down when the state doesn’t deliver full funding. A mandated 2% holdback undermines these equalization grants. The colleges with the fewest local resources suffer the most when the state withholds funds that were meant to level the playing field. Equity in funding cannot be achieved with only partial funding.  The math simply doesn’t work. The funding formula is sound policy on paper, but it requires the dollars to back it up. When those dollars are reserved or pared back, low-resource colleges fall further behind their wealthier counterparts, exactly what equalization was designed to prevent.

Illinois’ budget is under attack from Washington and our community colleges can be listed among the collateral damage. Our state leaders built a budget with a failsafe mechanism in it to buffer the state budget if needed. Unfortunately for us, our leaders have needed to utilize this mechanism. But these good preventative measures don’t keep tuition affordable. A budget increase that merely keeps pace with inflation was never cause for celebration, but reducing that increase by two-thirds is a step in the wrong direction. If Illinois truly wants to make higher education accessible and equitable, it must follow through on funding promises. The state’s community college system works when it is funded. When funding is withheld, even under the banner of fiscal prudence, students and campuses feel the pain immediately. As budget debates continue, community college advocates are making one message clear: Equity can’t be achieved on a discount. Investing fully in these institutions is not just a line item. It’s a commitment to the students and communities they serve.