Your Name:

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Your City & State

Your Letter:
Dear Governor Blagojevich, This year's 8% reduction in state support for higher education is short-sighted and damaging to the people of Illinois. Since the quality of education delivered by Illinois universities and colleges depends on the people who deliver that education, I encourage you to ensure that state budgets are adequate to ensure that faculty and the civil service staff who support them are adequately supported by the state's higher education budget. Faculty salaries in Illinois lag behind national peer institutions by 10-28%, according to a 2002 study by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. I believe that the legislature should identify and earmark appropriations for a reasonable cost-of-living increase for campus faculty and staff. The ability to attract and retain African Americans, Latinos, and other diverse groups is compromised by the inability to offer competitive wages. Budget cuts make it difficult, if not impossible, to eliminate the existing salary inequity between female and male faculty. To cut higher education funding is to cut opportunity for citizens of Illinois. K-12 teachers, future scientists and health leaders, and public servants rely on public higher education for their professional advancement. Eliminating the "administrative waste and excess" at higher education institutions requires a specific plan, but rather than providing a plan you have simply reduced state support at the cost of faculty, staff, and, most importantly, students. I encourage you to reverse your cuts to higher education and fully fund the IBHE FY04 budget request during the legislature's Veto Session. Thank you.