Dr. Barbara Gellman-Danley, president of the the accrediting agency, the Higher Learning Commission, wrote to the governor and state legislative leaders in Illinois and warned them that every public college and university in the state may be required to close because of the legislature’s failure to act on the budget.
She wrote:
I am writing on behalf of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), the regional accrediting agency for nineteen states, including Illinois. HLC is recognized by the United States Department of Education to assure quality in higher education and to serve as the gatekeeper to federal financial aid for students in our region.
As your role in Illinois includes consequential decisions regarding the governance and funding for colleges and universities, I am notifying you of the potential accreditation outcomes that may result from not approving a budget that will provide funding to Illinois colleges and universities and their students.
A criterion for accreditation is demonstration of the availability of financial, physical, and human resources necessary to provide quality higher education. HLC is aware that the colleges and universities in Illinois may need to suspend operations because financial resources from the state are not available. HLC is obligated to move swiftly to protect Illinois students and to ensure the quality of the colleges and universities they attend.
Following federal regulations, HLC has notified all Illinois colleges and universities that if they believe they will have to suspend operations or close in the next several months, they must provide HLC with a plan for how students can continue at another college or university to avoid eliminating their access to higher education. For students to continue at another institution, it could mean having to transfer to private universities or leave the state. It is also probable some students may drop out of college. The plan also must explain how students will be informed about this urgent situation, including how they access transcripts if operations have been suspended due to lack of state funding.
Will Illinois’ elected officials act responsibility to protect public higher education in their state?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is the point where the rubber hits the road and everyone plays chicken until we crash or someone swerves – they being the governor and the legislature and the one who will cave first is the one who believes they will more be blamed for the consequences of their inaction contingent on the other side caving to some demand that they don’t want to in order to pass a budget.
Problem is, which side is more likely to be blamed? Based on earlier polls, with Rauner’s sinking popularity, it looks like the public is against him. So the pressure is on him to stop blocking based on the things the legislature hates and the legislature probably knows that.
So, is Rauner ideologically extreme enough to let his state collapse to try to force through his agenda regardless of what the public thinks of him? Does he believe he can twist the legislature’s arm by simply being so crazy they’ll swerve to avoid calamity?
These are not easy questions and no easy answers.
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I think KrazyTA’s contribution of this Mark Twain quote sums up Rauner:
“By trying we can easily endure adversity. Another man’s, I mean.”
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Do they care?
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Cross posted at http://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/Warning-Every-College-and-in-General_News-Access_Budget_College_Diane-Ravitch-160210-257.html#comment582959
with this comment containing embedded links.
This is how its done… how the oligarchs who control all the people that are in office everywhere, use austerity to decimate anything and everything which the people need.
It is not just about public schools are taken over by legislatures, https://dianeravitch.net/?s=legislature disappear at an alarming rate (as our nation watches entertainment politics, football and celebrity news.
If you watched Bill Maher this week, you heard Erin Brockovitch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI7p_cFtZ4w explain that Flint Michigan was the tip of the iceberg… as budget cuts led city managers to suspend adding the necessary chemicals to the water so that the pipes would not erode and leech lead.
Submitted on Wednesday, Feb 10, 2016 at 11:20:37 AM
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I saw it. Erin Brickowitz is right on! Thanks for posting this information.
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Many kids in my 8th grade class specifically mentioned that they want to leave IL when they grow up in the ‘introspection’ power point. Myself and the two other teachers in the room concurred. No one wants to live in IL any more. We elect politicians to do, many jobs, but one job in particular…write and agree on a budget in a timely manner! We need to wipe the slate clean here in IL and elect all new people!!!
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