U of I pressed on costly abandoned development project, stance on DEI directives

By Sean Reed | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – As many Illinois universities face multimillion dollar budget deficits, state senators were critical of spending by the University of Illinois System late Tuesday.

Public universities of Illinois have requested a combined total of nearly $1.4 billion for the state’s 2027 budget.

Despite the General Assembly’s spring break leave this week, the Senate Appropriations Education Committee held a hearing regarding a number of state universities’ budget requests in Springfield.

Senators questioned Tim Killeen, president of the University of Illinois system, regarding his institution’s request, SB 4154. It proposes $746 million for the three universities in the system, U of I Urbana-Champaign, U of I Chicago, and U of I Springfield.

Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Champaign, was critical of Killeen’s oversight of the University’s Discovery Partners Institute, which he said wasted tens of millions in taxpayer dollars on the development of a South Chicago Loop property known as The 78.

“Last year you said [development] was about $50 million in loss. That didn’t include, at that point, the four years of institutional $10 million a year that was essentially being sent from your office over to DPI’s operating expense,” Rose said. “So last year you said you were accountable. Now you’re saying there’s no waste?”

Killeen defended the spending, saying that there was a sunk-cost, but other parts of the program – alongside the project’s change in course – have brought money back into the university through new research grants.

Chancellor of U of I Urbana-Champaign Charles Isbell Jr. has taken the reins overseeing DPI, which the senator said he was glad to see.

Isbell said the South Loop project proved too costly, showing in hindsight, the university made the right call by shifting the program’s focus to the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, a technological hub project – backed by city, state and federal tax incentives – on Chicago’s Southeast Side.

Sen. Graciela Guzmán, D-Chicago, pushed for University of Illinois leadership to respond to a petition from U of I Chicago faculty, students and alumni, which calls on them to reverse anti-DEI directives after the Trump administration threatened funding to public universities across the country over the matter.

Killeen, who previously told general assembly members the university would not cave to pressure, did not make a clear commitment on the petition one way or another.

“We abide by the Civil Rights Act absolutely, and want to avoid legal vulnerability by whatever means.” Killeen said. “We are making sure that our websites are carefully constructed, so they don’t imply things that are not true about our university.”

Other administrators responded similarly.

The Senate committee also heard budget requests from Northern and Western Illinois Universities, which requested roughly $105 million and $59 million respectively.