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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — University of Illinois President Timothy Killeen on Thursday froze hiring in the school's administration until the state's budget situation is resolved.
Killeen said in a memo to university administrators obtained by The Associated Press that the university is making the move to help manage finances while it waits to find out how much state money it will receive this fiscal year.
"We realize these measures will create challenges," Killeen wrote. "Given the state's budget circumstances, we must focus our efforts on effectively managing our resources so as to maintain essential services."
Faculty jobs and other positions on the university's campuses aren't affected, only the central administration, university spokesman Tom Hardy said later. He says about 23 open positions are affected, plus positions that open while the freeze goes on.
Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats could not agree on a 2016 budget before the fiscal year started Wednesday.
The state last year provided about 11 percent of the university's $5.6 billion operating budget.
Rauner earlier this year proposed 31.5 percent cuts in state appropriations for all public universities, but Killeen has said he hopes the final figure is closer to the 8.6 percent cut approved by state legislators in their proposed budget.
About 1,200 people work in the administration with an annual turnover rate of about 13.3 percent, or about 160 people, Hardy said.
Jobs being left open range from $25,000-a-year civil service position to a director's position that would pay about $160,000, he said.
The campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield can make their own decisions about whether to hire new employees, Hardy said, but he added that such moves are unlikely with a new school year starting next month.
"They need that flexibility" to fill open jobs, Hardy said.
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