OK, so everyone's talking about POTUS' budget proposal.  There are some draconian reductions proposed for low-income families and we all know when low-income families take a hit, Black people die!

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/03/17/proposed-us-budget-would-imperil-pell-and-low-income-students-critics-say#.WMvs9IJcM4s.mailto

March 10, 2017

Yesterday I talked about HB 230, great bill, but trustees of the 12 colleges really CAN make the decisions.  What we need are people on these Boards who know about education in Illinois and the nation.  Each of these 9 Boards and the Illinois Board of Higher Education has few people who actually know education. Rather, they are political appointments that have mostly worked in business.  The Illinois legislature  supposedly  has an Executive Appointment Committee that approves the Governor's recommendations to boards.  They are silent or when you call the assistants don't know which appointments are being considered, making their votes essentially a rubber stamp.  Do you know about the trustees being appointed to the University you care about.  Call your legislator!

Interested in the status of Blacks in higher education

Last week, I wrote about a new bill moving through the Illinois legislature to help keep Black students in higher education.  It is not just Illinois that needs to worry about the status of Blacks in higher education, the trend of decline is happening all over the nation.  Black students, where are you?
New statistics from the U.S. Department of Education

Disparities Continue among low income students

Nationally, 52 percent of low-income high school graduates immediately enrolled in college in 2014, compared to 81 percent of high-income students.

Wyborney took over the school in 2010, when it graduated about 60 percent of its students and was selected to participate in a federal school turnaround program. Her office is filled with reminders of her educational roots — Eastern Washington University sports team posters, portraits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and a framed copy of the Declaration of Independence, a nod to her days as a coach, athletic director and history teacher. She casually refers to 

My good friend Sylvia Alvino reminded me that I once had a blog and hadn't written on it in a very long time.  Well, with all that is going on in education in the nation and Illinois, it is time to revive it, for me and you.  Please follow and comment often!
The first reincarnation is very important to anyone who cares about Blacks in Illinois Higher Education:

Illinois House Bill 230 Creates the Public University Uniform Admission Act. Requires each public university in this State to admit first-time freshman applicants as undergraduate students if the applicant graduated with a grade point average in the top 10% of the student's high school graduating class in one of the 2 school years preceding the academic year for which the applicant is applying for admission and (1) the applicant graduated from an accredited public or private high school in this State or from a high school operated by the United States Department of Defense; (2) the applicant successfully completed the minimum college preparatory curriculum requirements for admission to the university or satisfied the ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks on the ACT college admission assessment applicable to the applicant or earned on the SAT college admission assessment a score of at least 1,500 out of 2,400; and (3) if the applicant graduated from a high school operated by the United States Department of Defense, the applicant is a State resident or is entitled to pay tuition fees at the rate provided for State residents. Provides that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is not required to offer admission to applicants who qualify for automatic admission in excess of the number required to fill 75% of the university's enrollment capacity designated for first-time resident undergraduate students in an academic year. Sets forth other provisions concerning the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Sets forth other provisions concerning admissions. Provides for additional preparation for college, student outreach, and rulemaking.

In case you were sitting on your laurels because what we call our safe Black institution, Chicago State, ranks third in the percent of out of state students.  So don't blame Urbana, it is coming to a city near you.  Please write to senators and representatives and ask them to support this bill.