SIUC will have to wait until the Illinois General Assembly’s fall veto session for more than $2.7 million earmarked for repair and maintenance, if the money is ever made available.

State Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said the money has not been released because the General Assembly failed to pass the bond authorization act, which would have authorized capital bonds for state-funded capital projects.

Because a two-thirds majority was required to pass the authorization act, some Democrats needed to vote for the bill in order for it to pass. Not one Democrat voted for the bill.

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At a town meeting-style forum in June, State Sen. Evelyn Bowles, D-Edwardsville, said the Democrats voted down the measure because they had no input in the bill.

However, House Speaker Lee Daniels, R-Elmhurst, said the Democrats were offered input in the process , and the partisan politics was over pet projects.

That’s just not true, he said. Every time we had difficulties with the Democrats, it was usually some pet project they wanted for Chicago.

Garrett Deakin, director of government relations for SIU, said the money, if it is released, will go to pay for asbestos abatement on the first and second floor of Morris Library, drainage of the heating and cooling systems in Faner Hall, a roofing project for Quigley Hall and the replacement of about 1,000 feet of underground electrical cable on campus.

Daniels said he expects the legislature to make another attempt to iron out the partisan differences on the bond authorization bill during the veto session this fall, but he was not optimistic about the prospects of passing the bill.

This is a responsible budget, he said. For the next two years, we are going to live within our means. If they (Democrats) put something in, they will have to take something else out.

The budget for the academic side of the University, however, fared well in the legislature, according to Donald Wilson, vice chancellor for financial affairs and board treasurer.

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It depends on who you talk to, he said. I think education fared fairly well in the process.

The Senate allocated a little more than $253.1 million for the University’s total operating budget, compared to the $269 million requested by the SIU system.

The breakdown of the allocations is difficult to compare to the breakdown of the system’s request because the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) and the governor’s office classify the allocations differently than the University did in its request, Wilson said.

Wilson pointed out, however, that the governor’s recommended allocation for the adjusted base budget, which the Senate passed, was only $330,000 less than the IBHE’s recommendation.

The IBHE’s recommendation trimmed only $259,000 from the University system’s requested adjusted base budget.