Chicago State University, a school once attended by Kanye West, who later dropped out for music, is a predominately black college located on the South Side of Chicago.The school may unfortunately close this March due to the state’s unresolved budget impasse. The school began experiencing financial trouble back in June of 2015 when the state of Illinois began operating without a budget due to Governor Bruce Rauner and the majority Democratic legislature being at odds over the allotment of funds.
It is being estimated that Chicago State will run out of funds on March 1st unless there is a plan put into place. It’s reported that a Democratic Senator introduced a $25 million legislation that will prevent the school from closing.
This morning student protesters shut down the Dan Ryan Expressway as March quickly approaches. Earlier this month student leaders and the schools SGA organized a larger protest, and Paris Griffin, SGA President said, “We all knew we had to get our message out somehow, so we thought the best way would be to just bring it out through our own community here on the South Side of Chicago. We just want the state government to know that it’s their responsibility to support higher education in this state —not just at Chicago State, but everywhere in Illinois.”
Ebony Magazine spoke with Charles Preston, an African American Studies major about the schools current battle and he said, “The state tends to look at us as a number. Closing CSU would be taking away multiple resources from the south side of Chicago. Chicago State University is like a second-chance school.”
Source: http://www.ebony.com/news-views/chicago-state-university-students-budget#axzz3yb2YOvAp
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Chicago-State-University-Protesters-Block-Traffic-on-Dan-Ryan-Expressway-366856521.html
http://www.csu.edu/news/demandbudget.htm
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