By Benjamin Yount      Illinois Statehouse News

 SPRINGFIELD  –  After waiting months for millions of dollars that never came from the state, public universities across Illinois can now go to the bank to get the money they need.

The Illinois Senate has approved a plan that would allow schools to borrow up to 75 percent of what they are owed from the state of Illinois.

That will likely be millions of dollars.   University of Illinois officials told lawmakers Wednesday the state owes them $500 million.

The wait for that money had many university administrators looking at the calendar, and worrying about making payroll and paying their bills.

State Sen. Chris Lauzen, R-Aurora, said universities shouldn’t suffer for something that is not their fault.

“This is not the university’s problem, this is the state’s problem,” Lauzen said.  “It’s not their spending that caused the cash flow irresponsibility and deadbeatness of the state.  It’s not their problem.” 

Lauzen said the ability to borrow will not solve the cash flow problems at universities.

But State Sen. Ed Maloney, D-Chicago, said the loans will solve other problems at the schools.

“It’s not something the universities really want to do, but it’s necessary to keep the doors open, to keep the programs running,” he said.

The legislation does not require universities to borrow, but gives them the option to do so if they need the money.

State Sen. John O. Jones, R-Mt. Vernon, said he trusts universities to borrow responsibly.  But he would like to see some requirements when it comes time for the schools to pay back the money.

“When the universities get a payment from the state, I don’t care if it’s $10 million or $50 million, that payment should go toward paying back that loan.  And not be used for something else at the universities,” Jones said.

The original plan in the General Assembly would have allowed schools to borrow up to 150 percent of what they’re owed by the state.  But lawmakers trimmed that back out of fear of sky-rocketing debt.

“We have created a problem that I don’t think we can really solve.  It think it’s beyond that,” said state Sen. Dave Luetchefeld, R-Okawville.

Luetchefeld and other Republicans agreed to the borrowing plan for universities, but did not agree to another borrowing plan that would have pumped $250 million into Illinois’ Medicaid system.

That plan was shelved after a procedural maneuver from the Senate GOP to break up a party-line vote.

But State Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, said Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes and Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias already told Gov. Pat Quinn that the state shouldn’t take on more debt.

“Seventy percent of all of the short-term borrowing that has taken place in the entire state’s history has happened since 2003,” Righter said.  “Haven’t we done enough of that? Seven out of every ten dollars in just the last eight years.” 

Democrats had hoped to borrow the money and pair it with a federal match that would almost double the $250 million to pay Illinois’ growing backlog of unpaid Medicaid bills.  Lawmakers say they may try and pass the Medicaid borrowing plan again soon.

The college borrowing proposal now heads to Quinn’s desk.