Full Text of SJR0092 94th General Assembly
SJ0092 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The University of Illinois was chartered in 1867 | 3 |
| as a public, land-grant institution to develop the State's | 4 |
| capacities in agriculture and industry, and the university has | 5 |
| grown to become one of the country's premier public higher | 6 |
| education institutions for public service and for teaching and | 7 |
| research across academic disciplines; and
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| WHEREAS, A primary goal of public universities is to | 9 |
| provide broad public access to affordable, high-quality, | 10 |
| post-secondary education and training; and
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| WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has appropriated more than | 12 |
| $700 million to the University of Illinois system for fiscal | 13 |
| year 2007; the system regularly receives in excess of $80 | 14 |
| million annually in State grants and contracts, and these | 15 |
| public funds are generated by taxes paid by individuals who | 16 |
| live and work in the State; and
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| WHEREAS, The University of Illinois, as the State's | 18 |
| flagship university, is the only public Illinois institution of | 19 |
| higher learning ranked as "more selective" by U.S. News & World | 20 |
| Report, meaning that acceptance to the university generally | 21 |
| requires strong performance on standardized tests and an | 22 |
| impressive class ranking, but that these factors alone cannot | 23 |
| secure admission; and
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| WHEREAS, Illinois has for decades been a net exporter of | 25 |
| college students, and students who attend colleges and | 26 |
| universities out-of-state are less likely to live in Illinois | 27 |
| after graduation and to contribute to Illinois's economy | 28 |
| through increased tax revenues and participation in an educated | 29 |
| workforce; and
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| WHEREAS, University of Illinois officials have recently |
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| announced a new strategic plan that includes decreasing total | 2 |
| enrollment while increasing the percentage of incoming | 3 |
| freshmen who are out-of-state residents, thereby further | 4 |
| decreasing the number of qualified in-state students who may | 5 |
| enroll at the State's already-competitive flagship university; | 6 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | 8 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 9 |
| CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created a Joint Task Force on | 10 |
| Resident Student Enrollment for the purpose of reviewing the | 11 |
| University of Illinois's proposed change in enrollment | 12 |
| policies and determining the benefits or drawbacks to the State | 13 |
| of enacting these new policies; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the task force shall consider the economic | 15 |
| and social benefits that the State of Illinois could stand to | 16 |
| reap by retaining Illinois residents as higher education | 17 |
| students or by importing out-of-state students to our | 18 |
| universities and colleges, as well as examine whether adequate | 19 |
| alternatives exist for in-state students who will now face | 20 |
| increased competition for spots in the University of Illinois's | 21 |
| freshman class; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That the President of the Senate, the Speaker of | 23 |
| the House, the Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Minority | 24 |
| Leader of the House shall each appoint no more than four | 25 |
| members of the General Assembly to serve on the Joint Task | 26 |
| Force on Resident Student Enrollment, which members shall serve | 27 |
| on a voluntary basis and must not be responsible for any costs | 28 |
| associated with their participation in the task force; and be | 29 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That the task force shall meet as necessary and | 31 |
| shall report its findings to the General Assembly by filing | 32 |
| copies of its report with the Secretary of the Senate and the |
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| Clerk of the House no later than March 15, 2007; and that upon | 2 |
| filing its report the task force is dissolved; and be it | 3 |
| further
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| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 5 |
| delivered to the President and the Board of Trustees of the | 6 |
| University of Illinois and to the Board of Higher Education.
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