U of I Day at the Capitol - April 6

I am not sure if anyone is interested in attending the U of I Day at the Capitol on April 6th, but I thought I would pass along the information (this is an event I plan through my office at the Alumni Association). April 6 (Wednesday) www.ic.uillinois.edu/lobbyday Free to attend Free transportation (Springfield) Lunch provided during briefing, 4pm-5pm reception after legislative visits Bus leaves from Altgeld Hall around 9:30am, returns around 6:30/7:00pm Around 200 students/staff/alumni from 3 campuses attend You will be matched with your area legislators and go with other constituents to speak with them about U of I issues President Hogan will be at the event, as well as key alumni and staff As we talk about Public vs. Private, tuition costs, access, MAP Grants, Pell Grants (which I found out that we do officially support, but the office of Gov't Affairs was waiting to figure out how to approach lobbying for these grants since we didn't have a Federal Lobbyist until recently)...going to Lobby Day may help you understand the financial side somewhat, as well as how "wonderful" politics work first-hand. This year the University's messages are: -The state is only funding us at 1970's levels but we are serving 28,000+ more students -For the first time UI students and families are contributing more money to the University than the state is - and it's unsustainable -The University is streamlining business operations and will save $10 million by July 1, 2011, and an additional $60 million in the next three years -The state needs to live up to promises and pay for MAP Grants and pay invoices from the University in a timely manner, and keep support high