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How much money are Illinois colleges getting in the new budget? ‘It’s definitely good news for colleges and universities.’

Illinois’ public universities and community colleges are getting an increase in state funding not seen in nearly three decades.

The state budget Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed June 5 raises higher education general funding by $154 million or 8.2 percent, the largest year-over-year percentage jump since 1990, according to the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

The budget includes $1.16 billion to cover day-to-day operations at the 12 public universities. That is a 5 percent increase over last year, giving the schools an additional $52.8 million.

Community colleges will receive a 12.3 percent increase from the 2018-19 school year, up $33.2 million for a total budget of $303 million.

The budget also boosts the Monetary Award Program grants, which help cover tuition for low-income students; and expands a merit scholarship program designed to entice high-achieving Illinoisans to enroll at local schools.

The grand total: $2.05 billion for university and college operations. Another $1.64 billion is devoted to higher ed pensions.

“It’s definitely good news for colleges and universities,” said Nyle Robinson, interim executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, in a written statement.

“While this is positive movement, we still have a lot of ground to make up. Our colleges and universities are still repairing the damage from the budget impasse, and we hope this budget ushers in a new philosophy of stability and recovery.”

University leaders for years have lobbied Springfield heavily for more funding, and collaborated in a statewide campaign this spring to wrest more dollars for operations and long overdue construction projects.

In the past two years, spending plans provided slight increases at best for higher education. School leaders said those budgets helped stabilize finances following the state’s budget impasse, but were not enough to reverse the long trend of budget reductions that helped balloon the cost of college and increasingly drove Illinoisans out of state for school.

These dollars won’t necessarily translate to lower costs for families, however, as schools set their tuition and fee rates early in the year. While the funding is more than last year, state dollars for colleges and universities have declined for many years, compelling schools to shift to tuition and fees as their primary income.

Tuition, fees and room and board for full-time Illinoisans have doubled at nearly each state university since the 2003-04 school year, according to state data. Schools have tried to compensate by boosting various forms of financial aid.

Timothy Killeen, president of the University of Illinois, said the budget marked “a significant step in rebuilding the trust and confidence” in the state’s higher education system.

“I’m just delighted to see this budget really representing a major turn in the right direction,” Killeen said in an interview. “I think this is an exciting time for higher ed in general in this state, and I couldn’t say that a year ago or three years ago.”

In addition to providing more for higher ed operations, legislators this month also approved the state’s first major infrastructure budget in a decade, a $45 billion program that set aside $3.2 billion for colleges and universities over six years. That plan would provide some long-overdue cash to upgrade and repair crumbling buildings, and to construct new facilities at public campuses. It includes $78 million earmarked for emergency repairs and delayed maintenance.

It will take some time for that money to materialize, however. Pritzker’s capital budget relies in part on gambling expansion and tax hikes on smoking — revenue not yet generated.

Here is a sampling of some of the funding schools are in line to receive and the projects it would support. The capital dollars include only new appropriations, not projects that were re-approved for funding.

University of Illinois (campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield)

$628.7 million for general operations

$100 million to build a new math, statistics and data science collaboration center in Urbana-Champaign

$100 million to build a new quantum information sciences building in Urbana-Champaign

$195.2 million for other capital upgrades in Urbana-Champaign

$98 million for construction of a computer research and learning center in Chicago; $146.4 million for other construction and renovation

$35 million to build a library learning center in Springfield; $11.6 million for other improvements

Illinois State University

$69.7 million for general operations

$89.2 million to overhaul Milner Library

$40.4 million in other upgrades

Northern Illinois University

$87.8 million for general operations

$77 million for a new computer science and technology center

$52.9 million in other improvements

Southern Illinois University (campuses in Carbondale and Edwardsville)

$194.9 million for general operations

$83 million for a renovation and addition to the communications building in Carbondale; $56.1 million for other projects

$105.3 million for a new health sciences building in Edwardsville; $24.3 million for other campus upgrades

$12 million for various improvements at the school of medicine in Springfield

Western Illinois University

$49.6 million for general operations

$94.5 million for a new science building; $28.9 million for other capital improvements

Northeastern Illinois University

$35.6 million for general operations

$23.4 million to renovate the Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies and remodel the Performing Arts Building

$19.2 million for other campus upgrades

Eastern Illinois University

$41.4 million for general operations

$118.8 million for construction of a new science building; $19.5 million in miscellaneous improvements

Governors State University

$23.2 million for general operations

$3.5 million to expand an academic building

$29.2 million for various construction projects

Chicago State University

$36.9 million for general operations, additional expenses and the university pharmacy program.

$33.7 million in capital upgrades, including $15.8 million to build a simulation lab for the health science and pharmacy program.

Community colleges

$303 million for general operations and grants

$479.2 million for construction and building upgrades at campuses throughout the state

$27.6 million for City Colleges of Chicago

$43 million for Moraine Valley Community College to upgrade several buildings

$37.5 million for Lewis and Clark Community College to renovate its main complex

$35.7 million for South Suburban College to expand the Allied Health facility

$31.9 million for Oakton Community College to remodel, renovate and upgrade buildings on the Des Plaines campus

$26.7 million for College of Lake County to support a new classroom building

$19.8 million for a downtown city center campus at Joliet Junior College

$12.7 million to build a career technical educational building at Waubonsee Community College

$15.7 million to construct a career, technical and manufacturing center at McHenry County College

Other funding

Monetary Award Program grants: $451.3 million ($50 million increase over 2018)

AIM High, a state scholarship program for high-achieving Illinois students: $35 million ($10 million increase)

Illinois Math and Science Academy: $22.7 million (3 percent increase)

Private colleges and universities: $400 million for capital projects