Gov. Bruce Rauner is slated to deliver his second State of the State address at noon Wednesday in the House chamber as Illinois prepares to venture into its eighth straight month without a budget.

Higher education has been no stranger to setbacks caused by the stalemate among Rauner, House Speaker Michael Madigan and the legislature that has persisted far beyond the General Assembly’s scheduled spring session adjournment date of May 31.

Eastern’s Board of Trustees passed a budget of $172 million in June that anticipated the university receiving about $40 million from the state in fiscal year 2016, which began July 1, and $38 million in fiscal year 2017.

If Rauner’s initial proposal of a 31.5 percent reduction to higher education funding were passed, Eastern would be looking at $30.2 million for fiscal year 2016, compared to fiscal year 2015’s $43.96 million.

Despite hopes for less drastic cuts, the university is essentially dealing with no state appropriated budget at all and is instead forced to rely upon its own reserves.

Shirmeen Ahmad, Eastern’s student body president, said the Student Senate wants to hear from Rauner’s address what just about everyone else wants to hear—a concrete plan.

“We are now in January and it’s been almost a year,” she said. “So I think it would just make the whole state of Illinois’ lives easier if (Rauner) actually had a plan to share with us on what (he is) planning on doing now and why we’re in this kind of state that we are right now.”

Ahmad said she is more indifferent than hopeful at this point because she would be surprised to hear of any significant progress in the address.

“For (Student Senate) it’s kind of like, ‘Well, can you just do something please?’” Ahmad said. “Because it’s getting ridiculous that it’s not just us that doesn’t have money, it’s the whole entire state.”

She said the Student Senate tries to lobby Springfield for university funding at least once a semester and is currently in the process of thinking of other ideas.

“The main thing we are trying to focus on is informing the students, letting them know that the rumors that happened are nothing, but here’s what you need to know and here’s the reason that you should be an active citizen,” she said. “Now is not the time to turn the other cheek and not focus on it.”

Stephanie Markham can be reached at 581-2812 or samarkham@eiu.edu