NPR Illinois to lose university funding

Public funds for public radio in central Illinois will be phased out over the next five years. But National Public Radio (NPR) Illinois plans to use this fiscal lemon to make lemonade through enhanced fundraising and increased news coverage.

The $7 million deficit sustained by University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) during the COVID-19 pandemic has required budget adjustments at the university, including the elimination of the institution's $417,000 in direct cash support per fiscal year for NPR Illinois. The public radio station is headquartered on the Springfield campus.

"Much of higher education, including the university, has experienced declines in state funding and enrollment, and quite simply we no longer have the cash funds to support operations like NPR Illinois," said UIS Interim Chancellor Karen Whitney. "Gone are the days when a state university only receives funding from the state and the student. We have now shifted to multiple funding sources and we are asking NPR Illinois to do the same."

According to an outline posted on nprillinois.org, NPR Illinois will see its yearly support decline gradually, starting with a total of $350,000 coming from the university in Fiscal Year 2022, which begins on July 1, 2021. That support will drop to $284,000 in FY23, to $217,000 in FY24, to $150,000 in FY25 and to zero by FY26.

Read more: https://www.illinoistimes.com/springfield/npr-illinois-to-lose-university-funding/Content?oid=13777666