Heartland Community College is preparing for a potential cut in state funding next year even though the recently approved state budget provides a slight increase for community colleges across Illinois.
Heartland is set to regain funding in most programs from last year, following the state's 1% increase in community college funding, but it will lose a healthcare training grant.
HCC President Keith Cornille is currently waiting for Gov. JB Pritzker's approval of the legislation and the Illinois Community College Board's work to allocate what its 45 community colleges, including Heartland, will receive for the upcoming year.
“It's still kind of early for us to know what the true impact will be for us, we are pleased though... to see even if it was small, a bit of an increase, to higher education," Cornille said.
Despite the increase, Heartland is building its budget around the assumption the state will give the school the same or less funding than last year. In fiscal year 2026, Heartland received about $5.1 million in base operating funds.
While the higher education funding bump includes community colleges, Cornille knows that doesn't always translate to Heartland specifically.
"Last year, when there was a slight increase overall at the college, we actually saw a slight decrease in the amount of money we received from the state," he said.
In the upcoming year, Heartland will retain funding from the Workforce Empowerment initiative [WEI] and grants related to mental health, but will lose funding for PATH [Pipeline for the Advancement of the Healthcare Workforce]. Heartland received $1.2 million from WEI and $441,000 from PATH in 2026.
PATH, used as assistance for students seeking education in healthcare professions, marked Heartland's sole substantial cut. Cornille doesn't anticipate much change despite the loss.
"As a college, we feel like we're ready and prepared to handle the loss of those funds that we have received," he said. "The amounts that we have lost, we do have plans in place to make sure that students will continue on without even noticing that cut happened.”
The plans include reallocating money and restructuring how the college offers services.
"It was extra money that supported some growth opportunities that we were able to put in place, but we're able to pick those up in other ways now," said Cornille, who remains grateful for funding in other departments, and the increase in overall funding for higher education in Illinois.
Another funding program Heartland will retain is the Monetary Award Program [MAP] that gives out grants based on financial need. Heartland gave MAP funding to every eligible student last year.
"It is an important, extremely important, program to all of us across the state in community colleges because it will pay the majority of their tuition," Cornille said. "If they're awarded at 100%, it will most certainly pay all their tuition."
The increase and renewal in funding is seen as an overall positive for Heartland.
“It allows us to continue to do the things that we do, which is to move people forward, getting them jobs, better jobs and onto careers," Cornille said.
