By AP/KWMU
Springfield, Ill – Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich wants the state's nine public universities to give him a plan next month on how to reduce administrative costs.
He told the State Board of Higher Education yesterday to find ways to save money through joint purchases or cooperative ventures.
The governor also wants university trustees to stop taking charter flights, and he called for an end to free tickets to university sporting events for state lawmakers, the governor, and his staff. He added the ticket request was more an ethical issue than budgetary, saying lawmakers could be invited to a game one day and asked to vote on higher education the next.
Other spending reforms Blagojevich wants include limits on travel, meal and entertainment expenses by university officials and faculty.