By Illinois Public Radio
Springfield, ILL. – The Illinois Board of Higher Education sent its wish list of building projects to lawmakers on Thursday.
The Board hopes for more than $340 million in construction at campuses around the state, including $2.8 million to plan for a massive renovation and expansion of the Science Laboratory Building at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
But there's no telling just which projects will get money. "We put out there the capital budget we believe can be justified and certainly is needed by the institutions and we'll try to make that case before the General Assembly," said board spokesman Don Sevener.
The list is in order of which projects the board thinks should be funded first and is usually whittled down to a few that actually get money. However, sometimes projects not on the list are added to the budget.
| IL Board of Higher Ed. - Capital Projects Wish List | |||
| Priority No. | School | Project | Cost |
| 1 | All institutions | general maintenance of existing bldgs. | $40.0 M |
| 2 | IL Math/Science Academy | Main Building Addition | $7.8 M |
| 3 | Eastern IL Univ. | Renovate, expand Fine Arts Ctr. | $1.5 M |
| 4 | Chicago State Univ. | Convocation Center | $5.0 M |
| 5 | SIU - Edwardsville | Renovate, expand Science Lab Bldg. | $2.8 M |
| 6 | Univ. of IL - Urbana-Champaign | Remodel Lincoln Hall | $51.0 M |
| 7 | Triton College | Rehab Technology Bldg. | $8.2 M |
| 8 | Joliet Junior College | Renovate campus utilities | $3.4 M |
| 9 | SIU - Carbondale | Renovate, expand Communications Bldg. | $5.1 M |
| 10 | Rock Valley College | Arts Center | $15.7 M |