Pritzker's push for community college four-year degrees stalls in Illinois statehouse

Billionaire Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's higher education reform faces unexpected resistance from universities.

Author: Mark Maxwell
Published: 7:43 PM CDT March 25, 2025
Updated: 7:43 PM CDT March 25, 2025

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — Gov. J.B. Pritzker's ambitious plan to allow community colleges to offer four-year degrees has hit a significant roadblock, exposing the complex political dynamics of higher education reform in Illinois.

The proposed legislation, House Bill 3717, would enable community colleges to grant bachelor's degrees in applied fields, potentially transforming access to higher education for thousands of students. Despite Pritzker's vocal support, the House Higher Education Committee declined to advance the bill last week.

"I'm glad to see negotiations continuing," Chairwoman Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville) said. "I think we need to focus on finding pathways for students to earn the credentials they need to support their careers and on supporting all our institutions of higher education across the state.' 

For Rep. Barbara Hernandez (D-Aurora), the proposal represents a personal mission. A Waubonsee Community College alumna who later transferred to Aurora University, she understands the financial challenges of higher education firsthand. "School is turning into more of a luxury at this point, and it is unfortunate," Hernandez said. "I saved a lot of money by starting at community college."

Similarly, Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria), another product of the community college system, sees the proposal as a critical pathway for working-class students. "Community colleges, more than anybody else in our community, they take people where they are at," she said.

The proposal aims to address several critical needs: reducing education costs, expanding workforce training, and increasing educational opportunities for underserved populations. According to the bill's findings, most students attend college within 50 miles of home, and many Illinois residents live outside commuting distance to traditional four-year institutions.

Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville), a Republican who is mulling support for the plan, acknowledges the complex dynamics. "University costs have gone through the roof," he said. "Hopefully this will encourage public universities and colleges to bring their prices down to get back to a reasonable price."

Universities have mounted fierce opposition, viewing the proposal as potential competition for student enrollment. Davidsmeyer characterized the resistance as "kind of a turf war. Protect ourselves at all costs."
Brian Durham, executive director of the Illinois Community College Board, emphasized the urgent need for flexible educational pathways. "Never before has there been such a need for continuous training and retraining," Durham said.

The low cost barrier and local proximity to community colleges are "the most powerful pieces," Durham said. "Every community college would be different. In fact, we don't expect that every community college would offer it." 

The bill includes stringent requirements for community colleges, including demonstrating workforce needs, ensuring racial and socioeconomic equity, and maintaining affordable tuition rates. Proposed baccalaureate programs would be limited to third and fourth-year credits not exceeding 150% of lower-division course fees.
"It is a way to fill workforce shortages," Durham said. "So in one area (of the state), they might need early childhood, in another they might need nursing, in another they might need respiratory care, they may need advanced manufacturing."

Durham downplayed some of the concerns from public universities and their lobbyists.

"They don't want to lose students, and I understand that," he said. "I think there's some catastrophic thinking going on, frankly. I do not see that it would be a threat to the universities in the way that it's been characterized. Ultimately, you're talking about targeted workforce gaps. We are not talking about community colleges offering sociology degrees. We are talking about community colleges doing respiratory care if that is an area where there is a need in the region and there are employers that want it."

While the bill's immediate future remains uncertain, Pritzker's allies see potential for revival in the Senate before the end of the legislative session. 

For students facing rising tuition costs and other barriers at public universities, the stakes are high. As Rep. Gordon-Booth noted, in a span of just six to nine months, individuals could transition "from making a minimum wage job to making a head of household job" through targeted certification programs.

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The above news article is a reprint of a story that aired on ksdk channel 5  (watch below)