By Angela Hatton
Carbondale, IL – The Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees met this week to discuss a budget crisis in their university system. The state of Illinois has failed to pay its share of the school's operating expenses for several months. The Southern newspaper reports SIU has received only 15-point-5 million dollars of their 140-million dollars allocation. Board members proposed several drastic measures, including layoffs, borrowing from restricted funds, and shutting down all together. SIU President Glenn Poshard says they have prepared for budget problems with a hiring freeze and 13 million dollars in cuts at their Edwardsville and Carbondale campus. Poshard says other state universities are in similar situations, and officials say they will have to shut down in March if they don't get state funding.