Illinois Quick Hits: Higher ed board pushes for more spending

(The Center Square) – The Illinois Board of Higher Education has approved a 4.5% spending increase in its budget for fiscal year 2027.

The increase of $121.5 million includes an additional $50 million for the Monetary Award Program, bringing the total MAP appropriation to $771.6 million.

IBHE says the budget also includes an additional $38.8 million in operating funding for public universities “to continue closing equity gaps in access, persistence and completion.”

ESPINOZA MARTINEZ NOT GUILTY

A federal jury in Chicago has found a man not guilty of placing a $10,000 bounty on U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino.

Juan Espinoza Martinez, 37, was charged last fall with soliciting the murder of a senior law enforcement official.

SUBURBAN POLICE CORRUPTION CONVICTION

A former police officer in the Chicago suburb of Phoenix has been convicted of federal corruption charges for conspiring to steal cash and drugs from vehicle occupants during tra...