Amid the continuing state budget crisis, hard-hit Chicago State University laid off more than 300 employees Friday evening, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The layoffs are wide-ranging, from administrators to maintenance workers, with about 1/3 of the roughly 900 employees impacted, the Tribune reports. No faculty members were affected in Friday's layoffs, but CSU has not ruled that option out in future cuts.
"It's not going to really be able to service the community in the way that it should be able to," former nursing student advisor Saleemah Ali said, having experienced her own layoff at the outset of the budget crisis.
Chicago State University was one of the hardest-hit schools in the state by the budget crisis, forced to cancel spring break and move commencement ceremonies up to Thursday of this week.
The huge staff cuts come despite a $20 million infusion from the state just last week after a full academic year of no state funding while lawmakers continued to negotiate a budget deal.
“While appreciative and supportive of the emergency funding, limited allocation by the state will still require CSU to make difficult cost-cutting decisions moving forward, including additional workforce reductions,” a statement from CSU read after the stop-gap funding measure passed.
Enrollment decline is expected.
