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Board advances FY2026 operating budget after CFO presentation
Summary
Trustees heard a systemwide FY2026 operating budget summary and moved forward with approving the budget package; the presentation reported a total budget of $8.9 billion (7.8% increase) and $7.3 billion excluding state fringe benefits (5.6% increase), with salaries and benefits the largest expense.
The University of Illinois Board of Trustees heard a detailed FY2026 operating budget presentation from Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Paul Ellinger and approved the budget as part of the roll-call agenda.
Ellinger told trustees the board had approved a provisional budget in May and that the state’s finalized FY2026 appropriation allowed staff to present a recommended operating budget for formal approval. He summarized headline figures: an overall system budget of $8,900,000,000 — a 7.8% increase from the prior budget — and $7,300,000,000 when excluding estimated state fringe benefits, reflecting a 5.6% increase. Ellinger said the operating budget is organized into four major components: the general operating fund (supporting instruction and core academic activities), hospital activities (budgeted just under $1.4 billion), restricted funds (sponsored programs, auxiliaries, housing, dining, athletics and gifts), and state fringe benefits.
Ellinger said tuition and fees remain an important revenue source and noted enrollment growth: 101,081 students systemwide this fall, a 3.4% increase over the prior year. He described revenue mix trends, including projected increases in investment earnings and expected decreases in ICR (indirect cost recovery) revenue. On the expense side, salaries and benefits were cited as the largest budget item at over $3.6 billion, representing roughly half of system expenditures. Ellinger outlined pressures including inflationary headwinds, uncertainty about federal grants and overhead rates, and higher-than-inflation increases in housing and dining costs.
After trustees discussed that the budget had been reviewed in committee, Secretary Stein read the roll-call agenda (items 12–21) and the board moved to a roll-call vote. The roll-call recorded trustees voting in favor of the roll-call package; motions carried and the board recorded one abstention on a subitem as noted in the record.
The board packet contains a 151‑page budget summary and additional campus-level materials and Ellinger said actual fiscal results will be presented at the November meeting. Trustees were told that the budget materials comply with legislative audit guidelines and that further campus-level details will be available in committee and back-up reports.
