Bailey Proposes Prioritizing Illinois Students at U of I

As students return to classes, Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey called for a dramatic change at the University of Illinois to prioritize Illinois students.

The plan calls for a shift over time requiring 90% of students in freshman incoming classes to be from Illinois. Currently, that number often drops below 75%.

“Too many hard-working Illinois students are being left behind as the University has increasingly lost focus on its core mission to educate and lift up our students in Illinois. We should join other states in requiring the vast majority of undergraduates to be from our state,” said Bailey. “Ensuring our students have access to a great education shouldn’t be controversial; putting Illinois students first is common sense.”

Bailey proposes to increase the proportion of freshman enrollees who come from the State of Illinois over each of the next four years. The goal of this policy is to increase the proportion of Illinoisans from approximately 75% to 90% of total enrollment at the University of Illinois.

Senator Bailey proposes a new state law to guarantee the following proportion of first-year student seats at the U of I:

2023-2024: 79% of the first-year class

2024-2025: 82.5% of the first-year class

2025-2026: 86.5% of the first-year class

2026-2027: 90% of the first-year class