My family and friends working for the state have had their daycare help cut, been asked to prepay at the doctor's office...University of Illinois used to be THE school to attend (at least for those of us who went to public school) and currently the cost of attending U of I - for residents - is waaayyyy higher than out of state tuition at other Big Ten schools.
We (Midwesterners) have been home to some FANTASTIC academic institutions... Illinois, UW, Michigan... We're slipping. Almost everyone I know who graduated from an IL University and now has college age kids is sending their own kids out of state! That seems really bad to me..