The future of the proposed Multi-university Advanced Education and Research Center in DuPage County is definitely uncertain, and possibly doomed, one Illinois senator says.

Sen. Patrick Welch, (D-Peru), who has been opposed to the idea since its inception because proof of need was lacking, said the almost $30 million project is probably “doomed” for this year. But, he said it could return if the Illinois Board of Higher Education can produce studies proving the need for such a center exists.

“I don’t think it (the proposal) will be back (before the state legislature) in the fall,” Welch said.

IBHE had conducted one study during the proposal’s infancy which concluded there was a need in DuPage County for such a campus. However, several groups, including the East-West Corporate Corridor Association, Corridor Partnership for Excellence in Education, West Suburban Regional Academic Consortium, and the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities, are calling for a more up-to-date study.

Before the Illinois General Assembly closed up shop June 30, a $3-million planning budget for the project was reappropriated after not being used the year before, but $27 million in construction funding was turned down. This chunk of the budget was instead divided up for various projects among Illinois’ 13 state colleges, including two projects at NIU.

Opponents of the project have argued, like Welch, that there is no need for the campus, and also that a new state campus would take funding away from other state schools already suffering cutbacks.

Rep. Lee Daniels (R-Addison) is in favor of a DuPage Campus, but agrees the re-appropriation of planning budget should be the only step for now. He has said in the past that architectural plans and any environmental studies should be conducted first.

Daniel’s press secretary, Scott Hamilton, said Daniels still feels the campus is a worthwhile project, but “$27 million couldn’t be justified without planning.”

The center primarily would offer graduate-level courses and programs in conjunction with DuPage County’s several high-tech industries and its two advanced research laboritories, Argonne National and Fermilab.