With about $500 million of state funds remaining from an unsuccessful attempt to build the Superconducting Super Collider in Illinois, state universities are hoping to grab a portion of the leftovers to fund additional science and technology projects.

Ross Hodel, associate director for the Illinois Board of Higher Education, said the board is not trying to gain the entire amount. “We’re just pointing out that the state has this much money available and how much more the state universities need,” he said.

The IBHE will ask the Illinois General Assembly for $249.3 million to fund science and technology, capital improvement and repair and renovation projects for the 1990 academic year, he said.

Hodel said the IBHE hopes to win the Illinois General Assembly’s approval by emphasizing the need for more money to expand and improve Illinois science and technology projects. The board will request about $123 million of the total for science and technology projects, he said.

If the funds are granted by the General Assembly, NIU will receive about $28 million of the requested $249.3 million and will spend about $21 million of that amount on science and technology, Hodel said.

odel said the IBHE will not know how much of their proposal will be granted until the state budget is completed in March.

About $20 million of the science and technology funds will be spent to fund the Faraday II project. About $900,000 will be used to construct a new engineering building.

The IBHE believes they “have a good shot” at the money because it is already put aside, Hodel said. “We probably won’t get 100 percent of the money we are asking for but we should make major strides,” he said.

Sen. Patrick Welch, D-Peru, said Tuesday that the main hurdle the IBHE will face is “every state group will want the money,” available from the SSC fund. Welch said, however, that he believes the money should be spent on education.

State legislation should not “jump headfirst into something they don’t know they’re getting into” and should carefully study all proposed projects before they allocate any money, Welch said.

Rep. John Countryman, R-DeKalb, said he applauds the efforts of the IBHE, “but they have to be realistic about how much money there is available.”

He said the SSC fund was appropriated for fiscal year 1988 and will be needed to cover any “cost overruns” from that fiscal year.

In addition to covering the overruns, the SSC fund might be put towards a new state policy of maintaining a $200 million balance in the state budget, Countryman said.