NIU and state universities could receive a funding increase larger than Gov. Jim Edgar’s proposal if a budget agreement reached Monday night holds up today.

Edgar’s original proposal called for a funding increase for higher education of about $37 million in the area of operating expenses.

However, Sen. Bradley Burzynski, R-Sycamore, said Monday night higher education was likely to receive about $13 million, which would amount to an increase of $50 million, over the governor’s proposal for operating expenses. Under the plan, higher education also would receive a $26 million increase in capitol funds for construction.

“Higher education is still in pretty good shape,” Burzynski said. “We will be voting on some of the bills tonight (Monday). The others should come up Tuesday.”

One of the bills passed Monday night was the cigarette tax which would increase the tax on cigarettes 14 cents a pack. Passage of the cigarette tax was seen by lawmakers as crucial to the survival of the budget package as a whole.

State Rep. David Wirsing, R-Sycamore, said there are still bills to be passed Tuesday, but passage of the cigarette tax was the big hurdle for the package.

He said the situation for higher education looked good. “I don’t see any major cuts in education. There’s a major commitment there.”

Under this budget package NIU would stand to gain about $3.6 million in general revenue funding.

The agreement could include funds passed by the Senate in April that were designated for a 1 percent faculty raise.

Alan Voelker, government relations assistant to NIU President John La Tourette, said he was cautiously optimistic that higher education’s increase would emerge from the budget battle unscathed.

“It looks like we’ll keep the increase and the 1 percent,” Voelker said.