DeKalb might be a long way from Springfield, but the message legislators are sending is loud and clear: There’s no more money here.

NIU grad Tom Ryder, a state representative from Jerseyville—closer to St. Louis than anywhere else—knows the score for all state schools, including his alma mater. If university administrators want to keep their schools afloat, they’ll either have to cut programming or raise tuition.

It might not seem like a great option, but that’s what’s been offered. Springfield is trying to cut its budget and education will not be spared from the scissors. The state legislature might consider raising taxes, which won’t seem happy to parents facing a possible tuition hike, too.

Basically, NIU needs to learn to live within its budget. Times are tough everywhere and we can’t keep expanding and spending money we don’t have. Face it, NIU: The state legislature can’t afford their own bills much less taking our ours.

This country is knee-deep in a recession even if Washington hates to admit it. The rapid and sometimes reckless spending of the 1980s is gone and NIU needs to realize that.

Even State Rep. Bradley Burzynski, R-Sycamore, one of NIU’s voices in Springfield, knows there’s no hope for expansion when dollars are shrinking and even disappearing. At least he can see the state budget needs to be cleaned up—and he’s a newcomer to state politics.

Now, NIU officials need to see. Get out your own scissors and start cutting. There’s plenty of fat—and it’s not in academics.