Univ of Illinois throws away $30K on Biden visit

University of Illinois Quad, Urbana

My alma mater took a break from hiring terrorists to teach--the taxpayer-supported school just wasted thousands of dollars on a visit from Vice President Joe Biden so he could talk about the problem of campus sexual assaults.

From the News-Gazette:

The University of Illinois is still tabulating the final cost of Thursday's event, but spokeswoman Robin Kaler estimated the total at about $30,000. Most of the materials purchased will be reused, however, so the net cost is probably closer to $25,000, she said.

The chancellor's office will cover all expenses, using no state or tuition money, she said.

Labor costs were all internal — paying another campus unit to live-stream Joe Biden's speech, for example, she said.

The campus did buy more than 4,700 linear feet of lumber to build bleachers for the event, but it will be reused, she said.

The college also threw away an undisclosed sum on 500 "It's On Us" shirts.

Why couldn't Biden do the speech through video conferencing?

The president of the University of Illinois has complained about proposed state funding cuts. The problem is this: state colleges never feel they have to tighten their belts. That's why Illinois is always billions behind in paying its bills. Fortunately in Bruce Rauner we have a governor who knows that Illinois has a spending problem.