Feds warn IL university on race-based diversity; lawmakers weigh funding
shift
[August 07, 2025]
By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – Illinois State University is reviewing a U.S.
Department of Justice letter warning that race-based diversity programs
may violate civil rights laws.
The letter from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi warns colleges to end
race- or sex-based programs or risk losing federal funding.
“Entities are urged to review all programs, policies, and partnerships
to ensure compliance with federal law and discontinue any practices that
discriminate on the basis of a protected status,” states the letter.
As schools weigh compliance, state Rep. Paul Jacobs, R-Pomona, who
serves on the Illinois House Approp-Higher Education Committee,
anticipates proposals to replace lost federal funding with state
dollars.
“You're going to see it,” Jacobs told The Center Square. “Illinois, with
the way it's traveling, is probably going to try to pick up some kind of
money. Where? I have no idea. The general fund doesn’t have it. I’m sure
they’ll try to go ahead and grab more money out of [the Illinois
Department of Transportation] or wherever they can find it.”
In a campus-wide email, ISU President Aondover Tarhule said the
university is reviewing the federal guidance, which raises concerns
about race-based scholarships and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
training.
“I recognize the anxiety and confusion some of you may be feeling about
the impact of the changing federal landscape on higher education,” said
Tarhule in the email.
In the email, he called the moment an opportunity to strengthen the
institution’s resiliency.
Jacobs accused schools of trying to dodge the law by quietly renaming
DEI offices instead of reforming them.
[to top of second column]
|
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi addresses reporters on the Supreme
Court ruling against nationwide injunctions with President Donald
Trump and another DOJ official. - The White House | YouTube
“I have employees of the universities in contact with me constantly,
saying they’re going around the law just by renaming things,” said
Jacobs. “That’s so sketchy. That’s so unethical. Just follow the
law.”
Bondi’s letter urges colleges to review and revise any programs or
policies that may violate federal civil rights laws by
discriminating based on race, sex, or other protected traits.
A longtime optometrist, Jacobs said his perspective is shaped by
decades of treating patients of all backgrounds the same.
“Maybe that’s just too high of an ask for people,” Jacobs said. “I
don’t know why it’s so hard to just try to treat everybody equally.
We’re all human; Black, white, Hispanic, Asian. There’s intelligent
people in every race. And those are the folks who are being harmed.”
While some students and university leaders worry the rollback of DEI
policies could harm inclusion, Jacobs believes the focus should
shift back to academic excellence and fairness.
“We teach our students to question everything the government does.
So, I would be surprised if we didn’t have some uproar,” Jacobs
said. “But the folks who are smart and thoughtful will be very happy
that everyone is treated equally. We need to teach them the thing
that they went to school for rather than the things that they're
learning that are just strictly for revolution.”
Jacobs explained he supports giving students a way to report
discrimination, but not programs that preemptively give certain
groups an advantage based solely on identity. |
