Chicago State University gets unexpected $40M grant for West Side campus

Chicago State University, the only four-year, public university on the South Side, could begin construction next year for a West Side campus thanks to a $40 million grant secured by state Sen. Rickey Hendon, D-5th.

“My constituents have long been asking me why there are no public universities on the West Side, and I have been saying for years if a university is built here students will come,” Hendon told the Defender. “Now the West Side will have more educational options, and residents do not have to travel far to attend college.”

Hendon said he expects construction to begin for the West Side campus sometime in 2010. A location has not yet been determined, but Hendon said five to six buildings could be built with the grant.

“The planning portion will come from the school. I did my job and secured the monies needed to get started,” Hendon said.

Chicago State University, 9500 S. King Dr., has a student population of 7,000 and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees.

The funding was part of a $31 billion capital-spending plan passed in May by the state Legislature, said Donald Sevener, a spokesman for the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

“We will get $1.6 billion over three years to distribute to colleges for capital improvements and Chicago State University is among them,” Sevener said.

Sevener did not know exactly when CSU would receive the funds but said a plan needs to be in place first before any money is distributed.

Frank Pogue, former interim president for Chicago State, said he was unaware the school had sought funding to build a West Side campus. He left in June as interim president, after the university hired former City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Wayne Watson to permanently fill the post.

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In photo: Rickey Hendon