Chicago State University is set to resume classes at 2 p.m. Thursday after initially closing the campus because of heating problems.
Leaders of the Far South Side school sent out an emergency alert late Wednesday saying the campus would be shut down all day Thursday. The short message said the campus would be closed due to "declining temperatures in buildings." The alert also was posted on the school’s website.
Another university message went out just after 8 a.m. saying the campus was open and classes would restart at 2 p.m. The notice said some university services would be limited, though it was not immediately clear what would be affected.
Chicago State spokeswoman Sabrina Land said Thursday morning the boilers had been shut down for repairs overnight. She did not immediately respond to requests for more information about what fixes were needed and why.
"We thought the work would resume through today however, the work crew is done and classes and university operations have resumed," Land said in an email around 9 a.m.
Air temperatures in Chicago on Thursday morning were the coldest in several days, hovering around 15 degrees.
This is not the first time Chicago State has had utility problems this year. Underground piping failed in September, cutting off hot water to two buildings for at least two weeks. Board trustees approved a contract to temporarily fix the problem, which was to cost more than $900,000.
The university’s heating plant generator malfunctioned in early December. Facilities Director Monique Horton said in a campus-wide message that the school would hire contractors and obtain backup boilers in case of equipment failure.
The university has struggled to operate through the state’s budget standoff. The school has received only about $32.7 million in state funding for the past 18 months, compared to the 36.3 million it received in 2015, the last year of full state funding for colleges and universities.
Chicago State, along with Western and Eastern Illinois universities, received emergency funding from the Illinois Board of Higher Education in November, the equivalent of about one month’s payroll to help tide over each school.
But a review of Chicago State’s finances showed their cut of the funding, $3 million, still would not be enough to finish the year in the black. In response to questions from the Tribune, university leaders said they could cut another $9.6 million in spending to finish the semester with money in the bank. They said about $6.6 million in those cuts were to maintenance, including repairing emergency generators instead of replacing them and canceling library roof repairs.
drhodes@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @rhodes_dawn
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