SPRINGFIELD – Four years at one of Illinois' state universities is getting expensive. The men who run the state's 10 schools admit that.

And, they say, if state government continues to short them, a college degree is only going to cost more.

Three university bosses, from Illinois State University, Western Illinois University and Northern Illinois University, were in Springfield on Wednesday for their turn to face the legislative budget-making process. And all three said they're not nearly as worried about the next state budget as they are about the current spending plan.

At ISU, WIU and NIU, the university presidents say, the state has only paid them half of what they're owed.

Northern Illinois University's John Peters said his school is supposed to get $100 million from Springfield, one-fourth of NIU's $400 million budget. But so far only $60 million has arrived.

"We don't have a budget problem," Peters said. "We have a cash flow problem."

It's a problem serious enough to worry Peters each month. The top man at NIU said the school has never missed a payday, though he gets nervous each time checks get cut.

Western Illinois University's Al Goldfarb said workers won't go without a check. But buildings have had to go without a new coat of paint or classrooms without new technology.

"The state owes Western $50 million, which means that it's becoming harder and harder to provide equipment support for our students and to take care of facilities," Goldfarb said.

Goldfarb said the budget crunch has not impacted plans for a WIU campus in the Quad Cities. That project is being paid for with money from Illinois' multi-billion statewide construction plan. The cash flow problems stem from the state's main checking account.

Illinois State University President Al Bowman is waiting for $20 million from the state. But that is still a big chunk of the $59 million the school had expected from Springfield.

Bowman said each dollar that is cut, or is late, has to be made up somewhere.

"We've made a number of cost-saving moves that I think that have helped us. In the larger picture, we've kept our long-term debt low, and that has helped us," Bowman said. "We're also under (a) hiring freeze. We have close to 200 vacant positions. Last year, we didn't provide salary increases for faculty and staff, we did a very modest cost-of-living adjustment this year. We simply tightened our belt. We've deferred many of our maintenance projects."

If that doesn't work, the university presidents say, tuition increases are possible.

But NIU's Peters said there is only so much that can be asked of parents and students to pay before the cost of a college education becomes unattainable.

"I think that what's happened is that the states and federal government have backed off of their long-term commitment to help our next generation get a great post-secondary education," Peters said.

Lawmakers said they are just as committed to quality colleges and universities as ever. It's just that the state is broke.

State Sen. Dan Kotowski, D-Park Ridge, said Illinois is trying to climb out from the recession. Kotwoski said universities, like everyone else, are going to have to wait their turn. But he insists the schools will be paid.

"We're moving forward in that direction. We passed the revenue in order to pay the bills, and we're looking at this restructuring our debt in order get them the money that they need to pay their bills," Kotowski said. "That's an obvious step that we need to take. It's very important that we pass the revenue. The second step is making sure we pay the bills so that they can keep their doors open. They provide a very valuable, essential and important service to the state of Illinois."