The Deuce: Yep, create two separate systems, a la California

Which has the California State system and the U of California system.

Put Western, Eastern, Northern with he SIU system (and maybe ISU in there too as the flagship of that system) as the Illinois State system, alongside the U of Illinois system with UIS, UIC, and Urbana.

Would hopefully create some consolidation and efficiency. And you probably have to axe either Western or Eastern, which are both crumbling.

Previous Message

if I was put in charge of the state university system look to merge CSU, NEIU, and GSU into potentially a single entity.

I'd also look to put about half the schools in the state into a single Board of Trustrees with a mission to focus on Access and Affordability above all else