Western Illinois University is preparing to lay off 110 staffers as a direct result of the long-running state budget standoff, the institution's president announced this week in a letter to the school community. 

A 30-day advance notice of the layoffs will go out to impacted workers, who are non-instructional employees, sometime next week. 

"The decisions we are being forced to make are incredibly difficult, and they are being made due to the lack of state support," WUI President Jack Thomas said in the letter, reported the Quincy Herald-Whig. "We recognize that as the stewards of this university, our first responsibility is to take the necessary steps to ensure that we continue providing a great education to our students."

In an effort to cut costs, the university has already implemented a "furlough/voluntary pay reduction program" and also cut spending elsewhere. 

"In spite of our best efforts to conserve financial resources, without an appropriation from our state government, the university will face even greater financial challenges," Thomas wrote. 

The state has been operating without a budget since July. Higher education institutions have received no funding during the Springfield budget stalemate.