The Illinois Arts Council, which provides grants to arts groups throughout the state, received an increase in its fiscal 1995 budget of about $57,000, to $6.7 million, from the General Assembly. However, the increase is earmarked for administrative costs, while program grants remain at the $5.5 million level of fiscal 1994, according to a council spokeswoman. The council also receives grant money from the National Endowment for the Arts, but the amount for fiscal 1995 hasn’t been determined. The state budget action is a setback for the Illinois Arts Alliance, an advocacy group that had campaigned hard to restore the budget to its fiscal 1990 peak of $10.7 million. Alene Valkanas, the alliance’s executive director, said members of her group and Gov. Jim Edgar’s staff are expected to meet this summer to discuss ways to increase the council’s budget. “There is a measure of disappointment” about the recent legislative action, she said, “but in this business you have to keep your sights ahead.”
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