Governors State University has announced it is closing its Illinois Small Business Development Center and its Illinois SBDC International Trade Center due to the state's budget crisis.

In a statement Tuesday, University President Elaine P. Maimon noted a 70 percent cut in state appropriations for fiscal year 2016 and only a six-month, stopgap budget for fiscal year 2017. She says as a result, Governor State must move funds used to match federal and state dollars to departments that will maintain student services.

Maimon called the decision to close the programs a difficult one, adding the development center had been a "definitive resource" for business owners and entrepreneurs in Chicago's southern suburbs.

University officials say the centers have helped more than 6,000 clients create 4,650 new jobs since 2001.

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