CARBONDALE — Illinois State Senator Paul Schimpf is praising Governor Bruce Rauner after Rauner has signed legislation to make it easier for Illinois high school seniors to go to college in the state.

Schimpf is on the higher education committee. He says for his district to do well, the state’s colleges and universities have to do well.

Enrollment numbers show SIU-Carbondale’s freshmen enrollment has dropped roughly 40 percent between the fall of 2015 and the fall of 2017.