URBANA — Gov. J.B. Pritzker paid a visit to the University of Illinois campus on the first day of classes Monday to welcome new students and speak on state funding for education.

He also addressed the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that banned considerations of race in college-admissions processes.

“Lots of states heard that ruling and just gave up on the idea of diversity for their universities or said that they’re happy about the decision that got made, and will just let the chips fall where they may,” Pritzker said. “That’s not Illinois. To every single UIUC student: You are among the best of the best. I hope you know that. You belong here.”

He highlighted the Monetary Award Program as an expanding project that aims to help cover the cost of college attendance for Illinois residents who demonstrate financial need.

UI students Montserrat Gonzalez-Gutierrez and Robert Walker Jr. also spoke, sharing how they benefited from MAP grants.

Gonzalez-Gutierrez said that the UI Office of Student Minority affairs also helped her succeed, as she now plans to pursue a Ph.D. to become a professor of Spanish literature.

“I did not always imagine this future for myself,” she said. “As the first in my family to attend university, navigating the college experience seemed nearly impossible.”

Other speakers at Monday’s event included Chancellor Robert Jones and state Sen. Paul Faraci, D-Champaign, and state Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, whose districts include the UI campus.

Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin was also in attendance, though she didn’t speak, though Pritzker did say she made sure he knew that the press conference was “about 50 feet” over the city line into Urbana.

He said the incoming group of new students was “elite,” comparing the rising enrollment at the UI to falling rates nationally.

Jones also commented on the “huge” freshman class, though he mentioned not being able to share an official count yet.

He shared a long list of new sectors which the UI has a focus on, like quantum computing and digital agriculture.

“No state is more aggressively positioning itself to be the epicenter of the future than we’ve seen here in Illinois under Governor Pritzker’s leadership,” Jones said.