The University of Illinois system issued guidance this week instructing its campuses to stop considering race, color, national origin or sex in hiring, tenure, promotion and institutional financial aid decisions. The system also directed campuses to remove affirmative-action plans and replace them with nondiscrimination and merit-based hiring frameworks. At UIC, the faculty union said the directive bypassed shared governance and could be applied retroactively to dossiers already submitted for promotion. Campus leaders justified the change by citing perceived legal and reputational risks; faculty groups have demanded bargaining and warned of damaging effects on diversity and recruitment.