Aamer Madhani

USA TODAY

CHICAGO — With the polls showing him well behind in Saturday's South Carolina primary, Sen. Bernie Sanders decided on Thursday to take a detour through Hillary Clinton's home turf.

The campaign stop in Chicago, which also included a televised interview on MSNBC at Sanders' alma mater, the University of Chicago, was at the tail end of a day that included stops in Ohio and Michigan.

But the stop at Chicago State University was an interesting move for Sanders, who polls shows faces headwinds ahead of Illinois' March 15 primary. Clinton, who grew up in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, holds a 51%-to-32% lead over Sanders in Illinois, according to a poll published this week by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.

But in front of big audience at the university's convocation center, Sanders wasn't acting like someone who is conceding Illinois.

"This campaign is about a political revolution," Sanders said. "You can help make that revolution on March 15 here in Illinois."

Sanders continued his broadside on Clinton, noting her support for the Defense of Marriage Act and welfare reform during her husband's time in the White House.

He also repeated his pledge to make public colleges and universities free, one that has been dismissed by the Clinton campaign as unreachable but none-the-less resonates at the financially struggling Chicago State campus.

Chicago State is one of many publicly-funded institutions in the state facing the crush of a budget standoff between the Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats that control the General Assembly. The state, which faces a $4 billion deficit, has been without an official budget since July as the governor and legislature can't come to terms on how to solve the state's enormous financial problems.

The long-running impasse means that Chicago State, whose student body is predominantly African-American, is on the precipice of running out of money.

Rauner, who wants the legislature to make $500 million in spending cuts in the next budget, has vetoed attempts by the legislature to fund state colleges. The situation at CSU, which relies on state funding for about 30% of its budget, is so dire that the university announced earlier this week that it was canceling Spring Break and accelerating course work in the hopes of ending the semester early before they run out of money.

"Why in the world is anyone talking about shutting down colleges?" Sanders said. "What we should be talking about is making colleges and universities tuition free."

Hundreds welcome Bernie Sanders in Flint

Clinton isn't taking Illinois for granted despite her deep roots to the state. Last week, she campaigned in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood with the mother of Sandra Bland, the 28-year-old woman from the Chicago suburbs whose controversial death in police custody last year was one of several incidents sparking protests about police relations in the African-American community.

The former secretary of State has also lined up the support of several of the city's senior African-American politicians, including Rep. Robin Kelly and Danny Davis.

Sanders on Thursday was joined by Jonathan Jackson, the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The younger Jackson, who is a professor at Chicago State, recalled Sanders endorsing his father's run for the White House in 1984.

"I went to Vermont..Burlington, and to see so many who were unsure about what was going on," recalled Jackson about his first his visit to the state with his father's campaign. "But there was a man that had his arms wide open...That person was Senator Bernie Sanders. Mr. Sanders wouldn't know that story, but it touched me deeply."