University of Illinois officials are talking about a potential new, private research and development laboratory in Chicago that would be affiliated with the school.

University President Robert Easter and other administrators wouldn't discuss details of the idea. But Easter says the idea is under discussion.

Attorneys for the university filed paperwork to trademark the name "UI Labs: The Future Today" last summer.

The university has set up partnerships with outside organizations before. The university offers a degree program through a Singapore campus that is privately managed.

Professor Nick Burbules chairs a faculty leadership group. He says the university should make sure that any lab program doesn't pull resources away from the university's three campuses.