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Tag: Illinois General Assembly
Seal of the State of Illinois
An amendment change to House Bill 180 that was created in an NIU classroom was unanimously approved by state lawmakers Monday, May 23. As part of a final project in Sociology 392: Organizing for Social Action, students were challenged with finding a cause and presenting recommendations for its improvement. The result was a possible amendment...
Ken Zehnder
A retirement reception in honor of Ken Zehnder is planned from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 31, in the University Suite of the Holmes Student Center. Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Joan Laurino at (815) 753-2253 or via e-mail at jlaurino@niu.edu. NIU’s director of state and local relations since 2009, Zehnder joined the university...
An announcement regarding a new deadline for the selection of benefits could be coming soon, following a decision released Thursday by the Illinois Attorney General’s office. Attorney General Lisa Madigan released a decision indicating that a legislative oversight panel does not have the authority to block individual health insurance contracts for state employees. The General...
State Pension & Budget Update
After much discussion, it appears that lawmakers will this week take up in earnest the issue of changes to the pension system for state employees. Currently, it appears that the language in HB149 is the strategy that lawmakers are looking to as they consider the issue. A quick summary of the three-tiered system under consideration...
NIU President John G. Peters
NIU President John G. Peters today released a letter to Illinois media stating his continued opposition to Illinois House Bill 148, which would permit Illinoisans, age 21 and older, to carry concealed weapons. “Supporters of this bill argue that it will make it easier for responsible owners of registered weapons to protect themselves. I know...
Map of Illinois
With only five weeks remaining in the spring legislative session in Illinois, a multitude of measures is moving forward after clearing the April 15 deadline to pass proposals out of each chamber. Illinois Senate President John Cullerton has provided a succinct summary of the budgetary process: The anticipated general revenue for Fiscal Year 2012 is $34.3...
Money & ruler
Late last month, Speaker Mike Madigan and House Minority Leader Tom Cross appeared together at Higher Education Appropriation Committee hearing in a rare public showing of bipartisan cooperation. They testified in support of a bill that would fully fund the 2012 fiscal year group insurance costs and pension contributions. Questions of how those payments would...
Seal of the State of Illinois
NIU President John G. Peters indicated in his March 24 campus update that “it is difficult to predict the precise course of this spring’s budget debate” and that “what happens in Springfield during the next 60 days will be of critical importance to every employee and annuitant at Northern Illinois University.” His message to be...
NIU President John G. Peters
NIU President John G. Peters today addressed the NIU Board of Trustees regarding the state of budget negotiations in Springfield, and talk of altering pension and insurance programs for current employees and annuitants. His remarks were summarized in an e-mail to the campus community, which is included below. Dear Colleague, NIU recently concluded testimony before...
Every two years, with the January swearing-in of a newly elected Illinois House of Representatives, the legislature starts fresh. All bills and legislative proposals that were not enacted by that point are rendered null and void when the new General Assembly is convened.  The last assembly, the 96th in the state’s history, introduced more than 13,000...
State Pension & Budget Update
Every budget season in Springfield is filled with uncertainty. This one promises to be more confusing than most, however, as lawmakers explore sweeping changes in state pensions while they struggle to balance the books. No doubt, rumors will circulate. People will have questions they want answered. In an effort to provide continuous and updated information, and...
Seal of the State of Illinois
Talk of budget cuts, borrowing, deficits, tax increases and pensions have dominated conversation throughout the halls of the Illinois Capitol this year.  Legislators and staffers have debated whether the budget cuts actually cut the budget or whether they merely act as a substitute for the absence of federal funding.  The income tax hike is real...
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