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Category: Voices
With only a few legislative days remaining in June, Congress has yet to act to avert the scheduled doubling of the interest rates for subsidized federal Stafford student loans, from the current rate of 3.4% to 6.8%, scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2013. The House Democrats have filed a discharge petition that would...
Isaac Palma
College is a defining moment in a person’s life; it is the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Symbol of the State of Illinois
In Springfield … Both the House and the Senate are in session this week in Springfield. Several bills of interest to the NIU community advanced in the legislative process during last week’s Senate action. SB 1900 (Biss) passed the Senate unanimously and has been assigned to the House Higher Education Committee for consideration. It requires...
U.S. Capitol
Immigration Reform There has been considerable debate in Washington over the last several weeks about immigration reform, with the House and the Senate taking very different approaches to the issue. In the House, Judiciary Committee Chair Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) announced that the Judiciary Committee would introduce a series of bills in the near future intended...
Mary E. Pritchard
Mary Pritchard, associate dean of the NIU College of Health and Human Sciences, is retiring this spring after 35 years at the university. Pritchard offered these remarks Tuesday, April 23, at the annual Faculty and SPS Service Recognition Luncheon. As I prepare for my retirement in May, I am cleaning out my office. This involves reducing...
Symbol of the State of Illinois
In Springfield … Last Friday – April 19 – was the deadline for House bills to be voted out of the House to the Senate. Thursday, April 25, is the last day for Senate bills to be voted out of the Senate to the House. The House of Representatives will not meet this week, but the...
Stack of money next to ruler
In Washington, D.C. … President Obama submitted his FY 2014 budget to Congress last week, two months later than normal. This delay is attributed to the implementation of sequestration and the uncertainty with the incomplete FY 2013 budget. The president’s proposed funding levels for specific programs, including those of interest to NIU and higher education, will...
Photo of a man hanging his head over a pile of unpaid bills
In Springfield … As the Illinois General Assembly struggles to deal with the massive backlog of unpaid bills, a measure is moving through the House of Representatives, supported by Speaker Madigan, which would authorize the sale of $2.5 billion of general obligations bonds. Up to $2 billion of the bond proceeds would go Medicaid providers,...
In Washington, D.C. … Congress has now adjourned for a two-week spring recess. Last week, both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate were able to approve a short-term continuing resolution (H.R. 933) that will allow the federal government to remain operational through the end of the federal fiscal year (Sept. 30, 2013). The current...
Photo of a penion plan bar graph and calculator
In Springfield … Last week was the deadline for bills to get out of committees in their chamber of origin, so most of the action occurred in the various committees. However, there were some significant movements on various bills related to pension reform. SB 1, sponsored by Senate President John Cullerton, as amended, is not the...
NCAA logo
Early this past February, Chicago Tribune reporter John Keilman published an informative piece titled, “Bad grades, low test scores can scramble signing day plans.” The focus in Keilman’s article was on football, college scholarship and the difficulty today’s football athletes are facing in their quest for a paid college education based on academic eligibility …...
Symbol of the State of Illinois
In Springfield … The Illinois General Assembly has been busy with committee activities over the last two weeks. This week is the last week to get bills through committees in their house of origin. Higher Education-Related Legislation In the Senate Higher Education Committee, SB 2163 passed unanimously out of committee Tuesday, March 12. Sponsored by Sen....
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