NIU Today

In Springfield … The Illinois General Assembly convened for the first week of the fall veto session, which began Oct. 25. It was a tough week for Gov. Pat Quinn, with the General Assembly taking the following actions: Collective bargaining House Speaker Michael Madigan introduced HJR 45, which seeks to involve the General Assembly in...

In Springfield … The first week of the Illinois General Assembly’s fall veto session begins Tuesday, Oct. 25, and will run through Thursday, Oct. 27. It promises to be an interesting week, with many issues on the table. The House of Representatives Personnel and Pensions Committee has posted five pension reform bills for hearing –...

In Washington, D.C. … Last week, the Senate rejected, by a vote of 50-49, President Obama’s jobs bill and the Senate Democrats are now working with the president to disassemble the $447 billion package into smaller bills that will deal with specific elements contained in the jobs bill. The Democrats will try to force the...

In Springfield … Fall Veto Session begins Tuesday, Oct. 25, and we are seeing public statements by various elected officials on items they hope will be addressed during the six days of this session. Gov. Pat Quinn, who used his amendatory veto on House Bill 1353, is hoping that the General Assembly will not override...

In Springfield … An arbitrator today issued a ruling stating that Gov. Pat Quinn’s recent announcement that he intended to close seven state-run facilities and layoff more than 1,900 state workers by the end of the year violates a collective bargaining agreement between the governor and the AFSCME union. This is the same arbitrator who...

NIU students who receive Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant funding are being warned that reductions are likely for the spring semester. The current situation is reminiscent of the 2010-11 academic year, when limited state funding and high application volume made it necessary to lower second- and third-term awards. More than 6,200 NIU students – more...

In Washington, D.C. … All eyes in Washington are focused on the activities of the Deficit Reduction Super Committee, which is under a very tight deadline to come up with an additional $1.5 trillion in spending cuts before Thanksgiving or face mandatory reductions in all areas of federal spending. President Obama and House Speaker John...

In Springfield … Gov. Pat Quinn held a press conference Thursday, Sept. 8, to discuss his Fiscal Year 2012 budget management strategy. Quinn contends that the FY2012 budget approved by the General Assembly has a shortfall of approximately $313.5 million in operations and personnel across all state agencies, with the most severe deficiencies at the...

In Springfield … The latest rumors in Springfield surround Gov. Quinn signaling his intention to issue layoff notices to thousands of state employees and closing several state facilities, including a prison, juvenile detention center and homes for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled. While no specifics are being released by the governor’s office at this...

In Springfield … Gov. Pat Quinn today signed Senate Bill 2185, known as the Illinois DREAM Act (now Public Act 97-0233). This act is intended to make college more affordable for undocumented immigrants. It allows anyone with a Social Security number to enroll in a state-administered college savings program. It also establishes an Illinois DREAM Fund Commission...

In Springfield … Illinois House and Senate Republicans filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday, July 20, seeking to invalidate the redistricting maps approved this Spring by the Illinois General Assembly on the grounds that the maps: Violate the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 because African-Americans and Latinos have not been provided a “fair...

In Springfield… Governor Pat Quinn, in the last hours of the state fiscal year, used his amendatory veto powers to cut $336 million from the FY 2012 appropriations sent to him by the General Assembly.  The majority of the cuts ($276 million) will be to Medicaid, with $90 million cut from the school bus program...