Over $1 billion was raised for the 2008 presidential election, not counting contributions to local races according to Web site opensecrets.org.

With this amount of money, chances are good that some of the donors were university professors.

It is illegal for a state university to donate to a political campaign, said Rupert Borgsmiller, director of campaign disclosure for the Illinois Board of Elections.

“No public funds shall be used to urge any elector to vote for or against any candidate or proposition, or be appropriated for political or campaign purposes to any candidate or political organization,” Borgsmiller recited from the Illinois Election Code. Public funds, according to the code, are monies given out by the General Assembly or any other political subdivision.

Individuals who work for a university, however, can make donations to political campaigns in their name, said Kenneth Zehnder, NIU’s associate director of External Affairs.

“If they were, I’d say that’s incorrect and that’s inappropriate,” Zehnder said. Matthew Streb, associate professor of political science, said professors who do donate to political causes are not bad instructors.

“It doesn’t make them more or less objective than a professor who doesn’t donate to a candidate,” Streb said. He added good professors will teach students to think critically about an issue from multiple sides, regardless of the professor’s opinions.

Under federal law, all contributions over $200 must be itemized and the donor’s occupation and employed must be requested and disclosed. Opensecrets.org tracks political donations and is run by the Center of Responsive Politics, a non-partisan research organization that tracks money in U.S. politics and its effects on elections and public policy.

According to the Web site, NIU employees are not top contributors to political campaigns and individuals, but other Illinois universities are. Northwestern University employees, for example, donated a total of $14,600 to the campaign of Rep. Dan Seals (D).

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