While NIU was on its annual month-long winter break, the theater that is Illinois politics showed that it never takes a vacation. From Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest to his appointment of Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate to the recent impeachment of Blagojevich, the winter political scene certainly didn’t lack excitement. NIU is a public institution, so the drama in Springfield could affect the university.

Impeachment proceedings shouldn’t delay any legislation aimed at NIU, but decisions affecting the school backed by Blagojevich’s office could be reversed by a new governor, who could also have a different take on higher education than the current governor, said Ken Zehnder, associate director of external affairs.

“He is not known for being particularly supportive of higher education,” said political science professor Barbara Burrell, of Blagojevich. “I think that he sees a lot of waste there. But I also assume that he has not been predisposed to work with higher education leadership to make good public policy.”

Last month, Blagojevich requested that NIU and other public universities in Illinois hold back 2.5 percent of their 2009 budgets, which go through July. A new governor could reverse that decision, but it is unknown whether Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who would step in if Blagojevich is removed from office, would take that action, Zehnder said. A proposal by Gov. Blagojevich that would allow him to request public universities to hold up to 8 percent of their budgets will likely not pass now that the governor has been impeached, Zehnder said.

A state capital bill, which would provide funding for Cole Hall and Stevens Building, has been in limbo for years but could get moving with Blagojevich’s removal from office. “Nothing has happened for a long time. Part of that has happened because of the distrust between the governor and the legislature. If the governor is removed from office, you may see some movement quicker than you would if he isn’t,” Zehnder said.

In a December round of budget cuts, Blagojevich closed down 11 Illinois state parks, including Lowden State Park in Oregon, Ill., which NIU’s Lorado Taft Field Campus shares an entrance with and uses for some of its activities. Quinn has said that if and when he becomes governor, he will reopen Lowden and the other 10 parks. This news was music to the ears of Lorado Taft Director Dale Hoppe. “It would more than double the amount of acreage we have,” he said. “It would be a good thing for all the citizens of Illinois and Oregon and certainly Taft Campus.”

While the state will be in dire financial straits for the foreseeable future regardless of who is governor, Quinn has shown, over the years, to be receptive to NIU’s needs, Zehnder said.
“I know he has been on campus a significant number of times,” he said of Quinn. “He would lend a willing ear.”

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