Gov. Quinn signs bills in to law

Funding to renovate both the Stevens Building and Cole Hall is included in the capital bill signed in to law Monday by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.

The capital bill contains over $22 million for the Stevens Building and around $8 million for Cole Hall.

“We’ve been waiting for this day for ten years,” said Rich Holly, college of visual and performing arts dean. “To say we’re excited is an understatement.”

The capital bills are a part of the Illinois Jobs Now! plan which is planned to create more than 439 thousand jobs in Illinois over six years, according to the Illinois Government News Network.

“The deterioration of Stevens Hall, the emergency nature of several deferred maintenance projects and space needs requiring the reconfiguration of Cole Hall make these expenditures essential,” said Ken Zehnder, associate director of external affairs. “The university community has been waiting for most of the past decade to do some of these renovations and the infrastructure of the NIU campus is vital to the core mission of the university.”

NIU has been actively trying to get funding from the state to renovate the Stevens Building for over a decade.

“This is funding for projects that are way overdue,” said Melanie Magara, assistant vice president for public affairs.

The renovations are a great hope for students and will bring the Stevens Building up to state of the art condition which will be good for both recruiting and educating students, Holly said. Holly said he is happy that state legislature recognizes the importance of having adequate buildings.
Cole Hall has been out of commission since the Feb. 14 2007 shootings.

Magara said she is glad to see Cole Hall receive renovation funding because the building’s closure has been a burden on the university.

“Having Cole Hall off line for four semesters has been very difficult,” Magara said. “It’s one of the buildings everyone spends time in.”

The university had to move over 100 class sections because of the Cole Hole closure, Holly said.
The university received mixed signals over the past few weeks on whether the capital bills would pass, Magara said.

NIU will receive $5.2 million in deferred maintenance funding from the bills as well, Magara said. The list of deferred maintenance projects is long, but the capital bill is a good start, she said.
The capital bills also include $2.8 million for planning the Computer Science and Technology Center, $1.3 million for planning a classroom building and developing site at the Hoffman Estates campus and $626,000 to renovate the Founders Memorial Library.

The planning money for the Computer Science and Technology Center won’t see any action in the near future, but the funding is important because it puts the project in the queue.

The college of [visual and performing arts] expects to begin planning for the renovations before the week is over, Holly said.

“Work site preparation will probably be late this year or early next year at the earliest,” Zehnder said.

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