Eastern News
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Experts address pensions, role of state employees
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NOVEMBER 9, 2012
By Rachel Rodgers News Editor
Songs for Soldiers Z ACHARY WHITE | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Staff Sgt. Blake Ozier, Sgt. Keith Shasteena and Sgt. 1st Class Matt Frederickson perform with the Five Star Trombone Quintet during Call to Duty: A Veterans Day Tribute in the Dvorak Concert Hall of the Doudna Fine Arts Center Thursday. The quintet received a standing ovation following their performance.
Concert honors veterans through patriotic music By Samantha McDaniel Daily Editor
Audience member rose in support of America as a giant flag fell from the ceiling on Thursday at the “Call to Duty: A Veterans Day Tribute” concert. The concert opened and closed with audience members standing to show their patriotism during the “Star-Spangled Banner” and the “National Emblem March” played by the Eastern Wind Symphony. The annual concert focused on pieces that showed American patriotism and support for the nations veterans. Alicia Neal, the wind symphony conductor and the director of bands, said she was happy to play a role in one of Eastern’s traditions. “It’s nice to step in here and have that in place and to know that that is something I am excited to do,” Neal said. Another tradition was a giant flag falling from the ceiling during the last piece of the concert. The flag fell and
the entire audience stood in respect for the veterans and the country. The concert also had a guest performance from Five Star Brass, a trombone quintet from the 144th Army Band of the Illinois Army National Guard. The group performed four pieces that honored the veterans. Staff Sgt. Blake Ozier said he thought the concert was a good sign of respect and he was a glad to be part of it. “It’s nice to be there with veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq and Afghanistan,” Ozier said. A major tradition for this concert is the playing of the “Armed Forces Salute” where members of the audience who are current or past military members stood when their branch was played. Eastern oboe player Danielle McKenzie, a senior music major, said it is important to show they still have support after they stopped fighting. “I think by giving these veterans a chance to hear their branch of military, their songs played, that’s im-
portant to them,” McKenzie said. “It shows them that we as a younger generation are acknowledging the sacrifices they have made for us.” After the piece Neal asked the members to stand again so that the members of the wind symphony could see them, about half of the audience members stood. “I was surprised to see so many of them and I hope that they’ll come back,” Neal said. Jessica Huffman, a freshman finance major at Parkland College in Champaign, said she was happy to see something that honored current and previous military members. Huffman is enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard and is in the same unit as the Five Star Brass. “Since I’m in the band, I don’t always see all the action, but for those who give their lives every day and give up their freedoms to protect the ones they love and care about, it’s just a small why to give back to them and say thank you,” Huffman said. She said her favorite part was the “Armed Forces Salute.” DUTY, page 5
Two experts in the fields of pension and legislation dove into the rising tide of what problems pension reform could cause to state employees Thursday. About 25 members of Eastern’s chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100 sat scattered throughout the Lumpkin Hall Auditorium, all facing John Miller, the statewide UPI legislative/political director, and Nick Yelverton, the legislative director of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. The audience eagerly listened to the speakers with the goal of preparing strategies in anticipation of the General Assembly’s lame duck session in January, when pension reform will most likely take form. The official dates of the lame duck session have not been publicized, but Miller predicts the session will occur between Jan. 2 and Jan. 8. Miller, who is also the president of Western Illinois University’s UPI chapter and the vice president of the IFT, stressed that one of the biggest concerns regarding inevitable pension reform is that most people do not understand the issue. “We use the language that it is a pension problem, but it is not; it is debt,” he said. “It is not pension debt. It is the debt the state owes.” During the talk, Yelverton called attention to three numbers: $5.8 billion, $4 billion and $1.8 billion. The $5.8 billion signifies the total amount of pension contributions for Fiscal Year 2013. This amount was paid in full by the state, unlike previous years when Illinois bonded out. Ever since the inception of these pension programs, even since World War II, Illinois has never properly funded its pensions, he added. The $4 billion reflects the amount of the $5.8 billion that is
“We use the language that it is a pension problem, but it is not; it is debt. It is not pension debt. It is the debt the state owes.” John Miller, statewide UPI legislative director
going directly toward the pension debt, which has grown past $80 billion in unfunded pension liability. “That is not going toward your benefit — it’s not going toward honoring the amount that you contributed,” Yelverton said. “Seventy percent of our payment is going toward the interest on the pension credit card that has basically kept the state afloat fiscally by shorting pension funds and being able to fund other parts of government in order to avoid tax increases.” He added most do not grasp that teachers do not receive social security; they do not have an underlying safety net protecting them from poverty if pension benefits are diminished. The $1.8 billion serves as the amount that it costs to pay for pension benefits of public employees currently. If costs were shifted to employers — like public universities, community colleges, school districts and others — they would be responsible for paying two-thirds of the $1.8 billion, Yelverton said, adding that a spike in tuition would be sure to follow. PENSIONS, page 5
C AMPUS
Board of Trustees to review earned degree numbers By Robyn Dexter In-depth Editor
The Board of Trustees will review the earned degrees report from the Fiscal Year 2012 and income-producing contracts at its meeting Friday. The degree report is an annual announcement to the board that details the number of degrees awarded to students during a fiscal year and breaks the amount down into bachelor’s, post-bachelor’s, master’s and specialist degrees. According to the board reports for the meeting, Eastern awarded a total of
2,782 degrees in FY 2012, which was down from FY 2011 when 2,907 were awarded. A large portion of the agenda is dedicated to income-producing contracts, although Treasurer Paul McCann said the review of the contracts is a yearly occurrence “The income-producing contracts are just an informational item,” he said. “It’s never been anything that we really discuss and we just present it.” McCann said the board had requested the review of the contracts years ago, and the board has reviewed them annu-
ally ever since. “Every year we provide that report to them so they know to some extent on campus,” he said. “Since this is money coming in rather than going out, it generally doesn’t raise a lot of questions.” The top three income-producing contracts include the Senior Nutrition Program, the Community Service Grant and the Child Care Resource and Referral. The Senior Nutrition Program produced $1,234,103 from Oct. 1, 2011 to Aug. 30, 2012. The Community Service Grant,
which is from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting and supports the operations of WEIU-TV, produced $738,446. A continuation grant to fund the Child Care Resource and Referral Program produced $405,817. The extensive list includes contracts from all aspects of Eastern includes grants, camps, conferences and other agreements including athletic, food industry and banking services. The contracts add up to more than $8 million for FY 2012, but saw a decrease from the more than $9 million last fiscal year.
McCann also said the board will discuss a labor agreement “Traditionally, we’ve never really had any problem once we negotiate and agree, everybody seems to fall in line,” he said. The board will also review the deposit and investment report for the quarter. McCann said he reports to the board about deposits and investments each quarter of the fiscal year. This includes operating funds, investments, endowment funds and bond funds. TRUSTEES, page 5