STAT ATTACK Check out this week in sports
OH, HOW SWEET IT IS Eastern quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is
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by the numbers. This week we feature football, women’s and men’s basketball.
one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Award, which is presented to the best college football player in the FCS.
Dai ly Eastern News
THE
WWW.DAILYEASTERNNEWS.COM
Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2013
VOL. 98 | ISSUE 73
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID”
Illinois lawmakers pass massive pension overhaul Pension History of State Contributions (In Millions)
By Robert Downen Administration Editor | @DEN_NEWS
$2,000 $1,800 $1,600 $1,400 $1,200 $1,000
Annual State Required Contribu on
$800
Actual State Contribu on
$400
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
$200 $0.0
Fiscal Year
day, the UPI was aggressively petitioning INFORMATION FROM SURS.COM | Graphic By Bob Galuski representatives in Springfield to strike down the bill. multifaceted, stating he had “constitutional conOther university officials, including President Bill cerns” with the legislation. Ultimately though, he Perry, also voiced opposition to the reforms. In a let- said his decision came down to a simple question of ter to Gov. Quinn, Perry, along with university pres- “right and wrong.” “This is not a fiscal issue—it’s a right and wrong idents around the state, expressed a “profound disappointment” in the legislation, stating the measure issue,” Righter said. “A promise was made—a comwould have drastic effects on campuses throughout mitment was made—to people who served the public and those who are serving now. To walk back on Illinois. The letter urged Quinn to reconsider changes to that promise is the wrong thing to do, particularly the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) in when we don’t have to do this.” Righter said he would have favored a comprofavor of a “fiscally sound” alternative proposed by mise that increased the retirement age incrementalthe Illinois University Presidents and Chancellors. Sen. Dale Righter, who represents the Charles- ly and put a cap on pension benefits similar to the ton-Mattoon area in Springfield, echoed Perry’s state’s current $113,000 limit on social security. concerns. He said his opposition to the measure was OVERHAUL, page 5
Electronics being accepted for recycling By Paul Durante Staff Reporter | @DEN_News As part of a technical communications English course, the English department will host an electronics recycling day Wednesday. The recycling day will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday near the South Quad between Coleman and Lumpkin halls. Items being accepted include old batteries, ink cartridges, unwanted consoles and small TV sets. The event is one of several taking place for a semester-long sustainability project put on by Donna Binns, an English professor, and her English 3005 class. “Sustainability projects provide an opportunity for students to participate in benefiting our environment and our future on this planet,” Binns said. Terri Fredrick, an English professor, originally designed the project assignment. Other projects include the promotion of hand dryer use on campus, as well as promoting the reuse of plastic bottles. The goal of these projects is to teach a lesson of sustainability to the Eastern campus. One of the students helping to put on the small electronics day recycling project is Shayna Hamm, a junior English major. “I think that an event like this is important because we live in a con-
resolution passed by faculty senate By Derrick Johnson Staff Reporter | @DEN_NEWS
$600
1994
The Illinois General Assembly narrowly passed a historic reform to the state’s pension system Tuesday, hoping to alleviate the $100 billion currently owed to its government employees. Following hours of heated and emotional debate, the House voted 62-53 approving a measure to tackle Illinois’ ongoing debt crisis by raising the state’s retirement age as well as reducing or skipping cost of living adjustments for state workers. For years, Illinois’ legislature has failed to unite on a solution to its worst-in-the-nation deficit, consequently exhausting funding for public education, health care and safety. Gov. Pat Quinn has promised to sign the bill, which passed by only two votes in the House and with the minimum 60 Senate votes directly afterward. In a statement Tuesday, Quinn praised Illinois legislators for their bipartisan work, calling the reform a victory for the state. “Today, we have won. The people of Illinois have won,” the statement said. “This landmark legislation is a bipartisan solution that squarely addresses the most difficult fiscal issue Illinois has ever confronted.” However, opponents of the bill—including multiple faculty organizations at Eastern—have expressed entirely different sentiments, stating the reforms threaten the livelihoods of teachers, police and other employees across the state. Ann Fritz, president of Eastern’s chapter of University Professionals of Illinois (UPI), said the reforms were, at best, disappointing, calling the move a “sad comment on governing in this state” and questioning the framing of the deficit as a pension issue instead of a revenue issue. As recent as Mon-
stantly advancing society that is extremely reliant on technology,” Hamm said. Hamm is the project leader and said she chose this project because she herself had no idea where to recycle electronics. Hamm said the most challenging part of organizing the project was getting it approved because it was an unusual project for a class. “My group has been working diligently to get this event approved,” Hamm said. “One of the group’s members, David Bement, worked extremely hard to get this event approved by campus.” Illinois has recently implemented laws against throwing away electronics, Hamm said. Because of this, and environment preservation efforts, Hamm and the rest of her group decided it was important for people to know how to properly dispose of electronics. Students, as well as community members, are invited to participate in the recycling efforts. “I hope that we can get EIU’s community to recycle old, broken or damaged electronics,” Hamm said. “That way they don’t just sit, gather dust and take up space, or end up in Photo Illustration by Amanda Wilkinson | The Daily Eastern News the trash where they don’t belong.” Eastern students and faculty can donate any small electronics 10 a.m. Paul Durante can be reached at 581-2812 or pjdurante@eiu.edu.
to 3 p.m. Wednesday outside of Coleman Hall as part of Eastern’s Small Electronics Recycling Day, sponsored by the English Department. Unused, broken and dead electronics as well as old batteries, ink cartridges, game consoles and small TV sets will be accepted for recycling.
Eastern’s Faculty Senate passed a pension resolution that endorses adoption of a progressive state income tax at its meeting Tuesday. The resolution, which passed unanimously, states that the “falsely tagged ‘pension crisis’ is not a result of spending on pensions or benefits. It is the result of the use of pension funds to cover shortfalls in revenue.” The resolution continues, stating there is “only one credible proposed resolution that truly addresses, in a responsible way, the long-term financing issues that our state is facing.” Grant Sterling, chairman of the Faculty Senate, said four other public universities in Illinois have already passed similar resolutions. “It’s not fair to solve this by cheating people who put in money,” Sterling said. “We are not alone in this.” The senate’s resolution also jointly endorses a proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution that would raise state income taxes for the state’s highest earners. House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 33, if passed, would raise rates for those making over $196,000 by 0.9 percent, while lowering tax rates for Illinois residents making under $96,000. Currently, the Illinois Constitution mandates a flat income tax rate of 5 percent. The Senate also heard a presentation regarding the university’s ongoing program analysis from Bill Weber, vice president of business affairs. Weber said state funding in recent years has been increasingly uncertain. Halfway through the 2013-14 school year, the state has only paid $6.5 million out of the $44 million it has appropriated to Eastern. “Our financial situation is increasingly enrollment-driven,” he said. “The low hanging fruit in regards to budget adjustments have been picked and picked. We have to think bigger and broader.” Weber said Eastern has “ramped up” scholarship programs in recent years in an effort to raise enrollment and consequently increase funding as well. “Taking into account the scholarships and waivers, if we add an extra 123 students, that creates an additional $1 million in additional revenue, but it is a very difficult environment to bring in new students,” he said. When considering other ways to generate revenue and cut spending, Weber said that cutting programs is “certainly a possibility that cannot be ruled out” but that there are “other ways to trim costs without elimination.” If a program were to be eliminated, the Program Elimination Review Committee would have to approve it, as well as several collective bargaining agreements. Derrick Johnson can be reached at 581-2812 or at dennewsdesk@gmail.com.