Daily Egyptian WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
SINCE 1916
VOL. 100 ISSUE 108
Health insurance Friends gather to remember costs could double SIU student killed in house fire for SIU employees MARNIE LEONARD | @marsuzleo
SIU union leaders are worried one of the most attractive aspects of university employment — good health care benefits — could be in jeopardy. At issue is the November ruling by the Illinois Labor Relations Board that contract negotiations between Illinois and the state council of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees were at impasse. The ruling was a win for Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, whose administration has been in contentious bargaining meetings with the union since its state contract ended in July 2015. An impasse means the governor chooses the terms of the contract, and the union can either accept those terms or strike. David Johnson, president of the SIU Faculty Association, said those contract terms could potentially “put [state employees] through hell.” With declining salaries and “lousy” pension plans, Johnson said increasing the costs for health care benefits could be a sign for prospective or current employees
at the university to find work in another state. “With the state in financial crisis, there are already a lot of motives for people to look elsewhere for employment,” Johnson said. “This would be yet another one.” A lawsuit was filed by AFSCME on Wednesday in attempt to block the decision and bring Rauner back to the bargaining table, but that measure is expected to only stall temporarily. The complaint alleges the governor failed to respond to attempts by the union to continue negotiations and bargain in good faith. On Wednesday, nearly three dozen Illinois lawmakers held a press conference to urge the governor to resume negotiations with the union. This group of legislators was made up of Republicans and Democrats, because they said the impasse is a “nonpartisan” issue for state employees. Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly called the ILRB decision “fair for taxpayers and state employees,” saying in a Nov. 15 statement that it would save taxpayers $3 billion over a four-year period. Please see INSURANCE | 4
Morgan Timms | @Morgan_Timms John Kenny, a senior from Aurora studying political science, lights candles on Friday in memory of his late friend and roommate Alex Kierstead — who died in a house fire on Nov. 23 — during a candlelight vigil outside the burnt home in Carbondale.
CORY RAY | @CoryRay_DE
Dozens of single flames illuminated images of a smiling SIU student, often pictured hiking, as friends gathered to remember Alex Kierstead on the the front steps of the house where he was found dead the day before Thanksgiving. “You expect your grandma to die,” said John Kenny, one of Kierstead’s
roommates. “You never expect your 20-year-old best friend to die.” Kenny, a senior from Aurora studying political science, was one of about 80 people who gathered Friday evening to remember their friend Kierstead, whose body was found the morning of Nov. 23 after a fire at a home on 700 W. Freeman St. that he shared with three other SIU students. Kierstead was a junior
from Aurora studying political science and journalism. Though the vigil was supposed to begin at 6:30 p.m., a crowd had already begun to form 30 minutes prior. "It's uplifting," Kierstead’s roommate Joe Hein said of the vigil. "I've been pretty devastated since this, but this has been the happiest I've been since he died." Please see REMEMBER | 8