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Thursday, February 4, 2016
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Unlawful assembly ordinances draft discussed by community Read more
Madison Kacer Staff writer
DeKalb | DeKalb residents and NIU students and faculty discussed two unlawful assembly ordinances drafted by the City of DeKalb for nearly four hours at a DeKalb Human Relations Commission meeting Tuesday. The ordinances were unanimously passed during the first reading at a Jan. 11 City Council meeting and were pushed from the agenda to the Human Relations Commission after public input was heard at the Jan. 25 City Council meeting. “It’s important for us to work together and be on the same page about this ordinance,” said Chief Diversity Officer Vernese Edghill-Walden.
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[The proposed criteria] can be applied to assemblies that probably don’t have the potential to become unlawful.” Timothy Brandner Student Association Senator
Thirty-nine community members including DeKalb residents, NIU students and faculty and seven city staff members including DeKalb Police Chief Gene Lowery and City Attorney Dean Frieders
Human Relations Commission to hold discussion on unlawful assembly ordinance: bit.ly/1SuuuaK Ordinance decision postponed to receive more local feedback: bit.ly/1Qe0jOw
Madison Kacer | Northern Star
DeKalb Police Chief Gene Lowery speaks during the DeKalb Human Relations Commission meeting Tuesday. DeKalb residents and NIU students and faculty gathered to talk about the two unlawful assembly ordinances during the fourhour Human Relations Commission meeting Tuesday.
were at Tuesday’s meeting. The first ordinance, to become section 52.92 of the city’s municipal code, declares it to be a violation of the city code if an individual disobeys the command of a sworn peace officer by failing to disperse from the vicinity of an unlawful assembly after an officer has made clear it must be dispersed. The current version lists 22 activities that would characterize an unlawful assembly, including assault, battery, criminal damage to property, unlawful use of alcohol,
cannabis or a controlled substance and mob action. The second ordinance, to become section 52.93 of the city’s municipal code, prohibits the possession of multiple weapons, which are defined over the course of 11 subsections. Some of the prohibited weapons include explosive substances and pepper spray. Many meeting attendees were in opposition to these proposed illegalities. Concerns included a lack of clear definitions for the criteria for unlawful assemblies, a lack of
communication between the City Council and community, an absence of criteria defining a lawful assembly and a possibility for cultural misinterpretations. Abraham Tavera, 26, of DeKalb, said he felt that certain cultural groups may not benefit from the ordinance if it is not handled with a diverse approach. Student Association Senator Timothy Brandner distributed a letter from the SA Senate expressing concerns about the ordinances, such as vagueness within the guidelines, and included an enrolled senate solution. “[The proposed criteria] can be applied to assemblies that probably don’t have the potential to become unlawful,” Brandner said. Commission members said they expect an additional February meeting to discuss the ordinances due to the large community response.
Rep. Pritchard sponsors bill to help higher education’s ‘financial crisis’ By the numbers
Alexander Chettiath News Editor
NIU
Governors State University
Percentage of budget that is state appropriated
26%
43.5%
~ ~ 30%
MAP Grants - Fronted Fall 2015?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
- Number of students that received MAP grants
5,700
1,941
~ ~ 2,000
- Total MAP grant funds awarded
$20 million
$3 million
$5 million
DeKalb | After seven months of
no state budget appropriations, Rep. Bob Pritchard (R-Hinckley) said higher education is in a financial “crisis” and his newly sponsored bill hopes to fix that. Pritchard’s new bill, HB4539, introduced on Jan. 27, makes various appropriations concerning higher education and would be effective immediately if passed. The bill must be used in conjunction with HB4521 which would provide authority and procedures for the governor to establish emergency reserves of previously appropriated funds and to transfer balances between special funds in the state treasury and the general revenue fund. Pritchard said the bill will allow for the funding of higher education including 2-year and 4-year colleges and MAP Grant recipients.
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[NIU] can get through the end of the fiscal year which takes us to June 30, but after that, if there is no budget, it gets a lot harder to predict things.” Joe King NIU Spokesman
“The state has 400 or more different accounts where money is collected and kept for different purposes this would allow the governor to take some of that money and use it for
- Fronted Spring 2016?
Chicago State University
Nick Bosshart | Northern Star
In comparison to NIU, the percentage of Governors State University and Chicago State University’s budget that is state appropriated is higher. Pritchard hopes his bill will provide an alternative to these universities that may face the possibility of shutting down.
higher education,” Pritchard said. “This is a stopgap measure until we get a full budget with full appropriation authority ... I had to agree to giving the governor that authority, which otherwise we probably wouldn’t give him, but this is an emergency.” Gov. Bruce Rauner’s Fiscal Year 2016 proposed budget includes reduction in funds to public entities, and a lack of agreement on the proposed budget has resulted in a seven-month impasse. Without a finalized budget, funds such as state appropriations to higher education cannot be appropriated fully. “[NIU] can get through the end of the fiscal year which takes us to June 30, but after that, if there is no budget,
it gets a lot harder to predict things,” said NIU Spokesman Joe King. Pritchard said he felt the bill was necessary because of recent news that schools, such as Chicago State University and Governors State University, are facing the possibility of closure at the end of the semester without state appropriations. Governors State University cannot plan for summer 2016 and fall 2016 without a reasonable operating budget, said Keisha Dyson, director of Marketing and Communications at Governors State University. Chicago State University’s cash position starts to get difficult as early as March at which the university’s future become uncertain. Possibilities
include borrowing from a financial institution which must be approved by the state legislature, said Tom Wogan, director of Public Relations at Chicago State University. HB4539 is in its beginning stages and has to pass through the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate and then will end up on the governor’s desk, Pritchard said. “The speaker can write a bill, introduce it and it can pass both chambers within four or five days. The students ought to let [Speaker Michael Madigan] know that there is a crisis and they’re concerned about getting MAP Grants and they’re concerned about having a university that’s open come fall,” Pritchard said.
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Polls open for early voting in DeKalb Scott Nicol Staff writer
DeKalb | Polls for the general primaries open for early voting today, with the ballot consisting of the presidential primaries and any open seat in local and state government positions. Daejzonna Muschamp, senior political science major and BallotReady intern, said being informed on the candidates’ policies is not a requirement, but students should take time to research the candidates before voting. “[Students] are so disengaged from politics most of the time,” Muschamp said. “I believe most NIU students receive their political information through social media, whether it be Facebook or Twitter. If [students] are going to use social media to get [their] news, whether it be political or other issues, make sure it is from a credible source such as the Washington Post or The Hill.” Students may register via mail, online at Vote. Illinois.gov or in person at different locations including schools and city and Kiranjit Gill village offices, SA director of said Kiranjit Governmental Affairs Gill, SA director of Governmental Affairs. A group of student and community volunteers met Monday for a BallotReady and political science department sponsored Civic Hackathon to gather more information on the candidates to share with students, Muschamp said. The purpose of the hackathon is to conduct as much research on candidates running for state office to further inform voters on the candidates backgrounds, Muschamp said. The members of BallotReady created a database on their website to easily share the political information they have attained throughout their research. The members are constantly updating the information, Muschamp said. BallotReady provides free, nonpartisan background information on every candidate and referendum on voters’ ballots across the country, according to the BallotReady website. Nearly 54,000 citizens of DeKalb County were registered to vote during the 2012 general primaries, but only 12,534 casted their vote, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections website. Students not already registered to vote must do so by Feb. 16 to vote in the general primaries.
If you go The SA will host a voter registration event 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday in Neptune Central. For more information go to bit. ly/1Qe2hP7.