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The Daily Illini www.DailyIllini.com
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
New Big Ten schools to join consortium
See BIG TEN, Page 3A
Rutgers, Maryland join academic consortium The University of Maryland and Rutgers University, which recently joined the Big Ten conference, have joined the other Big Ten schools and the University of Chicago in its academic consortium. While it’ll be one year until the two join the athletic conference, they were accepted into the Committe on Institutional Cooperation on Wednesday. Check out how much their universities’ research budgets in fiscal year 2011 compare with Illinois’.
Illinois
Maryland
Rutgers
$680,651,000
$395,402,662
$282,704,000
Source: Each university’s fiscal year 2011 budget
BRYAN LORENZ Design editor
New sandwich shop opening on Green St. Jersey Mike’s owner expects restaurant to open in January BY ILYA GUREVIC STAFF WRITER
The University community is soon to have yet another sandwich shop option in Campustown with the opening of Jersey Mike’s at 505 East Green St. Franchise owner Tony Rubba said a 10-year lease agreement has already been signed with JSM Development, and he hopes to open the shop in January. Jill Guth, development director for JSM , said her company saw value in bringing Jersey Mike’s to campus because of its name recognition. “(They) have a lot of stores in the Chicago area, which is very attractive to our Chicago students,” she said. “There’s a familiarity there, so we were able to come to an agreement.”
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Rubba, who was previously a trainer for the NFL and U.S. Olympics, owns four outpatient physical therapy clinics in Illinois. Rubba is enthusiastic about his new sub shop venture. “We are so excited to be on (the University) campus and having a relationship with the University,” Rubba said. According to its website, Jersey Mike’s oversees more than 575 franchises in 31 states. Thirty-three of these franchises are in Illinois, mostly in the Chicagoland area. Jersey Mike’s started in New Jersey, Rubba’s home state. He said he was “totally blown away by the caliber of food” at Jersey Mike’s. “We’ve got the freshest (subs), true hot subs with a grill and over-the-top customer service,” he said. Rubba said he expects his restaurant’s offerings, such as private-label cold cuts and bread baked in-store, to hold up well against local competition.
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ELAINE THOMPSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Travel guide author and marijuana legalization supporter Rick Steves holds a campaign sign Nov. 26 in his office in Edmonds, Wash., next to a door covered with marijuana leaf-shaped notes from his staff congratulating him on the passage of a referendum legalizing marijuana in the state. More inside: Read about Washington’s marijuana-legalization law going into effect. Page 3A
ILLINOIS STUDENT SENATE
ISS demands Illini Media transparency Daily Illini parent company should be accountable to students, senators say gram just as we have oversight of the collegiate readership program.” A referendum to institute a $3-per-semester fee to support IMC’s operations passed in the spring 2012. On Oct. 31, the Student Fee Advisory Committee recommended to Chancellor Phyllis Wise that the fee be reduced to $1.85 per semester. The fee was not implemented for the 2012-13 year. The senate’s resolution was tabled at last week’s meeting. Most debate both last week and this week centered on the fi nancial transparency of Illini Media Company. The full budget of the company has yet to be released despite recommendations from both the committee and ISS earli-
BY TYLER DAVIS STAFF WRITER
The Illinois Student Senate passed a resolution that recommended that the Illini Media Company release quarterly fi nancial reports, should it receive student fees, during the senate’s Wednesday night meeting. The resolution also requested that The Daily Illini — a product of the Illini Media Company — remove the title of “independent student newspaper” from its publications while receiving student fees. The resolution passed with 21 votes in favor to one against, with four abstentions. “I am a big proponent of transparency,” said Brock Gebhardt, student body president. “I want oversight over this pro-
Jersey Mike’s could increase sub shop competition
STOUGHTON STREET A Jersey Mike’s franchise is set to open on Green Street as early as January 2013. The campus community has several options a stone’s SPRINGFIELD AVENUE throw away from the Quad for satisfying a sandwich craving.
DANIEL STREET
BRYAN LORENZ Design Editor
Cu r rent C a m p u s t ow n sandwich shops doubted that the new restaurant would take a bite out of their profits. “I’m pretty confident in our product and our customer service, (so) it’s not going to affect our business too much,” said Caitlin Smith, assistant manager of Potbelly Sandwich Shop on Green Street. Patrick Grady, general manager of Silver Mine Subs, said the restaurant landscape on campus follows a previous influx of new restaurants in the area. He feels the scene has “settled out,” and he doesn’t
“This is a third party that’s taking student money and doing something with it without transparency.”
Frustrated Illinois lawmakers offer solutions to pension issues THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GREEN STREET JOHN STREET
er this year, according to the to have a daily newspaper, a resolution. Illini Media Com- radio station and other facets pany publisher Lil Levant said that IMC provides. that “Illini Media presented to But he said any public funds the Student Fee Advisory Com- being allocated to a private mittee a plan as company should to how the funds be made transwill be used.” parent for the “This is a sake of the student body. t h i rd party that’s taking stuGebhardt dent money and urged the senadoing something tors to keep the with it withtra nspa rency out transparenthe resolution cy,” said senasuggested i n tor Christopher mind. Dayton, senior “SFAC voted to give this monin LAS. “What CHRISTOPHER DAYTON, ey to the IMC do we know senator and senior in LAS with suggested (about) what stipulations — they’re doing with it? Do we know they’re act- ones we’d like to see implementing in our best interest?” ed,” he said. “I would rather see Resolution sponsor Jim some kind of student oversight Maskeri, chairman of the aca- than none at all.” demic affairs committee and senior in LAS, said he thinks it’s Tyler can be reached at tadavis2@ necessary for a Big Ten school dailyillini.com.
BY SARA BURNETT
HEALEY STREET
WRIGHT STREET
After joining the Big Ten last month, Rutgers University and the University of Maryland accepted invitations to join the Big Ten’s academic consortium. The universities will formally become members on July 1 of next year. The Committee on Institutional Cooperation is a consortium of research institutions and is composed of the Big Ten Conference Universities and the University of Chicago. The addition of Maryland and Rutgers will increase the total number of CIC memberships to 15. After their acceptance into the Big Ten Conference, both universities sent letters to the CIC expressing interest in joining the consortium. CIC provosts voted on whether to invite the universities to join. Maryland’s Senior Vice President and Provost Mary Ann Rankin fi led the formal request for CIC membership. “This is a terrific holiday gift for the entire campus — a major leap forward for our students, faculty, researchers and staff,” Rankin said in a
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DAYTIME ASSISTANT EDITORS
news release. “There are tremendous opportunities to collaborate on research, share resources and save money. We feel right at home among our academic peers.” According to a CIC news release, the addition of Rutgers and Maryland to the CIC could increase research funds from $8.4 billion to about $9.3 billion , contributing to research projects in areas such as biotechnology, transportation, cyber-security, and food safety research. Eight million library volumes and more than 5,600 full-time faculty members will also be added to the organization. Richard Edwards, executive vice president for academic affairs at Rutgers, said he thinks Rutgers will fit in well with CIC. “Because we are heavily involved in research, being a member of the CIC gives us greater opportunities for our faculty and students to engage in collaborative research,” Edwards said. Rutgers is comparable to the other CIC members in terms of its research funding and that
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BY LAURA SHAY AND HANNAH PROKOP
MUST LOVE DOGS
SECOND STREET
THE NUTCRACKER'S BALLERINA
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Trailblazer for legalization
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Maryland, Rutgers accepted into academic counterpart 5
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Vol. 142 Issue 69
SIXTH STREET
December 6, 2012
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expect any more major impacts. “I don’t even know if we’ll notice,” Grady said. Some sub shop employees were even less concerned, such as Kimmi Slaughter, junior in Engineering, who works for Subway. “ D id n’ t S ubw ay ju s t surpass McDonald’s (as the largest restaurant chain in the world)?,” Slaughter asked rhetorically. “If we did that, then we don’t have anything to worry about.”
Ilya can be reached at gurevic2@ dailyillini.com.
SPRINGFIELD — Rank-andfile lawmakers frustrated by slow progress and finger-pointing offered their own solution to Illinois’ multibillion-dollar pension crisis Wednesday, saying legislators need to take a new approach before the state is sent into “financial oblivion.” But legislative leaders questioned whether the idea is constitutional or saves the necessary billions of dollars, which might put lawmakers right back where they started with just weeks to go in the legislative session. More than 20 House members — including a handful of Republicans — joined Rep. Elaine Nekritz, chairwoman of the House pension committee, in a debut of the proposal designed to put a jolt into stalled talks on the final day of the fall veto session. The Northbrook Democrat said the idea doesn’t answer everyone’s concerns but has more momentum than any previous pension pitch. “We must continue to push this issue forward and not let
excuses get in the way of progress,” Nekritz said. Nekritz dismissed any question that lawmakers were bucking legislative leaders. She discussed her plan with House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, and predicted it would get a House vote if the savings calculations that are underway work out to lawmakers’ satisfaction. House Republican leader Tom Cross, of Oswego, said the plan has “a lot of merit” and key components he supports, said added he has other ideas that should be in the mix. But early indications were for an unwelcome Senate reception. Senate President John Cullerton said the proposal appears to be unconstitutional, while Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno said she won’t back a deal that shifts some costs to local school districts. Their reluctance could stymie the plan even if it gets House approval. The state’s pensions are currently $95 billion underfunded — the worst shortfall of any state in
See PENSION, Page 3A
Po l i c e 2 A | H o r o s c o p e s 2 A | O p i n i o n s 4 A | C r o s s w o r d 5 A | C o m i c s 5 A | G r e e k s & C a m p u s 6 A | S p o r t s 1 B | C l a s s i f i e d s 5 B - 6 B | S u d o k u 6 B