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The Daily Illini
Wednesday February 6, 2013
www.DailyIllini.com
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
Sen. Durbin reintroduces legislation on student loans BY CHRISSY PAWLOWSKI STAFF WRITER
As student loan debt reaches $1 trillion and University students graduate with almost $23,000 on average, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., reintroduced two new pieces of legislation last month that address the situation. “Too many Americans are carrying around mortgagesized student loan debt that forces them to put off major life decisions like buying a
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home or starting a family,” Durbin said in a press release. “It’s not only young people facing this crisis; it is parents, siblings and even grandparents who co-signed private loans long ago and are still making payments decades later.” According to the nonprofit College In Sight, average student debt in Illinois was $26,470 for 2011 graduates,
See STUDENT LOANS, Page 3A
UI’s student debt rate below median for Illinois Illinois student loan debt has risen to $26,470, the 15th highest in the country. See how the University compared with other schools across the state in 2010-11: 1. Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
$32,748
2. Northern Illinois University
2 10
3
$29,267
3. DePaul University
$27,486
4. Eastern Illinois University
$26,500
5. Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
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7
$25,998
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6. Illinois State University
$24,767
9
7. Western Illinois University
4
$23,227
8. University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
$22,975
9. University of Illinois-Springfield
5
$20,323
10. University of Illinois-Chicago
$20,196
ROCHELLE WILSON THE DAILY ILLINI
Leah Schmelkin, Ashley Doruelo and Tess Mody, seniors in LAS, enjoy free pancakes at IHOP on Tuesday. IHOP gave away free pancakes as part of National Pancake Day and asked for donations to go toward Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.
Urbana’s Market at the Square to incorporate new online system Web-based system will allow customers to find items easier BY CORINNE RUFF STAFF WRITER
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Source: College In Sight
EUNIE KIM Design Editor
Urbana’s Market at the Square is using a new webbased management tool that will make it easier for customers of the farmers’ market to find the items they’re shopping for. The site, called
managemymarket.com, will go live in April and assists in managing vendor applications, tracking payments and mapping booths among other capabilities. With the new system, vendors are able to create profile pages with information about their produce, contact and hours of
Proposed laws could benefit illegal immigrants
See MARKET, Page 3A
Senate still discussing constitutional change BY TYLER DAVIS STAFF WRITER
STAFF WRITER
INSIDE
“Our market is so big,” Marquez said. “We average 70 vendors every weekend, but 150 are registered to participate. It helps manage (the) day-to-day market.” Vendors were able to start applying using the system Friday for the regular market season, which lasts from May to November. Ha ns Bishop, vendor
ILLINOIS STUDENT SENATE
BY CHRISSY PAWLOWSKI
State and national immigration-related legislation will benefit illegal immigrants in Champaign-Urbana, local community advocates said. “These people will have the freedom to move about and go about their lives, taking their kids to school and going to work,” said Francisco Baires, community programs director for the University YMCA. “We hear all the time from people in the community what that means to them.” Baires was referring to the nearly 250,000 illegal immigrant drivers in Illinois, who will be able to legally drive after Nov. 27 after legislation signed by Gov. Pat Quinn in January. The law will provide for a temporary license after an illegal immigrant passes a driving test and obtains auto insurance. Baires said he believes this legislation will greatly impact the large number of illegal immigrants in Champaign-Urbana. With the new law in place, he said these immigrants will have a great deal of new freedoms. “Contrary to what the Obama administration has been saying about going after serious criminals in their immigration
operation, which customers will be able to browse using a search bar. It will allow them to type in the name of a produce item and use an interactive map to see where the stand is located at the market. Natalie Kenny Marquez, director of Market at the Square, said many farmers’ markets across the country are using similar managing systems to enhance the market experience for their community.
SUSAN WALSH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, center, adjusts the pin on Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., right, as they laugh with Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., in Washington on Tuesday before a hearing on America's Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement of Laws against Illegal Immigration. arrests, there are people who are arrested, detained and held for months at a time and eventually deported,” he said. “Families are broken apart for nothing other than driving without a license.” Meanwhile, comprehensive changes of the immigration proposed by federal lawmakers could also affect the Champaign-Urbana immigrant community. The proposal, announced by President Barack Obama on Jan. 29, aims to provide immigrants with a clear procedure
to follow to become legal residents. It also tightens border control and severely punishes and discourages businesses from hiring illegal immigrants. It would provide a streamlined process for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already living in the U.S. to become citizens, and allow immigrants, after achieving legal status, to become U.S. citizens in 5 years. Andrew Flach, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, D-13,
See IMMIGRATION, Page 3A
“These people will have the freedom to move about and go about their lives, taking their kids to school and going to work.” FRANCISCO BAIRES, community programs director at the University YMCA
After failing to meet quorum at their Friday meeting, the Illinois Student Senate will continue discussion of their new constitutional proposal that increases their power to pose referenda questions to the student body. In the proposed constitution, if two-thirds of the student senate approves a referenda question, they will no longer be required to gather student signatures before their referendum appears on the ballot. The current constitution requires student groups and senators to gather 7 percent of the student body’s signatures before their referenda question will appear on the ballot, unless the student senate lowers its threshold to 5 percent with a two-thirds vote. For those students not part of ISS, the proposed constitution will raise the threshold for putting referenda on the ballot from 7 percent to 10 percent of the student body’s signatures. It would also allow the senate to introduce referenda with a simple majority and the signatures of only 3 percent. Vice President-external Jenny Baldwin said she thinks the senators will vote on the constitutional referenda Wednesday. “I think it’s going to make senate a lot more efficient, but I can definitely understand why some senators have problems with it because it’s drastically different than the constitution we have now and it’s going to shift power in ways that people aren’t comfortable with,” she said.
Vice President-internal Shao Guo said this change might be one of the deciding factors in having the constitution passed Wednesday. “It will also encourage more organizations to come and present referendum questions (to the senate),” he said. If two-thirds of the senate endorses the proposed constitution, senators will be required to gather 5 percent of the student body’s signatures before it will appear on the spring election ballot, said Jim Maskeri, undergraduate co-chair of the Commission on Constitutional Reform. The deadline for the referenda questions is Feb. 19. “That clock is ticking, but hopefully we’ll get everything in on time,” he said. Guo said during the constitutional discussion, senators would be welcome to make amendments to the constitution in order to shape it to best suit the senate. He said he would like to see an explicit passage added forbidding slating during the student election, which is the informal grouping of candidates on a common platform. “It alienates every moderate or essentially every minority and it goes against the idea of a truly representative government,” he said. He said the Illinois student government has had issues with slating in the past, citing the proChief Illiniwek versus anti-Chief factions during the early 2000s.
Tyler can be reached at tadavis2@ dailyillini.com.
Po l i ce 2 A | H o ro s co p e s 2 A | O p i n i o n s 4 A | Le t t e r s 4 A | C ro s swo rd 5 A | Co m i c s 5 A | H e a l t h & L i v i n g 6 A | S p o r t s 1 B | Cl a s s i f i e d s 3 B | S u d o ku 3 B