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The Daily Illini

Wednesday April 24, 2013

www.DailyIllini.com

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

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Vol. 142 Issue 145

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Illinois considers receipts for taxpayers Income tax receipts meant to create transparency, but may be more complicated BY BRITTANY GIBSON STAFF WRITER

Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon introduced a transparency initiative on April 14 with the goal of allowing citizens to view exactly where their income tax money goes in the form of a tax receipt. Simon is working with the Illinois Department of Revenue and the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget to design this tax receipt and make sure it’s available annually, beginning at the start of the next tax filing system in January 2014. “The Lt. Governor has been a longtime advocate for increasing openness and transparency in government,” said Annie Thompson, Simon’s spokeswoman. “This is really to help inform people about government and give them a clearer picture of government spending.” According to her press release, Simon wants taxpayers who file their taxes online to receive an itemized receipt that illustrates where their money goes and how it fits into the state’s multibillion dollar budget. “When you pay your credit card bill or when you buy groceries, you get a receipt that shows you exactly where your money went,” Thompson said. “This really seemed like a common sense thing that government could do to give taxpayers a better idea of where their money is going.” Brian Gaines, associate professor in political science, said this idea of transparency is already

See TAXES, Page 3A

Initative for receipt to show amount of income tax funding to state departments Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon is pushing for measures which would allow for transparency of spending of taxpayer funding. Taxpayer money contributes to almost half of state revenue.

Fiscal Year 2012 Revenue $34,072,000,000

BY JACQUI OGRODNIK STAFF WRITER

Using 21.6 pounds of cigarette litter collected from Saturday’s “Blooms, not Butts” tobacco litter pickup event, two groups of competing students transformed the litter into displays Tuesday afternoon. “What we wanted to do was find a positive way to let people know about the smoke-free campus policy that will be in effect in Janu-

10.8% 45.5%

21.2% Personal income taxes: $15.51 billion Sales tax: $7.23 billion All other: $3.14 billion Federal sources: $3.68 billion Corporate income taxes: $2.46 billion Public utility taxes: $995 million Gaming sources: $1.06 billion

ary,” said Michele Guerra, director of the UI Wellness Center. “We also wanted to draw attention to the fact that tobacco litter is an environmental hazard.” Two teams stationed in the Courtyard Cafe at the Illini Union had to design sculptures or models, 80 percent of which had to be constructed from collected tobacco litter, following the theme “Benefits of a SmokeFree Campus.”

One team built a model of the Quad out of cigarette butts, including a model of Foellinger Auditorium at the end and a willow tree in the middle. “The main Quad represents the whole campus,” said Donny Kwandindo, a member of the team and graduate of the University. “It shows the attempt to make a smoke-free campus. The willow tree shows how the litter seeps into the grass and into the trunks of the trees.”

The second team displayed four glass vases holding a few flowers. Two of the vases were filled with butts while another vase held flowers that were constructed with cigarette butts and wire. The team with the model of the Quad won first place and received $225, Guerra said. Everybody who competed received a free pass for

See BLOOMS, Page 3A

UI teaching Roger Ebert film program in fall CONTRIBUTING WRITER

7.2%

9.3%

Turning litter into art for a smoke-free UI

BY TAYLOR ODISHO

3.1%

2.9%

KELLY HICKEY THE DAILY ILLINI

Courtney Lai, junior in FAA, helps Donny Kwandindo, recent graduate in ACES, during “Blooms not Butts,” an event held at the Courtyard Cafe on Tuesday.

Following the death of film critic and University alumnus Roger Ebert on April 4, the College of Media will launch the Roger Ebert Program for Film Studies, open to all students, next fall. This yearlong program will provide students with the opportunity to learn about film commentary from professors, scholars and other guest speakers in the industry, as well as teach them film histo-

ry and the workings of the industry. Students can also write their own film critiques while taking part in the program. The program will run similarly to Ebertfest and will expose them to multiple areas of media. Throughout the year, the program will bring speakers, panels and screenings to the students. Jan Slater, interim dean of the College of Media, said she thinks the program will attract many prominent speakers. Slater said she thinks

the conversations Ebert had about film’s impact on individuals and the society will also be incorporated into the program. Additionally, students will be exposed to some of Ebert’s work found in the University Archives in University Hall. “I think there are so many people that are anxious to give back for what they thought Roger did for them,” Slater said. “That’s certainly been our experience at the festival (Ebertfest,) and I think that hav-

ing something at the University is even more important because so many people want to help the next generation if they can.” Angharad Valdivia, department head of Media and Cinema Studies, said she thinks students will benefit from the facets of the program. “There will be students who are educated not just about film criticism, but also about production in the industry, about audiences and

See FILM, Page 3A

Hot mess starts fire at Illini Tower

Fiscal Year 2012 Spending $34,348,000,000 0.3% 4.8%

5.8%

8.3%

15.0%

26.9% 38.8% General government: $1.66 billion Transfers out: $5.16 billion Health & social services: $13.33 billion Elem. & sec. education: $9.25 billion Higher education: $2.84 billion Public protection & justice: $1.99 billion All other: $113 million Source: budget.illinois.gov AUSTIN BAIRD THE DAILY ILLINI

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BRENTON TSE THE DAILY ILLINI

The Champaign Fire Department responded to a fire at Illini Tower, 409 E. Chalmers St., on Tuesday afternoon. The sixth floor trash room’s alarm had been activated, and firefighters found in the basement that a dumpster, which fed into the trash chute, was on fire. The sprinkler activated and put the fire out, but the dumpster was still smoldering. The firefighters put the dumpster outside, and they then ventilated the building because the smoke traveled up the chute onto the floors. “As we were doing that, we kept encountering smoke in places that we had already ventilated,” said Glen Daniels, fire captain at the Champaign Fire Department. “We found a small rag that was still burning that was stuck in the trash chute, we removed that, continued ventilating and then discovered that there was actually trash at the first floor level that was between the trash chute liner and the outside wall of the trash chute -- a place where trash shouldn’t be -- that had caught fire from the metal liner of the trash chute, so at that point we had to cut a whole metal liner out to make sure the fire was fully extinguished.” Daniels also said the department did not find any evidence of arson but was not able to rule out the possibility that the fire had been set intentionally.

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