NIU and Illinois State University are not going to get their own Board of Regents, but they might get the next best thing.

State Representatives Gordon Ropp, (R-Ill.) and John Countryman, (R-Ill.) are sponsoring House Bill 2842 that would add an alumnus from NIU and ISU to the Board of Regents, bumping the total number of Regents up from 9 to 11.

Countryman said NIU and ISU have been pushing for their own Regents “for a long time but we couldn’t get it through the legislative maze. This bill will attempt to compromise.”

Bob Tish, former NIU student Regent said, “It’s a good idea to have alumnae on the Regents.”

But he said adding two members is a waste of public funds. “They went about it in a way that saves political problems but wastes money.”

The bill is on its way to Gov. James Thompson’s desk and he has 60 days to sign or veto the bill. “I think he will find it favorable,” Ropp said.

The bill passed in the Illinois House of Representatives May 8 by a vote of 113 to 0 and it passed 57 to 1 in the state Senate, Countryman said.

Neither NIU nor ISU is currently represented on the Regents, Countryman said.

Former ISU student Regent, Scott Williams said although this is not exactly what NIU and ISU wanted, the bill is “long overdue.”

Williams’ term ended July 1, as did Tisch’s term. Tish said the new student Regents were briefed on the bill at Tuesday afternoon’s Board meeting and “they then would have pretty good knowlegde of what’s been going on.”

Williams said the addition of NIU and ISU alumnae will put the Regents more in contact with the campuses. “They might feel more of a committment to the universities.”

Tish said, “What should have been done was fill the next three vacancies with alumnae by attrition (after one member resigns or retires).” He said the first spot could be filled by an NIU alumn, then the next vacancy with an ISU alumn and the next open seat with an alumn from SSU.

Ropp said the Senate added an ammendment to the bill stating the next vacancy on the Regents would be filled by an alumnus from Sangamon State University.

Regents are appointed by the Governor to staggered four-year terms, Countryman said. The next vacancy will come up in 1991.