NIU is planning its Rockford educational center, but cannot take action until $500,000 in funding is released.

Gov. James Thompson will release the money, approved by legislators last fall, when higher priority projects are funded.

Anne Kaplan, executive assistant to NIU President John La Tourette, said although NIU has made preliminary plans to determine the educational needs of the Rockford community, it needs actual funding before a site can be selected.

However, Thompson said the large number of projects he approved for this year has prevented the state from releasing money to NIU.

“The main difficulty is that the capital bill I signed last year was the first capital bill I’ve ever signed in its entirety,” Thompson told DeKalb radio station WNIU-FM. “I left no project out.”

Thompson said as a result, the release of money for projects has to be spaced throughout the year, so the state has enough money on hand to support all projects.

The legislature approved the $500,000 addition to NIU’s 1990 funding, despite the governor’s veto, Kaplan said.

“We have to do these projects in priority,” Thompson said, adding, maintenance funds, such as roof repairs and new equipment, must be released first to repair existing facilities.

Kaplan said NIU has been working closely with Rockford College and Rock Valley Community College to ensure NIU’s programing will not duplicate the services already offered.

“Our initial studies show the three institutions already meet many of Rockford’s needs,” Kaplan said.

However, Kaplan added the community has expressed interest in computer science, nursing, engineering and public administration graduate programs.

The Rockford extension will allow NIU to expand “newer areas of expertise,” such as coroporate communications, design management and computer graphics, Kaplan said.

Currently, NIU programs in Rockford include master’s degrees in business administration and education. Undergraduate bachelor’s degree programs include nursing and general studies.

Eddie Williams, NIU vice president of finance and planning, said preliminary studies to determine the area’s academic needs are “all that can be done without a clear committment of funds.”

Rockford Mayor Charles Box said he wants NIU’s educational center located downtown to attract private sector development.

But Kaplan said, “Although having the center downtown might benefit the city, there are probably other sites which would better meet NIU’s criteria.”

La Tourette specified site criteria in a Board of Regent’s report that ranked accessiblity, safety and security, parking and expandability as high priorities.

The report cited Rockford, Beloit, Freeport, Belvidere and the Interstate 90 corridor as the center’s major markets. Commuting time to the center should not exceed 30 minutes from the market areas, according to the report.

The center would need 700 parking spaces to best serve the projected enrollment, according to the report.