It appears that any money needed for Cole Hall funding will not come from the federal stimulus bill.

At the Faculty Senate meeting on Wednesday, member Paul Stoddard said there is a set amount of money for each state to apply to higher education, but how it was spent is to the state’s discretion. He said that Gov. Pat Quinn is proposing the money go toward operating costs rather than toward capital costs. Stoddard made it a point to mention that the proposal still has to be passed.

“Anything can change once legislation gets involved,” Stoddard said.

Stoddard said within state legislature they are discussing a capital bill that would allow about $22.5 million for Stevens Hall renovation and about $2.8 million for the planning of a technology building, but he did allude to the notion that funding for such a bill is still in question. He also mentioned that the funds for the bill would have to be obtained. Stoddard said funding for Cole Hall is not included in the capital budget, thereby forcing NIU to seek other sources of revenue for it.

“Cole Hall was not ever included as part of the capital budget for fear that if it were, it would get stuck down at the bottom, or if it got stuck at the top, a lot of other campuses would see that as grossly unfair,” Stoddard said.

Stoddard also mentioned state budget woes, saying that the state is looking at a $12 billion deficit, which he said may be about a quarter of Illinois’ budget. Stoddard said Gov. Quinn has released a sum proposal to “try to get the budget closer to balanced.”

“Nobody wants to commit to anything yet because it still has to go through the legislature,” Stoddard said. “Where we might see the biggest changes are in the pension benefits, and as most of you are aware, I’m sure, Illinois is, I think, worst in the country by far in terms of underfunding its pension obligations.”

Stoddard also rehashed some of the decisions made by the Board of Trustees to increase student fees. Stoddard said that student fees would increase about 4.95 percent. Stoddard also said that room fees would increase about 12 percent due to a new sprinkler system that’s being installed and residence hall renovations. He added that renovations to the MLK Commons have also been approved.

Also at the Faculty Senate meeting, Janet Rintala, the faculty athletic representative, announced that NIU Athletics has three sports teams with the highest GPA in the MAC for their sport: women’s basketball, wrestling and football.