Even with the one-year anniversary of the Feb. 14 shootings drawing closer, funding for the renovation of Cole Hall still seems distant.

Ken Zehnder, associate director of external affairs, said NIU had hoped that the $7.7 million to remodel Cole Hall would be a separate action.

“It’s meshed in with the state capital bill,” Zehnder said of the funding.

The capital bill, sponsored by the Illinois Works Coalition, has been a source of tension for the leadership of the House, the Senate and the governor’s office.

“There’s no final agreement on the composition of the bill, and there’s no agreement on the funding source,” Zehnder said, stating that while everyone agrees a capital bill is needed, there is no agreement on the specifics.

Proposals to fund the capital bill have ranged from raising the income tax to raising the state’s sales tax. Zehnder said the General Assembly raised trucking fees in order to fund the last capital bill they passed.

As it stands, the capital bill contains $25 billion that will fund projects all over Illinois, including the remodeling of Cole Hall, a $21 million renovation of the Stevens Building and a renovation of Wirtz Hall, Zehnder said.

But as the bill is debated back and forth, its composition might change entirely.

“It’s still not set,” Zehnder said. “It will change as it goes through the process.”

There might be, however, light at the end of the tunnel. Zehnder said the new leaders of the General Assembly are looking to have a capital bill passed for next year.

Further complications, however, can come from the fact that a new legislative session is about to begin, meaning the capital bill would have to be re-submitted as state Senators John Cullerton (D-Chicago) and Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) will assume their roles as Senate President and Senate GOP leader, respectively, in January.

While the state has funded individual capital projects, Zehnder said the last time he remembers a capital bill that was passed by the Illinois legislature was during the George Ryan administration, which ended in 2002.