Governor Rod Blagojevich announced Wednesday that the state will push legislation to fund demolition of Cole Hall and to erect a new building.

The new building will be a $40 million state-of-the-art general classroom building called Memorial Hall. President John Peters said the building will be centralized on campus, but not on the Cole Hall site.

“We are committing the funds needed to build Memorial Hall, to replace Cole Hall, a building now burdened by tragedy and loss,” Blagojevich said. “We will tear that building down, not to erase the memory of what happened, but to remind us that the human spirit, the will to learn, ti build, to grow, to give back – that spirit lives.”

Blagojevich said he is cautiously optimistic about the appropriation for the building passing both the state senate and house.

Peters said if all goes as planned, the planning phase for the new building would take nine months, allowing bids to go out between January and March.

Groundbreaking could occur in spring 2009 and occupancy could come as soon as December 2010.

Peters anticipates the Cole Hall demolition to come late spring, provided state funding comes through.