NIU President John Peters spoke last week at the Illinois House Appropriation hearings in a plea for state capital funding to repair the Stevens Building.

The fate of the Stevens Building receiving the funding needed to provide adequate renovation lies in receiving capital funding from the state. Gov. Rod Blagojevich will present his budget address today at noon, in which funding could be revealed for projects like the Stevens Building.

“We’ll be watching with keen interest,” said Ken Zehnder, NIU director of External Affairs.

Peters said the Stevens Building, which houses facilities for anthropology and theater and dance classrooms, has been in need of “serious” repair for ten years.

“The Illinois Board of Higher Education has a list of priorities for four years now that really hasn’t changed, because nothing has been funded,” Peters said.

Peters said the Stevens Building is number 19 on the IBHE list.

Peters said he has talked to anyone in the Illinois government who would listen and has pitched the renovation project to the IBHE, which collects from all state schools.

Peters said the entire capital bill would have to be $300 million to reach the Stevens Building on the list.

“I think this is an important year, because I think there will be a capital bill,” Peters said. “If it’s not in the governor’s bill, perhaps the legislature would put it in; that often happens.”

Zehnder said that performing arts and anthropology schools put together a video to showcase the conditions in the Stevens Building in Springfield. Zehnder said NIU will continue to work to press the governor’s office and state senate to help fix NIU buildings.

Though NIU has completed several building projects with private money, Peters said the university can’t continue to build off of private funding.

Peters said the condition of the Stevens Building is a serious issue and it is important that students talk about it.

“If they have an interest in this – the quality of their education and their learning environment – they should write letters to their state representative in their home district,” Peters said,

Peters said that after the governor announces the budget, there will be additional state senate hearings and probably a second house hearing before any renovations will be made official.

“This is something I have been working on since I came here in 2000 and it gets frustrating,” he said.