A downstate candidate for state senate has a proposal to wipe out state tuition subsidies for law students, and the NIU College of Law is not amused.

A recent article in the Daily Illini said that Kenneth Baughman, 52nd District democratic candidate, proposed complete cuts in state subsidies for law students at NIU, Southern Illinois University and the University of Illinois.

Baughman proposed that students should pay the total cost of tuition themselves because he believes there are simply too many lawyers. Money should go toward other curriculums like engineering and science, he said.

NIU College of Law Dean James Alfini said the proposal would cause NIU law students’ tuition bills to triple to about $15,000 a year.

“It’s absurd,” Alfini said. “He’s trying to develop a political gimmick.”

Alfini said all data indicates a high societal need for lawyers and that the entire basis for Baughman’s comment is erroneous.

A study done by the Illinois Department of Security shows a 34

Percent projected growth in annual job openings, about 3,000 job openings for lawyers in Illinois each year.

Illinois’ nine law schools crank out about 2,000 graduates each year to fill that demand.

Alfini said although the big firms on LaSalle Street are filled, there is a great need for lawyers in smaller communities and public service organizations.

Alfini and a few NIU law students gave other reasons for their disagreement with the proposal.

“One clear result of the proposal is that access would be denied to many Illinoisans from families of moderate incomes who could not afford those kind of tuition rates,” Alfini said.

He said minority groups are already grossly underrepresented in the legal profession and are just now making some strides. Alfini said the Baughman proposal “would clearly reduce that trend.”

“You’d see few, if any, black or brown faces,” Alfini said.

NIU law students are being led into public service and smaller communities where the need for lawyers exists.

Alfini said the proposal would mean “sending more lawyers toward the haves and fewer to the have-nots.”

“It’s absurd because it doesn’t take into account the societal needs,” Alfini said.

“When you raise the cost of education, you effectively cut out those who don’t have the means,” said Robin Hough, a second- year law student. “It’s completely unfair.”

Martha Padilla, a second-year law student, said it would be impossible for married students with families, like herself, if the proposal went through.

Padilla said she commutes from Oak Brook because of the low tuition at NIU.