Gov. Quinn's budget proposal has come under some criticism for its plans to cut $1.3 billion in education. One portion of that cut includes cutting all funding of the state-mandated Regional Offices of Education. If you're like I was and have no clue...
DeKALB | Prosecutors were considering seeking the death penalty against William Curl, the DeKalb man accused of murdering NIU student Antinette Keller. But that is no longer the case.On Wednesday, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law a bill that abolished...
Gov. Pat Quinn introduced a bill that could cut the number of Illinois school districts from 868 to 300 if passed. Quinn said the bill would save taxpayers $100 million."Those guys must be crazy," said James Briscoe, superintendent of DeKalb School District...
DeKALB | It was 20 minutes of inspired scribbling on a yellow note pad, but it was also the defining moment of her career: NIU aluma Jo Fredell Higgins knew, in that moment, that she wanted to become a writer. Higgins won a 1976 Aurora Bicentennial essay...
As I'm sure most of you have heard by now, there is a bit of an uproar in Wisconsin regarding Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget package, which includes a provision that would strip many state workers of their collective bargaining rights. Putting aside...
It is time we issued the death penalty a death sentence of its own. Illinois politicians have proposed and passed a bill that does exactly that, which only needs Gov. Pat Quinn's signature to abolish the penalty under state law. The bill has raised considerable...
No person in their right mind would agree that the state of Illinois' idea to raise taxes was logical. Personal taxes were already 3 percent, according to a recent article by the Christian Science Monitor. The 66 percent tax increase will only make it...
Hooray for taxes! And I am not being sarcastic. Illinois has a serious budget deficit and is falling deeper into debt. Sure, there can be alternative measures to the problem; consolidation of municipalities, legalization of taxable goods and further overhaul...
DeKALB | Not even a blizzard was enough to derail National Signing Day for the NIU football team on Wednesday afternoon. First-year head coach Dave Doeren announced his first recruiting class as a head coach at the Yordon Center in DeKalb. The class of...
With the start of the New Year, many new Illinois state laws went into effect, some odd and some expected. The new laws cover everything from campaign contributions to Illinois residents owning a primate. Campaign Contributions Under the new laws, there...
Students who receive the Illinois MAP grant will see their awards shrink by 5 percent this semester. An e-mail from the Financial Aid Office detailing the change was sent out to students on Jan. 6. "It stinks, but I understand why," said Jaimee Kartheiser,...
Some NIU students are thrilled that the Illinois state legislature has passed a bill that will legalized civil unions for same sex couples. "I think it's a great move for Illinois," said Bryan Roush, a graduate assistant for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,...
