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The Daily Northwestern Thursday, May 5, 2016
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Social services sue Rauner
Faculty Senate reviews procedure Discussion spurred by last month’s Eikenberry vote By KELLI NGUYEN
the daily northwestern @kellinguyen
Coalition of 64 agencies file suit over unpaid contracts
advocate for many social issues, his music and activism primarily focuses on topics pertaining to race, Zimmermann said. Killer Mike encouraged audience members to foster relationships with people from different demographics. The interaction and mentorship among people of different races, classes, sexualities and religions will create unity and equality, he said. “Why aren’t we out fighting for the rights of all, like we should be?” Killer Mike said. “We are better as a species when we work together. In his presentation, Killer Mike
Faculty Senate voted Wednesday to uphold its decision to support the appointment of former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry as executive director of the Buffett Institute for Global Studies. The intention of the motion, which was to invalidate the Eikenberry vote, was to discuss parliamentary procedure rather than specifically Eikenberry, who, as of April 13, will no longer serve in the position. The motion set out to alter Faculty Senate’s decision on Eikenberry due to violations of “due process” at April’s meeting. “The discussion today was not about Eikenberry,” Law Prof. Charlotte Crane, a member of Faculty Senate’s executive committee, told The Daily. “It was only about whether the prior meeting was inappropriately conducted to make nothing that happened at the meeting have any effect, and I think we came to the right conclusion.” One of the major infractions detailed in the motion was that senators were not given sufficient time to review the agenda and necessary documents. April’s dossier was sent to senators two hours before Faculty Senate convened, violating the five-day time frame outlined in Faculty Senate bylaws.
» See KILLER MIKE, page 9
» See FACULTY SENATE, page 9
By ROBIN OPSAHL
daily senior staffer @robinopsahl
A coalition of 64 Illinois social services are suing Gov. Bruce Rauner and members of his administration for the more than $100 million Illinois owes agencies for work contracted by the state and left unpaid during the budget crisis. Pay Now Illinois, a collective of human and social services agencies and companies, filed a lawsuit Wednesday in the Cook County Circuit Court. The suit claims Rauner and his staff have acted illegally by continuing to enforce the contracts with the organizations without paying them, and that his veto of appropriation bills in June 2015 was an illegal interference with their constitutional right to a legal correction for the issue. “This suit is about upholding a contract and paying your bills, basic good business practices,” said Pay Now coalition chair Andrea Durbin in a news release. “We are doing our part. We expect the state to do the same.” Lisabeth Weiner of Lisabeth Weiner Consultants, a consultant for Pay Now, said the social services in the suit have been operating without payment through their contracts for more than 300 days. Although the agencies have tried to come up with solutions to meet their obligations without payment through their contracts, Weiner said, the services involved are struggling to be able to pay staff, rent and other financial obligations — in some cases, laying off staff or closing their doors altogether. “How do you continue to work when you’re not being paid? Essentially these agencies have become accreditors to the state,” Weiner said. “They are getting their cake, because the social services are being fulfilled, and they’re eating it too, because they aren’t paying for it.” Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said in a statement that the lawsuit was just frustration with the state budget crisis. Efforts to give social services emergency funding, like the attempted last-minute addition to the higher education emergency funding bill, have not passed. “While we understand that frustration is driving many worthwhile organizations to seek solutions anywhere, including the courts, the only solution is for the General Assembly to pass a balanced, reform-oriented budget as soon » See LAWSUIT, page 9
Leeks Lim/The Daily Northwestern
DEEPER THAN RAP Killer Mike speaks in Leverone Auditorium on Wednesday night. In his speech, he covered a wide range of issues including political engagement, racism and homophobia.
Killer Mike talks social issues By DARIA LENDERMAN
the daily northwestern @lend_er_man
Killer Mike wanted the audience of his Wednesday night talk to know him beyond his rapper persona. “My name is Mike and I rap,” he said. “I own a couple of barber shops. My wife runs my house, and I have four children to whom I am very dedicated to. I am basically your average middle-class dad.” Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, spoke at Leverone Auditorium as part of the Contemporary Thought Speaker Series. The
rapper and activist urged more than 200 students in attendance Wednesday to take action against social, political and economic issues. He rose to fame through his work as part of Run the Jewels, a rap duo that he formed with rapper El-P. During this election cycle, he has campaigned for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Killer Mike was selected as a speaker because of the fame he gained through his socially conscious music and political outspokenness, said Ben Zimmermann, a Weinberg sophomore and CTSS co-chair. Although Killer Mike is an
Obama’s speechwriter speaks on campus By MARK DUANMU
the daily northwestern @mduanmu
White House director of speechwriting Cody Keenan reflected on his personal experiences as President Barack Obama’s lead speechwriter and as a Northwestern alumnus at a speaker event Wednesday evening. “If someone told me in 1998, that in 10 years I would be a speechwriter for the first black president, I would never believe them,” Keenan said. Keenan (Weinberg ’02) addressed more than 60 students and faculty at this year’s Admiral Weber Lecture, an annual speaker series hosted by the political science department. After graduating from NU without a job, Keenan worked in Washington, D.C. for former Sen. Ted Kennedy before becoming a speechwriter. “I had never considered speechwriting at all; I got pulled into it, which was very lucky,” Keenan said. “Any successful person that says luck didn’t play into their success is lying to your face. But at the same time, I
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helped create my own lucky breaks by working hard and staying in politics.” Political science Prof. Sara Monoson, the department chair, introduced Keenan, and political science and sociology Prof. Anthony Chen moderated the hour-long Q&A session. The political science department invited Keenan because it thought his ties to NU would make him a particularly interesting speaker, Monoson said. “We reached out to Cody because we knew he’s a proud Northwestern alumni and of course a very accomplished person in politics,” Monoson told The Daily. “He’s very direct in communication, and his personality really comes through when he speaks.” The audience asked Keenan about a wide range of topics, including college advice, speechwriting tips and electoral politics. When asked about the current state of U.S. politics, Keenan expressed concern over some of the presidential candidates and increased polarization, but said he is ultimately
faithful in American democracy. “There’s a lot of demagoguery this election season,” Keenan said.
“People will say things like, ‘If you » See KEENAN, page 9
Zack Laurence/Daily Senior Staffer
BEYOND THE PAGE Cody Keenan speaks about his experience as a speechwriter for President Obama.
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