Daily Egyptian WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015
Lawmakers agree to consider flag issue
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
VOL. 99 ISSUE 66
SINCE 1916
Vigil held for lives lost in Charleston
Michael Muskal Jenny Jarvie Los Angeles Times Chanting “Take it down,” hundreds of protesters rallied at the Capitol in South Carolina on Tuesday, calling for the removal of a Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse grounds as lawmakers took the first steps to end the display. The state House of Representatives approved a measure to take up the flag issue, but that debate will come after the budget is resolved in the special session that began Tuesday. It was unclear whether the Legislature would act before the funerals of those slain in last week’s attack on Emanuel AME Church. The House held a moment of silence for the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, a state senator, who was killed in the shooting of nine people during a prayer meeting. His body is schedule to lie in state Wednesday at the Capitol. “I want you, the House of South Carolina, to put aside the partisan bickering and understand that all of us are human beings,” said state Rep. Joseph H. Neal, his voice trembling, after the vote was taken. “If ever there was going to be a day that South Carolina could rise and be the state that it says it is – this is the day.” The House vote was 103-10. The state Senate has yet to take a vote. The South Carolina law that allows the Confederate flag to fly on Statehouse grounds came under intense scrutiny after a white gunman invaded the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, killing the group of nine African-Americans. Dylann Roof, 21, who had boasted of racist beliefs and had posed in photographs with Confederate flags and symbols, is being held on nine murder charges. “Never again may someone use that red rag to take people’s lives,” said the Rev. Nelson B. Rivers, III, a pastor and official with the National Action Network, to thunderous applause at the rally. “Make this day, this day, the day the flag comes down.” But even though top state politicians have reversed their position and have called for the removal of the battle banner, getting the law changed is proving time-consuming. Most observers expected the debate and final votes might take weeks. State Rep. Harold Mitchell Jr., a Democrat from Spartanburg, told the crowd that his House would move quickly. “We do not need to wait until January,” he said. “It’s a time of mourning.”
J ane F lynn | @janeflynnDE The Rev. Alfred McGowan, minister of Rockhill Missionary Baptist Church in Carbondale, takes a moment to himself during a prayer vigil held at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Carbondale Saturday afternoon. The prayer vigil was held for those affected by the shooting at Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., Friday.
Campus Lake closed, Carbondale man held on million dollar bond fishing and boating after armed robbery temporarily banned Branda Mitchell | @BrandaM_DE
Marissa novel | @MarissaNovelDE The presence of toxic algae has caused Campus Lake to close indefinitely. People are advised to avoid skin contact with the water, as it can cause rashes. Animals swimming in the lake or drinking the water may contract illnesses that have the potential of being fatal, according to Friday’s press release. Kevin Bame, vice chancellor for administration and finance, said fishing and boating on the lake are temporarily banned. The algae, which caused the lake to close last fall, is naturally occurring and depletes the oxygen level of the water, a process that may cause organisms including fish and other animals in the water to die. Bame said the algae will dissipate, but the university has no prediction as to how long the lake will be closed. Meanwhile, warning signs are being posted around the lake.
A Carbondale resident has been charged with multiple felonies after robbing a gas station Thursday at the intersection of Walnut and Wall Street. Christopher Harris, 26, is being held on $1 million bond after being arrested by Carbondale Police June 18. He is charged with armed robbery, a Class X felony; aggravated battery of a police officer, a Class 2 felony; felon in possession of a firearm, a Class 2 felony; and obstructing justice, a Class 4 felony, according to a press release from the State’s Attorney. Police responded to the robbery in progress at 4:58 a.m. on the 500 block of East Walnut Street, according to the Carbondale police crime log. A Carbondale police officer stopped a vehicle with a driver who matched the description of the suspect leaving the scene. The driver attempted to leave and dragged the officer about 100 feet. The driver then abandoned the vehicle and ran from police on foot. He was found around 7:15 a.m. in a nearby vacant residence, according to information obtained from Carbondale police by KFVS12. The Class X felony carries a maximum sentence of six to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, with a mandatory 15 year add-on to any sentence received because of the firearm involved. Carbondale police could not immediately be reached for comment.
SIUE extends chancellor’s pact through 2017 elizaBeth donald | Belleville News-Democrat Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s chancellor will be in place through 2017 — at least. She’s been given a one-year contract extension and a $15,000 raise. The SIU Board of Trustees approved another extension of contract for Chancellor Julie Furst-Bowe at its meeting Thursday in Carbondale. Furst-Bowe took the reins at SIUE in 2012 with a three-year contract. It was extended by one year in 2014. Now it has been extended another year.
The chancellor’s salary will be $302,500, up from last year’s salary of $287,136. That still leaves Furst-Bowe as the second-lowestpaid public university president in Illinois; according to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s salary database for last year, the former chancellor at SIUC Rita Cheng was earning $347,976 and the leaders of Illinois State University, Northern Illinois University and the University of Illinois all earned between $400,000 and $650,000 per year. “I appreciate the board of trustees’ confidence in my leadership team and our
strategic plan for SIUE,” Furst-Bowe said. “During these challenging times for higher education, we have positive momentum, and I look forward to continuing our efforts to raise SIUE’s academic profile nationally and internationally.” The board also approved promotions for two administrators and hiring a new vice chancellor to replace a retiring administrator. John C. Navin has been promoted to dean of the school of business after serving as interim dean since June 2013. Navin’s new salary will be $199,000.