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May 8, 2015 • $ 1.0 0
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DAILY CHRONICLE
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Kish College enrollment worries Anticipating fewer students for 2015-16 school year, officials adjusting budget By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com MALTA – Kishwaukee College finance officials are anticipating a 6 percent enrollment decrease by cutting $250,000 from the school’s projected $23.4 million budget for fiscal 2016, which begins July 1. “If we have fewer students, we’ll probably be teaching fewer sections, which means that we’ll hire fewer ad-
juncts,” Kishwaukee College President Tom Choice said. “But we’ll have to look at the capital list that we have, and try to decrease the number of dollars we’re spending on capital equipment.” Rob Galick, vice president of finance and administration, delivered the budget update during a Board Finance Committee meeting Thursday. Originally, officials were expecting a 3 percent decline
in enrollment next school year. Only half of the nearly 3,500 current students have enrolled for fall classes, making a 9 percent decrease seem more likely, Choice said. School officials are budgeting for a 6 percent decline, Choice said. “We currently have a balanced budget for next year,” Galick said. “However, our early enrollment numbers for the fall semester are worse
than what we anticipated.” Fewer students mean less tuition revenue, and the state of Illinois’ financial woes mean state aid could decline, as well. Galick said college officials probably would make some expenditures planned for next year – such as new copy machines – in the remaining weeks of this current fiscal year instead. “We are sitting on a bit of a surplus this year,” Galick
said, “so we should be able to reduce our surplus this year and be able to reduce costs next year by just spending that money early.” Several factors contribute to the decline, according to Choice, including lower graduation rates at local high schools and competition from other colleges. Kish traditionally relies on recruiting students from the Chicago area, but a “reinven-
tion” effort underway by the City Colleges of Chicago has affected enrollment, Choice said. “We got a lot of them because they had friends who were going to Northern [Illinois University],” Choice said. “Now, we have fewer students coming to us from the city of Chicago and that area, and more of them are staying home. We’re not getting as many of those students.”
Lawmakers work on bill for Chicago casino
ANNUAL DONATION DRIVE
Moving out, giving back
By SARA BURNETT The Associated Press
Photos by Monica Synett – msynett@shawmedia.com
Lacoda Hanus tries to fit all of her belongings into her boyfriend’s car Wednesday as she moves out of New Residence Hall after completing her sophomore year.
Goodwill and NIU partner for Give and Go 2015 By BRITTANY KEEPERMAN bkeeperman@shawmedia.com DeKALB – Lacoda Hanus rolled three shopping carts worth of belongings out of New Residence Hall at Northern Illinois University this week. Hanus, a sophomore, was one of the many NIU students moving out of the dorms with the spring semester winding down. Although she said she had a lot to move, she said she also had donated many of her belongings through the NIU and Goodwill partnership, Give and Go: Move out 2015. Hanus said she had donated items from clothes to sheets, things she said she would have thrown away if the Give and Go donation boxes weren’t available. “I think it’s a good idea,” Hanus said. “Our donation box is filled up on the fourth floor.” Donation boxes were on every floor of the NIU’s five residence halls this week. The annual donation drive seems to grow more popular every year, Jennifer Manning, associate director of residential facilities said. “Most of the bins are full,” Manning said. “We’re working on getting them emptied out so we can bring them back in and start
Goodwill Give and Go bins are placed in every residence hall on the Northern Illinois University campus as the semester comes to a close and students move out. The bins allow students to easily donate their unwanted items as they pack up their belongings. filling them up again.” The donation drive happens every spring and fall semester, said Melissa Burlingame, NIU’s Institute for the Study of Environment, Sustainability, and Energy outreach and communications specialist. “We have a lot of students who move home, and they need to find a place for the items they don’t have a use for, or won’t fit in their
car,” Burlingame said. NIU students have donated more than 32,000 pounds of items such as furniture, clothes, books, housewares and electronics since the program began in 2012, Burlingame said. Those donations make a huge difference not only for Goodwill, but also for the environment and community, said Shannon Halverson, PR/Marketing manager of
Goodwill of Northern Illinois. “Donations are our lifeblood,” Halverson said. “Without donations, we wouldn’t be.” Goodwill sells the donations they collect and that revenue funds all of their programs. The large amounts of donations they receive every semester help their programs a lot, she said. The environmental impact of the program is worth considering as well, Halverson said. “We are always trying to find ways to repurpose and keep items of of the landfill,” she said. “This is an opportunity to go more green.” While many college students are unable to donate money as a way of giving back, participating in the donation drive is an easy and free way to help out, Halverson said. “I hope it teaches about giving back to their communities, so that they will keep going with it throughout their lives,” she added. Connor Bery, a freshman, said he didn’t have anything to donate this year but would like to see the boxes back again, because they would make donating convenient. The drive will run through Monday at all NIU residence halls.
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Shoe Share drive helping DeKalb put its best foot forward / B10
Fraternity members are expected to enter plea deals today / A3
Behind Weavers’ complete game, Spartans win, 4-1 / B1
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SPRINGFIELD – Illinois lawmakers are trying to negotiate a deal to open a Chicago-owned casino and expand gambling elsewhere in the state, and they believe there’s a clearer path for the proposal to become law than there’s been in years. Sen. Terry Link said he’s working with legislative leaders, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to draft a proposal that Rauner would be willing to sign. The Voice your opinion Waukegan Democrat said he’s hoping to inDoes Illinois need more troduce a bill “very casinos. Vote now at soon.” Daily-Chronicle.com. Rauner has indicated he’s more open to expanding gambling than his predecessor, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, who twice vetoed casino bills. Rauner also has replaced Quinn’s pick to lead the Illinois Gaming Board, who actively worked to derail previous proposals. But one likely sticking point is how revenue from a Chicago casino would be divided between the city and the state. Having a new Republican governor at the table also means changes must be made to previous gambling proposals. Those plans also called for slot machines at horse racing tracks and casinos in Rockford, Lake County, Vermilion County and Chicago’s south suburbs. “You have a different governor who has different viewpoints of something, so I think that’s playing into the scenario,” Link said. “In the past we tried to get things in there that Gov. Quinn would be for. Now we’ve got to get things in there that Gov. Rauner will be pleased with.” Link declined to say what those changes might be, and Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf wouldn’t comment beyond the governor’s recent statements that he’s “very open” to considering a Chicago casino. Emanuel wants Chicago to keep much of the profits from a casino, minus some taxes paid to the state, to help cover soaring city pension costs. Chicago has the worst-funded pension system of any major U.S. city, and is facing a nearly $600 million increase in its payment to its funds next year. But Illinois has serious money troubles of its own, with a roughly $6 billion deficit in the budget that begins July 1, and Rauner has signaled he’s not likely to support a plan that benefits Chicago at the expense of the rest of the state. “I want to make sure that it’s good for all the taxpayers and all the citizens, both of Chicago and the state of Illinois when we have that discussion,” he said earlier this week. Democratic Rep. Bob Rita has been pushing two separate pieces of gambling legislation, including a measure to put a state-owned casino in Chicago and split the revenue evenly between the city and the state. He also said he doesn’t believe there will be enough support in the General Assembly for a bill that allows Chicago to “keep everything.” “That’s absolutely insane,” Rita said. A spokeswoman for Emanuel did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
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