MONDAY April 17, 2017
THE DAILY ILLINI
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The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
Vol. 146 Issue 56
Covered in color
Student trustee ballot to reopen BY GILLIAN DUNLOP ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
After a monthlong investigation into the 2017 Student Trustee Election, a repeat election will be held from April 26 to 27. The investigation sparked after Trayshawn Mitchell, junior in LAS, claimed that the Campus Student Election Commission unfairly kept him off the ballot. Mitchell and the other candidates were required to submit documentation to confirm that they were students at the Uni-
SEE TRUSTEE | 3A
BANG NGUYEN THE DAILY ILLINI
Students celebrate Holi, the festival of colors, at the Florida and Lincoln playing fields. Saturday’s event celebrated the beginning of spring and the defeat of evil.
Visit vote.illinois.edu from April 26 to April 27 to vote. The candidates are Tommy Justison, Trayshawn Mitchell and Emily Tuttle.
Power plant upgrading old stack BY KAREN LIU STAFF WRITER
After 77 years of operation, the south energy stack at Abbott Power Plant is scheduled to be taken down and replaced with low emission natural gas boilers. The project is a part of the Utilities Production and Distribution Master Plan. Mike Larson, director of utilities production at facilities and services, said the total project budget is $22.5 million, which includes design, equipment, construction and contingency money for unforeseen circumstances. Larson said that the five-year plan includes understanding the current energy demand and predicted growth of the campus, so that the power plant can provide utility needed to meet the needs of the University. “We had boilers in place that were actually past the end of their useful lives,” Larson said. “One of (the power plant’s) main deliverables for the campus is reliable steam and electricity.” Larson said the process of taking down the old smoke stack started about a week ago, and the removal of the external material will be completed by the end of April. The new boilers are expected to be operational by December. He said that the electricity and heat-
RYAN FANG THE DAILY ILLINI
The Slice Factory storefront is located on Green Street between Zorba’s and Mid Summer Lounge. The Chicago-based pizza chain once again delayed its opening.
Slice Factory opening delayed wanting quick, affordable food.” The Slice Factory website says the restaurant will be open Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. It will also operate until midnight Friday and Saturday to supply students with latenight snacks. With a more basic menu than its Chicagoland counterparts, the Slice Factory menu will include chicken wings, self-serve frozen yogurt and made-to-order salads. DiDiana said that he anticipates the restaurant to be ready for opening in about four weeks.
BY JESSICA BERBEY ASSISTANT DAYTIME EDITOR
Originally expected to begin operating in March, the opening of the Chicago-based pizza chain Slice Factory delayed opening once again due to construction. Domenic DiDiana, founder and president of Slice Factory, cited mechanical operations as the main reason for the delay. This location has been in the works since at least 2009. DiDiana said he had always wanted the restaurant to be on Green Street within a block or two of campus. “Champaign fits our demographic,” DiDiana said. “Students
SEE POWER PLANT | 3A
UI employees suffer from work visa changes
jberbe3@dailyillini.com
BY LUKE COOPER STAFF WRITER
University job positions may be empty starting this fall as the United States government has issued a temporary suspension of expedited application processing for H-1B visas, which allow skilled foreigners to work for companies and institutions within the country. This expedited processing, referred to as “premium processing,” allowed U.S. businesses and institutions such as the University to quicken the application processing time of an H-1B visa by paying an additional $1,225. The University reported that premium processing was used for 80 percent of the H-1B applica-
INSIDE
Piano man warms hearts with campus performances
Meagan McNicholas’ choice to attend Illinois has paid off
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RYAN FANG THE DAILY ILLINI
Water vapor comes out of Abbott Power Plant’s main chimneys. The original stacks, which are 77 years old, are expected to be removed by the end of April and will be replaced by December 2017.
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tions fi led last year, and that 300 to 400 H-1B visa-holding faculty members work on campus during a calendar year, with between 200 and 300 active at any given time. “(Premium processing) has been utilized heavily by this University,” said Chancellor Robert Jones at an Academic Senate meeting on April 3. “Our greatest concern is the impact that it will have on this University community if it prevents us from being able to get visas approved, so that members of our community that were planning to join us in the fall will continue to do so.” The Office of the Provost says the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services created a process by which premium pro-
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cessing is “almost mandatory.” Premium processing would require United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to take action on an H-1B application within 15 days of it being received. This then results in a shortened one-and-a-half- to four-anda-half-month timeline, starting from when a University department informs International Student and Scholar Services that it wishes to hire an international faculty member. The timeline ends when the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services takes action on the H-1B application fi led and sent by the Interna-
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