Updates and Next Steps
Dear Colleagues,
This has been an extraordinary year and we should all be very proud of the work that faculty, staff and students have done on behalf of our university. The public education day was a success in that we reached out to stakeholders, civic leaders, journalists, philanthropists and elected officials to begin a conversation about the importance of public higher education at a research university. We succeeded in obtaining a resolution from the City Council recognizing our contributions to the city of Chicago, the Sun Times editorial board wrote an editorial supporting our efforts. We were mentioned in various media outlets including the New York Times and WBEZ.
Our lobby day in Springfield was a great success. We went with the University wide alumni association, and UIC was far better represented then the rest of the university system, including our rural sister campus UIUC. Students, staff, faculty and administrators from UIC spoke with elected officials and held a press conference. We felt as if we were successful at helping our elected officials to understand that UIC is a world-class research institution, and one that has managed to succeed at offering a world-class research intensive education to the youth of Chicago and the state of Illinois.
The state has paid the university part of the money they owe us. But it is far from over. Immediately the budget is being decided now, and we need one final push in the next few days. We are asking everyone to please place a call to Speaker Michael Madigan’s office and email Senator leader John Cullerton and Governor Patrick Quinn reminding them of the importance of public higher education as they deliberate.
We hope to be able to meet early on in the fall semester to plan a year long set of public education activities. We will keep you posted. In the meantime, it has been great getting to know our colleagues and students in a little different way.
Speaker Michael Madigan
Capitol Office 9297041 5255965
300 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-5350
Senator John Cullerton
Email: John@senatorcullerton.com
327 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Fax: 217.782.2230
Office: 217.782.2728
Governor Patrick Quinn Pat.Quinn@Illinois.gov
Day at the Capitol coming up!
Please contact Illinois Connect and sign up to go to Springfield. We need at least a dozen more people from the UIC faculty.
The Medical Center is trying to get another 15 to go as well but none have signed up yet.
The buses leave from SCE at 8 a.m. but be sure to register for them. More info below.
Get Ready for Springfield
The Council Hearing went well, and now our efforts are focused on our next event:
April 21st in Springfield – A Day at the Capitol
If you can attend, please sign in at Illinois Connection. We have promised 30 faculty to attend. Students from UIC have their own quotas. Just click on register for the event below. So far, we have only eight faculty signed up so we need at least 22 more. When you register, they will schedule a meeting between you and your own state legislators. For more information, click here.
Media Coverage of Council Hearing on April 12
Thanks to all for your support at the Council Hearing on Monday- Message from Dick Simpson, Professor and Department Head, Political Science
Dear Colleagues:
As many of you know from your presence and the Chancellor’s message, we had 150 people present at the City Council hearing this morning. After 6 or 7 speakers including the Chancellor and the University President, the resolution supporting UIC and the University of Illinois passed the joint Finance and Education Committees unanimously. We expect it to pass unanimously at the full city council meeting on Wednesday.
Upon my return to the university, I had a call from House Speaker Mike Madigan who understands our needs. He had been contacted by Alderman Reilly (42nd Ward) and sent a copy of the resolution on our behalf. I asked him what else we should be doing to get the money that the state owes us and to keep from greater budget cuts next year. He urged us to keep meeting with state legislators as we have been doing. I told him that we will be done in force to do so April 21st. (The Medical Center alone expects to send 15 representatives and we have promised Illinois Connection at least 30 faculty.)
So we have moved up the power chain to be in direct contact with the Speaker and if we keep the pressure up we will prevail. Thanks to everyone for their efforts.
On to Springfield next week.
Dick
Council Hearing goes well – Message from Chancellor
Dear UIC Faculty, Students and Staff,
This morning the Chicago City Council’s Joint Committee on Finance and Education unanimously passed a resolution co-sponsored by Aldermen Robert Fioretti, Daniel Solis, Walter Burnett and Brendan Reilly urging the state to restore FY10 funding to state universities and to re-examine possible FY11 budget cuts. The passage followed a hearing held at the City Council chambers at which Alderman Fioretti spoke
forcefully about the importance of UIC to the community, city and state. The resolution now goes to the full City Council for consideration.
I want to thank the four aldermen for their strong support, and Professors Dick Simpson and Nena Torres for organizing today’s hearing.
I also want to thank everyone from UIC and the University of Illinois who attended the hearing, particularly those who joined me in speaking on behalf of the resolution: President Stanley Ikenberry, Professors Simpson and Torres, College of Medicine Dean Joe Flaherty, Associate Professor Elizabeth Orsay, and Sean Murray from Undergraduate Student Government.
Together, we will continue to get the word to Springfield about the vital role that UIC plays throughout the State of Illinois, and the critical importance of full and reliable state funding so that we and other public universities can continue to carry out our missions of teaching, research, clinical care, public service and economic development.
Sincerely,
Paula Allen-Meares
Chancellor
April 12 Council Hearings
Dear Colleagues:
Those who are assigned speakers should meet at Alderman Fioretti’s office at 9:45 a.m. on Monday. Everyone else should meet outside the council chamber doors and then go in and take your seats before the 10 a.m. hearing. We need 100 people so bring as many people as you can. (There is a metal detector so don’t bring pocket knives — it is just like checking in at an airport.) See full detail on the day below.
UIC Faculty and Students to Discuss Jobs and Contracts with Chicago Aldermen
Faculty and students from the University of Illinois at Chicago will emphasize the business, employment, medical and educational contributions of the University in a presentation Monday morning to a joint hearing of the Chicago City Council’s Finance and Education Committees.
“UIC not only educates 8,200 Chicago students each year but it is also an economic engine with 12,000 employees. Its contracts and other spending totals $1.8 billion and it generates more than $7.3 billion per year in economic impact,” said Dick Simpson, head of the political science department and a former Chicago Alderman. “UIC’s Medical Center and clinics serve more than 600,000 patient visits a year,” he added.
“We know the Aldermen understand and appreciate UIC’s contributions but we are asking them to flex their political muscles to help persuade the Governor, the Comptroller and the State Legislature to release the [$487] nearly $500 million the State owes the University of Illinois and to reverse budget cuts scheduled for next year,” Simpson said.
“If the State continues to throttle back the UIC engine, it will further damage the economic vitality of Chicago and the region which are currently suffering from the nation’s economic recession,” said Professor Nena Torres, Latino and Latin American Affairs.
University of Illinois President Stanley Ikenberry, UIC Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares, Dean Joe Flaherty and Dr. Elizabeth Orsay from the UIC Medical Campus, four Student Government leaders, and a dozen other professors will address the committees and/or will be on hand to answer questions.
The hearing will be held:
at 10 a.m., Monday, April 12,
in City Council Chambers, 2nd Floor,
Chicago City Hall
121 N. La Salle St., Chicago
The committee members will be asked to vote on a resolution supporting UIC’s request for the delayed funds. The resolution was introduced last month by Aldermen Robert Fioretti (2nd Ward), Daniel Solis (25th), Walter Burnett (27th) and Brendan Reilly (42nd). Parts of UIC are in all four of their wards. The 8,200 UIC students, some 5,856 UIC employees and 67,000 alumni live in all 50 Chicago wards.
David Merriman, Department Head of Economics has succeeded in setting up a meeting with Rep. Cross, one of the Republican leaders of the state assembly on Thursday April 8 at 9:30am in Plainfield. He will be leaving campus at about 8 ish. Please get in touch with him if you are interested in joining and showing your support David Merriman, Head Department of Economics and Professor Inst. of Gov't and Public Affairs and Dept. of Pub. Admin. University of Illinois at Chicago 601 S. Morgan, Room 727 UH> Chicago, IL 60607 MC-144 Phone: (312) 413-2368 Email dmerrim@uic.edu Robert Gordon has also set up a meeting with Rep. Schoenberg in Evanston scheduled for Friday, April 9 at 10am in Evanston, and would appreciate volunteers to join the delegation. Robert Gordon 312-996-3161 rjgordon@uic.edu And remember: Monday April 12, 10-12 the city council will be holding hearings on a resolution basically supporting the university. We need to show support. This is historical. The city has never articulated such a comprehensive and sweeping statement recognizing our contributions to the City. More information on how to join us here.
Call for City Council Hearing Participation
To: Faculty, Students, and Staff
From: Executive Officers, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Re: City Council Hearing in Support of UIC: April 12, 2010, 10 am, City Council Chambers
The efforts of many members of the UIC community to inform city stakeholders about our budget crisis are now paying off. On Monday, April 12, a group of Chicago aldermen (the Education and Finance Committee) will hold a hearing on a resolution in support of our university. An announcement of the hearing can be found here: https://uicjointfurlough.wordpress.com/.
Faculty, students, and staff at UIC will be offering testimony at this hearing; we need to gather a large group of additional supporters who can attend, and participate in, this important event. This is the first time that Chicagos elected officials have convened to assess UICs many contributions to the city, and the hearing is sure to strengthen our relationship with city government. Needless to say, this will also be another crucial opportunity to bring media attention to our university.
We invite those concerned to gather with us on the second floor of City Hall (121 N. Lasalle) by 9:45 am on April 12, 2010. For those who have never been to the City Council, this is a wonderful opportunity to see our elected officials in action. It will be a learning opportunity for graduate and undergraduate students as well; all are encouraged to attend.
Executive Officers
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
UIC Joint Furlough March 8 