tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34920146594053323802023-11-16T08:53:48.824-06:00Deo volenteResidue of a blog led by SIUC faculty member Dave Johnson. Two eras of activity, the strike era of 2011 and a brief relapse into activity in 2016, during the Rauner budget crisis. Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.comBlogger408125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-77071104626976760932016-07-14T11:16:00.003-05:002016-07-14T11:16:43.710-05:00I think it's time to put this blog to bed again. Indeed, I drafted this ten days ago, before a recent trip, and have left it sitting unpublished for that long, so this is really just a case of waking up only to go to sleep again. As the old hospital joke goes: wake up, it's time to take your sleeping pill.
As I remarked in a little colloquy on a previous post with Tony Williams, commentator Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-36701610732486664732016-06-29T22:52:00.002-05:002016-06-29T23:00:50.118-05:00Update on Higher Ed in stopgap from UPIAfter the break an update, which I've lifted from the EIU union's facebook page, on higher ed's status in the latest stopgap funding negotiations. John Miller is president of the statewide UPI (the AFT unions representing EIU, WIU, CSU, NEIU, and UIC--and I may have missed others). Apologies if formatting has been lost in the cut and paste process. A quick summary: if the current bill passes, Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-64627044401165497982016-06-29T22:20:00.000-05:002016-06-29T22:20:28.592-05:00Happy Ending for Illinois?The Daily Show has broadcast a Guide to Success in Illinois, as part of its Happy Endings series. Check out this vital information here. (Not the best Daily Show segment, but it is topical.)
On the more serious side, it's possible, again, that the GA and Rauner may agree on something. Not an ending, but if it is not beginning of the end, perhaps it is the end of the beginning, as I believe may Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-22807915855553822582016-06-29T17:05:00.001-05:002016-06-29T17:05:47.071-05:00FA and SIU admin reach framework agreement on new contractOne of the advantages to having fewer readers this time around is that I don't have to worry too much about blabbing about what may in some sense be inside information. (And given that I myself seem to be losing interest in this blog, anyone still reading deserves some news.) So I'll report, briefly, what I learned from FA President Rachel Stocking this afternoon. She was briefing me because I'm Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-20575968923261470442016-06-22T10:37:00.001-05:002016-06-22T10:37:20.819-05:00Southern covers SIUC reportToday's Southern has a pretty meaty summary of the recent Simon Public Policy Institute study on Illinois politics, including a link to the full study and a link to a related conversation on WDBX.
The most intriguing thing in the article, which arises from the WDBX conversation, is an effort to compare the gun violence/gun control impasse with that regarding the Illinois budget.
My initial Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-54411518815448564572016-06-11T17:03:00.002-05:002016-06-11T17:03:41.750-05:00Maker of racist video nabbedThe Southern reports that SIU police, working with FBI, have identified the guy who put out the racist video in the lead up to the May 2 "strike". He's from outside of Chicago, has no affiliation to the fraternity he tried to drag into things, and no affiliation to the groups that led the protests. So this is good news, it seems to me. It was just some jerk out there who wanted to make a splash. Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-65767238896454237812016-06-10T11:28:00.000-05:002016-06-10T11:28:33.230-05:00Illinois Atlas of AusterityUIUC geography student Melissa Heil has put together an impressive website offering graphics depicting the effects the budget impasse. The Champaign News-Gazette has a story given some background on her efforts.
I paste below what was one of her more striking graphics, one showing how many students eligible for state MAP grants did not get them even before the crisis. According to her figures, Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-56917314720890281532016-06-09T14:01:00.002-05:002016-06-09T14:14:00.726-05:00Program PrioritizationHere's my feedback on the draft report of the faculty Joint Task Force on Program Prioritization.
I do encourage comments, both on this blog and, rather more importantly directly to Mike Eichholz, the co-chair of the committee, who is soliciting comments. (Yes, that's the same Mike Eichholz familiar to old-time readers of this blog as the founder of the Faculty for Sensible Negotiations.) SIUC Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-23332495001623594862016-06-04T10:33:00.001-05:002016-06-04T10:33:14.813-05:00"Higher Education in Illinois is Dying"The NY Times published an op-ed on the plight of public universities in Illinois. Not much new or substantive to it, but every bit helps, and I suppose I can't quarrel with the headline.
Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-50047923048414923902016-06-03T18:29:00.003-05:002016-06-03T18:29:55.125-05:00Randy Dunn put out an update on the budgetary situation today. He gives a very full account of recent legislative moves--almost all of which have been abortive. Dunn suspects, in the end, that the state will come up with some sort of stopgap funding bill to see state government stays open through the election. Presumably, then, SIU is planning on that basis--the assumption we'll get some FY 17 Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-66525468491137638872016-06-02T22:36:00.002-05:002016-06-04T10:34:37.062-05:00Overspending the problem? Not so fast.A smart, fact-based opinion piece from Eric Zorn at the Tribune showing that Rauner's diagnosis of Illinois' ills ("the Democrats have spent our state into the toilet for 30 years") is crap.
Illinois state taxes and state spending are in the middle of the pack. Local taxes may be high, thanks in some part to our ridiculous overabundance of separate governmental units, that's not the fault of Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-13917428839994280312016-06-02T11:17:00.002-05:002016-06-02T11:18:13.543-05:00The Chronicle on the plight of Illinois public universitiesThe Chronicle has a story today on how Illinois public universities are managing as the state continues to fail to fund them.
After the break, the relevant stuff for SIU. (The full story linked to above is restricted to subscribers, but anyone with SIUC credentials can get access via Morris. I'm not sure, though, if my link will work if you aren't signed in or reading on campus.)
I highlight Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-40896543277366848892016-06-02T11:08:00.000-05:002016-06-02T11:20:34.938-05:00Breakdown in SpringfieldPretty much everything broke down in Springfield as the official spring session ended on May 31. Not only did the Democrats fight with Rauner, but Democrats fought with each other, and Republicans turned on Rauner.
Some GOP legislators bucked Rauner to override one of his vetoes, and allowed Chicago to refinance some of its pension obligations.
The State Senate, with its Democratic majority, Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-36846191554885181502016-05-25T23:43:00.000-05:002016-05-25T23:43:23.840-05:00House fails to override Rauner veto of arbitration bill, will veto House democratic budgetWell, we seem to be back at full impasse in Springfield.
The Democratic House "supermajority" failed to override a veto of the AFSCME arbitation bill, which would have made an arbitrator the final decision maker, outlawing strikes by AFSCME or imposed terms by Rauner. Instead we await the ILRB decision as to whether negotiations have reached an impasse, as Rauner claims. If Rauner wins, he Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-26796918700183789352016-05-25T14:41:00.001-05:002016-05-25T14:41:30.619-05:00Details of House Democratic plan emergeThings are coming to a head at Springfield as the state comes up against the May 31 deadline to pass a FY 17 budget with a bare majority.
The House Democratic leadership (i.e., Madigan) has a scheme that basically calls for spending at the levels they approved (but were never enacted) for FY16. This is a 6.5% cut for higher education from FY15 levels. Here's their full plan; here's just the two Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-24686735574624870822016-05-23T19:44:00.001-05:002016-06-02T11:33:05.664-05:00Chronicle article on regional universitiesThe Chronicle (access available via Morris library for SIUC folks) has a lengthy, balanced article on the plight of regional universities, centered on Western Illinois, and the decisions underway there about what programs to cut. Among the possible casualties at Western are philosophy, religious studies, geography, African-American studies, women's studies, music (BA), musical theater, bilingual Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-7626915753944629802016-05-23T14:59:00.001-05:002016-05-23T19:44:52.644-05:00Enrollment worries, indefinite impasse, etc. The Southern ran an AP story on fears for enrollments at Illinois public universities next fall. Nothing terribly new or specific here, just confirmation of what we've been fearing/expecting.
Rich Miller of Capitol Fax made the following comment after linking to the same story:
Meanwhile, the governor has said he’s not too worried because universities have “other funding sources that are very,Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-60619699132835516192016-05-21T18:47:00.001-05:002016-05-21T18:50:37.136-05:00State GOP rejects gay marriageNot a university issue per se, but still striking: Delegates at the state GOP convention have overwhelmingly defeated a compromise plank that would remove language in favor of a US constitutional amendment to define marriage as being between one man and one woman. They are thus still in favor of a constitutional amendment which would overturn the 2015 Supreme Court decision making gay marriage Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-74511271423390261192016-05-19T17:38:00.002-05:002016-05-20T11:38:44.122-05:00MAP grants bill to Rauner; plights of EIU, CSUThe State Senate had joined the House in approving additional MAP grant funding. Alas, this bill is probably going nowhere as Republicans have been condemning it for failing to identify a funding source. Creative use of unspent money in a "special account" allowed everyone to get on board with the prior stopgap funding bill, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards this time around. So Rauner Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-52621992004034048662016-05-19T10:02:00.002-05:002016-05-19T10:08:39.206-05:00Two funnies[Aristotle] On trolling. (Rather more funny if you've read Aristotle. This morning I am filled with self-loathing after getting into a little troll fight with the person who posted this on FB in a comment stream that followed the posting. What self-awareness!).
Academic title generator. Sorry, administrative titles only.
Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-14774117168797904872016-05-18T17:52:00.000-05:002016-05-18T17:54:48.306-05:008000 union activists march in SpringfieldThe SJR estimates that some 8000 folks marched in Springfield today to protest Governor Rauner's anti-union policies.
A highlight of the day was normally taciturn House Speaker Mike Madigan leading the crowd in some call & response questions. After the break, Madigan's speech as transcribed by Capitol Fax. I support the union cause; I also worry that this show of strength will encourage Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-34799859061548977352016-05-18T17:41:00.001-05:002016-05-18T18:03:49.301-05:00State inaction and local effectsLot's of "news" coming out of Springfield, but very little action, and the mood seems to be turning less optimistic.
On Monday Governor Rauner, as expected, vetoed a bill that would have mandated arbitration in the event negotiations between AFSCME and the State (i.e., Rauner) break down. He provides his reasons in a letter to state employees--one sent via the media. Rauner would rather impose Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-55476280499168722892016-05-14T16:21:00.003-05:002016-05-18T17:54:57.251-05:00Proof that rallies matterCapitol Fax has coverage of an attempt by the Rauner administration to prevent unions from publicizing the May 18 at Springfield by posting fliers on union bulletin boards at state work sites. An officious memo was sent out claiming this was a violation of the Ethics Act. I'm not lawyer enough to parse that act authoritatively, but the claim looks pretty bogus. "Political activity" is pretty Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-23199918944182954622016-05-12T22:15:00.001-05:002016-05-12T22:15:48.780-05:00Budget plan presented to GA leadership, governorA bi-partisan group of legislators has shared a plan to balance the state budget with combination of budget cuts and tax hikes. Here stories from the State-Journal Register (Springfield) and Politico .
This could be a big deal. Details from the plan are sketchy. It does not contain any of the items from Rauner's Turnaround Agenda, but also apparently does not include things like K-12 funding or Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3492014659405332380.post-65363999830815964562016-05-11T20:51:00.001-05:002016-05-11T20:51:10.813-05:00DE won't print this summerThe DE announced today that it won't be putting out a hard copy newspaper this summer. The reasons were lack of relevant on-campus classes, which means fewer staffers will be on campus, and problems finding a printer now that the university has cut the amount it is willing to pay for printing. These aren't positive developments, obviously enough, and they reflect budget cuts (and, for summer Dave Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09100006856645294730noreply@blogger.com0