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U of I prepares for layoffs

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Illinois

* Talks continue on the higher education appropriations bill. This ought to kick it up a notch…

The University of Illinois’ Urbana campus is making plans for possible layoffs, as a result of the budget stalemate. In a memo obtained by Illinois Public Media, Associate Provost for Human Resources Elyne Cole indicates that some jobs, including some in Civil Service, could be cut, effective at the start of the fall semester. […]

AFSCME Local 3700 President Ann Zettervall says she’s seen the memo, which was sent Monday to some campus personnel, including some who are covered by union contracts. […]

The memo from Associate Provost Cole outlines a schedule for action during a “position elimination period.”

Zettervall says Civil Service hiring and testing has been suspended during that period. That’s to minimize the disruption caused when Civil Service workers whose jobs are cut are allowed by seniority rules to take jobs from other Civil Service workers, who are then “bumped” into other positions.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 4:11 pm

Comments

Wow, if U of I is already there, what are NIU and ISU gonna do? Next week maybe?

Comment by burbanite Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 4:13 pm
@RonSandack: I’m frustrated 2, but taking steps towards reforming IL more important than short term budget stalemate. - Ron Sandack, 9/28/15

Check out Ron Sandack’s tweets on Illinois Athletics, they’re a hoot, but… The Owl is frustrated so layoffs need to happen.

Thank you, Rep. Sandack!

I’ll wait for your next U of I baseball tweet or…

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 4:15 pm
Even my alma mater and its incredible wad of cash can’t sustain this much longer. Soon they’ll have to change the saying to:

“To thy sad and turned away children of the future, those of the past send our prayers.”

Comment by Captain Illini Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 4:15 pm
Just something to think about. Illinois Schools and how much sports are subsidized beyond their revenue and student fees(tuition) in 2014-2015.

U of Illinois - $3.7 million
Northern Illinois - $17.7 million
Illinois State - $19.1 million
SIU - $14.4 million
U of I-Chicago - $12.4 million
EIU - $9.6 million
WIU - $9.3 million
SIU-E - $6.7 million
Chicago State - $5.8 million

Total - $98.7 million
Source link: http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/

Comment by Jeff Trigg Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 4:22 pm
And the beat goes on. Perhaps all the anguish of recent months could have been avoided had Illini been honest.
Hmmmmm

Comment by Annonin' Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 4:24 pm
@- Annonin’ - Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 4:24 pm:

“And the beat goes on. Perhaps all the anguish of recent months could have been avoided had Bruce Rauner been honest (during his campaign and told voters that he intended to drive the state off a fiscal cliff in an attempt to destroy unions and social services in Illinois).”

There, I fixed your post. Now it reflects reality.

Comment by How Ironic Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 4:35 pm
In all the talk about the pending higher ed. bills, there is no mention that neither the Fortner bill or the Mayfield bill include any money for community colleges and in the Fortner bill, virtually all the money from the Education Assistance Fund will be used. Illinois community colleges are not thinking of laying people off, they already have laid off hundreds of employees. Community colleges serve the majority of the students in Illinois and should not be left out of these funding bills.

Comment by Fed Up Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 4:43 pm
All to destroy labor, such destruction, all to destroy labor. Do Raunerites not realize it destroys lives when people get laid off? Jobs are such a precious thing. It’s so hard to find work right now.

Comment by Honeybear Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 4:50 pm
Is this U of I’s way of saying it supports Fortner’s bill over Mayfield’s?

Comment by SAP Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 4:54 pm
Thanks How Ironic. You did a good job.

Comment by James Knell Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 4:57 pm
It’s just so worth it though, isn’t it? s n a r k

Comment by AnonymousOne Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 5:07 pm
@ OW

Hope ISU is not affected too much, maybe then Sandack will care.

Comment by Union Leader Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 5:11 pm
@ How Ironic

+10

Comment by Union Leader Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 5:12 pm
According to the link you posted, that $3.7 million is actually from student fees from U of I, NOT university general funds. I don’t believe that U of I subsidizing anything in athletics, other than perhaps user fees for using Athletic Department facilities.

Comment by Zonker Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 5:30 pm
My Alma Mater has already been impacted, maybe not to the extent that some other state institutions have been, but now we are talking about eliminating the working individuals who keep the campus clean and running in top condition. We are talking about real people with families who are invested in their community.

=== “To thy sad and turned away children of the future, those of the past send our prayers.” === Thank you, Captain - very sad indeed.

Comment by illini Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 5:41 pm
=== “To thy sad and turned away children of the future, those of the past send our prayers.” Thank you Captain.

How Ironic - could not have done better - great post.

Comment by illini Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 5:56 pm
Dear Mr/Ms How Ironic:
Actually the BigBrain was honest at various times in the campaign, but no one kept a log and other were busy trying to learn how he wrecked various companies before bailin’ out.
For instance he said he would use his own cash to repair the mansion and then started fundraisin’
We mention cause we just got a fresh ask for repair job.

Comment by Annonoin' Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 5:58 pm
How does destorying our public universities “grow our economy”? The short term pain is no longer short term

Comment by AC Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 6:04 pm
== For instance he said he would use his own cash to repair the mansion and then started fundraisin’ ==

Rich people always do things with Other People’s Money.

Comment by RNUG Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 6:10 pm
How Ironic +1. A sad day for my Alma Mater and its alums, students and those to be impacted by Mr. Rauner’s pursuit of an agenda for which he has zero mandate. Contact IL GOP House “enablers” and ask them to make a choice between their constituency or the Rauner agenda. Vote accordingly in November.

Comment by kitty Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 6:10 pm
House GOP… we’re waiting….

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 6:20 pm
@- Annonoin’ - Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 5:58 pm:

“Dear Mr/Ms How Ironic:
Actually the BigBrain was honest at various times in the campaign.”

I’ll just stop you there. Let’s refresh your memory a bit. Right after the election this ran “…Rauner spent more than a year on the campaign trail specifically avoiding key questions about his platform and stance on a wide range of issues. From abortion, gay marriage and marijuana legalization to issues surrounding pension reform, job growth and the state’s income tax level, Rauner often presented little more than a blank state for voters to fill in as they wished.”

http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/What-Does-Governor-Rauner-Promise-for-Illinois-281630641.html

Furthermore, he actively lied about his position on RTW and implementation of other initiatives designed to destroy, or destabilize unions in Illinois. Consider this from Oct 2014 “…He told AP he won’t push statewide right to work legislation or try to curb collective bargaining rights” http://www.nwherald.com/2014/10/13/illinois-governor-race-bruce-rauner-explains-right-to-work-zones/am57hnj/?page=2

And the list goes on. He lied, many times. And he hid, or otherwise shaded the truth about his intentions until AFTER he was elected.

Comment by Mr How Ironic Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 6:41 pm
plenty of hiring and promotions at IDOT

Comment by foster brooks Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 7:12 pm
Is Jim edgar’s position on the chopping blocks?

Comment by Blue dog dem Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 7:24 pm
I will be attending U of I in the fall, and honestly, I would highly consider going out of state if I had known this sooner. The instability of this state is abysmal. Pass a budget, any budget, I don’t even care at this point. Enough is enough!

Comment by Future Illini Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 7:30 pm
It may be too late for the regionals that are already struggling. The fall enrollment projections are absymal and likely to get worse because high school seniors had to make their choices without any assurance that MAP would be available. The “shakeout” is occuring.

Comment by Skeptical Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 7:43 pm
Two questions of timing. The aforementioned bills that only funded certain schools vs. others was bound to make the left-outs cry wolf. But secondly, seeing as how the UI had to endure a work stoppage the past few days, it seems like a threat to non-tenure faculty as well.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 8:21 pm
Exciting initiatives and plenty of new construction going on across the border at Purdue and other state schools in the Hoosier state…

Comment by GlimmerGirl Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 8:22 pm
-Jeff Trigg @ 4:22 pm,

If I am not mistaken and as Zonker at 5:30 pointed out, your interpretation of the data there is mostly wrong. Student fees and tuition are two different things, and it is likely true most or all of these schools that student fees do find their way into competitive athletics. This can take a number of forms, such as part of a fee being dedicated to the stadium or to tutoring programs that only athletes get. But Zonker is right, General Revenue funds are for the most part carefully screened out, in part out of deference to state mandate.

There is one sneaky way GR funds do leak into Athletics and that is in “scholarships.” Just like “scholarships” for our National Guard veterans, Athletes do not in fact get “scholarships.” In fact that academic side of the house has to educate them for free, which indirectly comes out of GR funds.

Comment by HistoryProf Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 10:16 pm
NIU has yet to see a reduction in state money and $140,000,000 in reserves. UIUC is more dependant on the state budget.

Comment by Mhsheikh Wednesday, Apr 20, 16 @ 10:32 pm
Just a question: Can anyone explain why U of I still usually has most of the job listings in the Midwest on higher ed job websites?

Comment by Chucktownian Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 7:15 am
Dont forget that the Franchise Pizza Parlors will start closing as the city shuts down.

Great Job Creatin’ Bruce!

Comment by Jack Stephens Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 9:10 am
Can someone give me the rundown of why the GA is unable to override? What’s the count? Whose loyalty to whom for what reason? Btw the “Turnaround Plan” is a sham, has nothing to do with the budget and everything to do with big business and unions.

Comment by Josh Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 9:51 am
Chucktownian - The people who put out the hiring requests and the people who say we don’t have money to hire are two different sets of people. Departments want to fill vacancies, the bean counters say “we’re being crunched”. But there has to be a decision made officially to stop hiring. Just today the Civil Service openings page went blank and you’ll soon see those ads disappear because the mandate has been made to freeze hiring. Some hires may still be made for absolutely vital positions.

Comment by Josh at U of I Thursday, Apr 21, 16 @ 9:59 am