UIS braces for budget cuts

The UIS Journal

Admins cautiously reassure community about university finances

December 9, 2009
By Andrew Mitchell
Copy Editor

In the wake of the statehouse's ongoing budget stalemate, the University of Illinois system is bracing itself for a possible fiscal emergency this school year and budget cuts for the next.

No one is hitting the panic button yet, but in an e-mail sent by former University President B. Joseph White last month, all three campuses were encouraged to prepare themselves.

“Whether the Governor and General Assembly will make downward adjustments to our current budget is unknown and may not be known for several months,” he wrote. “Given this possibility, however, we must take steps now to manage as prudently as possible.”

The problem, according to the e-mail, is that the state has been slow in paying out money it allocated to the University in their budget for Fiscal Year 2010. (A fiscal year starts in July and ends in June and is named for the end year.)

According to UIS Provost Harry Berman, out of the approximately $343 million budgeted for the University this semester, the state has only around paid around $400,000.

“It puts everybody in a bind,” he said.

Half of the school's funding comes from the state, while the other comes from tuition. Unlike Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, who recently had to appeal to the state for funding just to make payroll, the U of I system has, “more flexibility…more capacity to endure,” said Berman, because of tuition, research funding and other sources of funds.

“But it can't go on forever,” said UIS Chancellor Richard Ringeisen. Which is why he and others in the university are nervous to see how the state will try to get out its $12 billion budget shortfall when the General Assembly reconvenes in January.

Despite the general uncertainty, the university is planning for a 10 percent budget cut from the state, which would mean a five percent cut to their overall budget. Students could see that budget cut in a variety of ways, from fewer sections of a certain class and less supplies, to bigger class sizes for general education courses.

“We will be able to offer the required classes you need to graduate,” said James Ermatinger, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UIS, “it's just that you may not get the courses you want, meaning that instead of say four elective opportunities, you may have a choice of three.” He added that instead of having the option to take a class at 8 a.m. or 2 p.m., there may be only one time available.

Tuition will also almost certainly rise to make up for part of the difference.

But Ringeisen and Ermatinger both say there is some hope in UIS's growth on-campus and online; more students attending means more tuition dollars added to the budget.

University employees can also pin some hope on the fact that President White said there were no plans for any unpaid furlough days this calendar year.

“Furloughs are the next to last thing I want to do, with the first being layoffs,” Ringeisen said.

Under the planned scenario, Ermatinger said there was no danger of anyone losing their job, but the number of adjunct professors would likely decrease and the university will hesitate to replace any professor planning to retire.

Until the state government takes action or delivers on their funds, Ringeisen says the university will do all it can.

“When you're a big ship at sea, and a big storm is coming, you don't shut your engines off,” he said. “You move forward or else you get washed ashore.”

Vikings pull out win despite sloppy effort

Published: November 28, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

GENEVA – After starting their season with a pair of dominating victories, the Geneva girls basketball team showed it could still come out ahead even when the tempo did not always swing in its favor.

But it was not as confident of a victory as the Vikings would have liked, despite the 45-32 win over St. Charles North in the semifinal of their own invitational tournament.

“It was kind of a sloppy win,” said junior Kat Yelle. “We weren’t in sync.”

Luckily for them, their struggles came in the second half, after establishing an impressive 28-13 lead to finish the second quarter, with Yelle scoring 12 of her game-leading 20 points.

St. Charles North (2-1), who struggled with the absence of starter Jenna Bell because of illness, picked up its tempo in the second half and kept the Vikings (3-0) at bay. North outscored the Vikings, 19-17, in the second half, thanks to the hustle of junior Taylor Russell (eight points, five rebounds) and senior Dana Sibley (10 points, six rebounds).

“We saw some sparks,” North Star coach Colleen Brennan said. “Second half was much better than the first.”

Geneva coach Gina Nolan credited North’s invigorated defense at the half for keeping her team from opening the game any farther.

“St. Charles North took us out of our running game a bit today,” she said. “They hustled back on defense. Hopefully we can take that back again [tomorrow].”

The Vikings’ own defense responded well enough to keep North from chipping away at their lead too much, with senior Lauren Wicinski at the basket, earning nine rebounds and scoring four points for the Vikings.

Yelle too took advantage of North’s turnovers with a couple of steal-induced lay-ups in the third quarter.

“When we needed the big stopper to get our team settled, Kat definitely was there,” Nolan said.

Geneva plays Oswego at 2:30 p.m. today, after the Panthers edged out Rosary, 53-49. North plays Rosary for third place at 1 p.m. today. For both teams, it’s a opportunity to iron out any early season wrinkles made evident from their game.

Brennan took North’s second-half performance as a sign of potential.

“Absolutely, we’re ready [for Rosaray],” she said. “There’s no question this is a great team I’m working with. They’re still learning about each other. They’re still working with different combinations on the court. … They showed me a little more depth today.”

The Vikings, meanwhile, go into the invitational championship with goals of making their team gel as well as they did last year. Yelle said the team is working on improving its scoring in the wake Taylor Whitley’s graduation.

“Me and Taylor worked really well together, so I miss that,” she said. “But we’re actually doing pretty well so far.”

Nolan also joked about the recent holiday potentially playing a part in the game’s pacing.

“Now that the turkey is long gone, hopefully everyone will come in a little sharper and ready to go,” she said.

State budget in crisis: Why you should care about where your money goes

From Beyond: The Journal 's biannual magazine

November 17, 2009
By Andrew Mitchell

It's generally safe to assume that the average college student does not know, nor really cares to know, much about Illinois's budget. But everyone, including them, is feeling the pinch of the current fiscal crisis gripping the state.

Take the recent controversy surrounding financial aid for low-income students. The summer before the fall 2009 semester, Governor Pat Quinn signed into a low the budget for fiscal year 2010. Roughly half of the funding for the Monetary Award Program, better known as MAP grants, was cut from the budget. This meant that many of the 138,000 students who depended on the financial aid in the fall, would have missed out on the funds the following spring, putting their college careers in jeopardy.

Students from all over the state, outraged by the cuts, organized to demand the money be reinstated. They wrote and called lawmakers. They gathered signatures and sent petitions. Their protests hit their climax on Oct.15, when bus loads of students, some estimates saying more than 2,000 students, teachers and activists from all over the state, rallied both inside and outside of the Capitol, chanting, “We want MAP!” to lawmakers inside, attending to veto session business.

Their calls were heard loud and clear that day, as lawmakers quickly passed an appropriation of $205 million to fund MAP grants for the spring. Even Governor Quinn praised the move and the students' to pass get the funding back – this despite him signing the budget that cut the program in half in the first place.

But students should not have gone home completely satisfied. Sure, the legislature approved use of millions of dollars, but actually getting the money to the schools? That was another problem, and not an easily solved one. Currently, the state's debt is more than $10 billion. Bills are still waiting to be paid. Other financial obligations, like funding Medicaid and the state's pension system are on shaky ground because of this. How can the government find the money to pay for college students?

“One day at a time,” is how Governor Quinn told reporters he would handle this. What about next year's MAP grants? “We'll work on next year when next year comes.”

Some students seemed even less likely to care about that detail as well. David Ballard, a senator-at-large for the UIS Student Government Association said in UIS video posted on Youtube, “I don't know how we're going to fund it, but that's my concern.”

And that, in a nutshell, is one of the bigger problems with the state's current state of finances. There is not enough money to pay for the services the state provides; yet the services are still in demand. Furthermore, when facing a problem of this magnitude, the state seems more likely to put a small band-aid (usually via borrowing money) on the problem, which only worsen things down the line.

Now the state's deficit is at an all time high, and with gubernatorial primaries on the horizon, candidates will expound on how they would fix the state's fiscal fiasco.

It is time to for students, and the rest of the state, to start paying attention.

State Budget for Dummies

In the same way an average family plans out how best to spend their money, so too does the state government organize its own finances. However, the annual budget proposal the governor presents each year is different, because it serves as political statement, showing how a particular administration wants to prioritize state programs.
Money comes to the state in a variety of ways, but the two largest sources of revenue come from the state income tax and the sales tax. Because of this, Illinois has seen its revenues shrink as the recession swept over the nation – because when people make less money, they pay less income tax, and when people want to save money, they spend less on goods, which means less sales tax revenue.

The state also gets money from the federal government, with the recent stimulus money being cited as one of the reasons things are not as bad as they could be economically, and legalized gambling. Kent Redfield, professor at UIS's Institute for Legal, Legislative & Policy studies says recent efforts to expand and rely more on gambling for revenue are misguided.

In fact, by looking at the data from the State Comptroller's office, the budgetary balance at the end each fiscal year, after lapse period spending (money spent on bills obligated during the fiscal year after it has ended), jumps from surplus to deficit with the economy.

“We've been here before,” Redfield said, “We have a revenue structure that doesn't keep pace with our services.”

Because of this, Illinois suffers from a “structural deficit,” as much as it does an economic one. It is a fair claim to make that much of the state's woes comes from the problems of the international economy. No one anticipated the credit collapse a year ago. “Even if we did everything right,” Redfield said, “we'd still be on the margins.”

But the state's seemingly inevitable decline was made worse by years of bad decisions.

UIS professor and political scientist Ronald Michaelson placed some blame in ousted Governor Rod Blagojevich. During his campaign, Blagojevich pledged that he wouldn't raise taxes, and did everything to keep that promise, even at the determent of the state. The previous administration of George Ryan had left a then-record $1.2 billion budget deficit for fiscal year 2002.

A more responsible governor might have gone back on the no-tax promise, Michaelson said. “He should've said, 'I had no idea things were this bad... we've got to do this.' He could have said it was Ryan's fault. I'm sure he could've sold that. But he didn't.”

Instead, Blagojevich expanded health care spending (Medicaid already being one of the biggest expenses in the state budget), and proposed one-time revenue sources, like selling the Illinois Lottery to a private company and forgoing payments to state worker's retirement pensions.

Other legislators and government officials only compounded the problem by not being more vocal about the problems. “You could see the wheels falling off,” Michaelson said. “but no one was saying, 'Hey, this is absurd.'”

Because of this, Governor Quinn entered office during a fiscal year with a new record $3.4 billion deficit. That it continues to multiply has people like Redfield and Michaelson tensely waiting to see who will fix it and how they will do it.

The “who,” will be answered soon enough in the upcoming primary and general elections for governor, and the “how,” sounds simple enough at first; cut spending, say no to any new spending and increase taxes. But that last particular point is especially difficult to sell in an election, and there isn't $9 billion of waste spending.

Such a message is difficult to convey to the public. In a recently released poll by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, based in Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, a majority of Illinois voters know there is a problem with the budget and think cutting out waste is the only way to fix things; they just have no idea what specific cuts should be made.

Nearly two-thirds of those polled opposed raising incomes taxes as well, which puts the state in a catch-22; people want the services and programs the state provides but do not want to see their taxes, which would pay for the programs, rise at all.

But many economic and political experts say that solving the state's fiscal problem requires both, no matter what the candidates say.

“Anyone that tells you that all we need is more revenue is just nuts,” Redfield said. “You can't raise enough money.”

Michaelson cited the governor's election of 1968, when the two candidate, Richard Ogilvie and Samuel Shapiro met and decided not to talk about income taxes in the campaign, so that whomever got elected would have an easier time raising it once elected.

However, the problem is perhaps far too big now to ignore in the general campaign, and the costs of fixing it are still not politically popular. “If you're really going to solve the problem, you need to acknowledge that you'll be a one-term governor,” Michaelson said.

Student radio station still a work in progress

New internet-based station holds possibilities for UIS community

November 4, 2009
By Andrew Mitchell
Copy Editor

There aren't many people sitting behind the microphone at the Prairie Star, UIS's online streaming campus radio station.

But that's soon going to change said Associate Professor Jim Grubbs. The veteran broadcaster is putting the finishing touches on the studio and audio lab to prepare for students taking his Introduction to Radio class this spring.

“It's almost like I've gone full circle,” he said from his desk in the audio lab. Grubbs first came to campus as a media technician back when UIS was called Sangamon State and the Student Affairs Building was the library. The studio and lab is located in what used to be the library's receiving area.

“I started here and now I'm back here,” he said. But this time, the room is equipped with new carpeting, a new coat of paint, computers, headphones and microphones ready to be set up and played with.

Photo by Andrew Mitchell Communication professor Jim Grubbs sits in the main studio of the Prairie Star, UIS’ campus radio station. Grubbs hopes to have students in the hot seat as early as next semester.

Grubbs signed on to organize the station after student interest he said reached, “a critical mass.” The Prairie Star officially signed on from its original location, a small room in University Hall, on Valentine's Day, 2008.

The station didn't feature a lot of UIS voices that day. Grubbs had set up the station to be a fully automated music station, playing almost everything from current hits to music from the 1960s on up.

“It was as much as anything just to prove the point that it could be done,” he said. The station remained on automation from then and through Grubbs's academic sabbatical last year.

Now in its new location, Grubbs hopes to provide an open door for students interested in getting into radio, whether as a career or for general fun.

“Certainly students are most interested in music programs,” he said, “but there is almost an infinite number of possibilities.”

Other stations close by include National Public Radio member station WUIS, or WQNA, the community station operated out of the Capital Area Career Center on Toronto Road.

Grubbs said the Prairie Star can differentiate itself by focusing primarily on campus and school related issues and concerns.

“Our difference is we're the UIS campus radio,” he said. “WUIS is a service for the community at large.”

Randy Eccles, WUIS's Development Director, sees the situation similarly. The station employs current UIS students and gladly accepts volunteers, he said. They are also looking to get more students involved in their new HD radio station. But still WUIS does not primarily cater to the university.

“We want to serve the campus, but we also serve the broader community of central Illinois,” he said.

Plus, with the limited number of opportunities for students to get on the air at WUIS, Eccles thinks the Prairie Star can serve as a great entry point for students looking for more experience.

Grubbs hopes to get things fully operational for next semester so he can provide students with valuable radio experience, try things out and help turn the Prairie Star into the student-run station it can potentially be.

New technology enhances online learning

October 28, 2009
By Andrew Mitchell
Copy Editor

It used to be that anyone who wanted to listen to UIS Biology Professor James Bonacum's lecture had to actually show up to his class. But now, his lectures are just one of several educational podcasts available on UIS's own iTunes store.

UIS content has been available through iTunes U since 2006, which meant that students and faculty had to log in to access audio content. But this year, podcasts are now available for everyone on or off campus via the iTunes store, easily found by searching “UIS.”

This puts UIS with some impressive company, said Munindra Khaund, multimedia education coordinator for ITS. “UIS is now listed alongside Berkely, Cambridge, MIT, Stanford, Yale, museums, and [other] public media organizations,” he said.

So far, the most popular downloads come from Professor Michael Cheney's course, “The Beatles: Popular Music and Society.” Other features include a column for UIS “Staff Favorites,” programs from public radio station WUIS, recordings from the ECCE Speaker Series and “Illinois Springfield Originals,” original work created by UIS faculty staff and students.

Khaund says that the growth of UIS podcasts, from a single course in the fall of 2005 to the thirteen now widely available, shows how well its been received by students.

“I continue to receive requests from students who would prefer to have course-related content delivered via podcast,” he said.

The podcasts can also be used as a recruiting tool for UIS now that its content is available for everyone, Khaund added. But he also stressed that iTunes won't be replacing the buildings on campus anytime soon.

“We provide the means of sharing course content with students in a manner that helps our students learn more,” he said. “[But] technology is a tool and podcasting is not going to replace classroom instruction.”

Online portal opens possibilities

Classroom technology became easier this year in another way with the introduction of the my.UIS portal, which boasts a single sign-on feature for many student needs.

“Before my.UIS, students had to login to Blackboard and then again if they wanted to check their DARS report and again if they wanted to check their grades or their student account,” said UIS Director of Education Technology, Tulio Llosa.

“With my.UIS, students just need to sign in once and can navigate their way easily to the applications they most use.”

Perhaps more exciting, Llosa said, is the customizable features for students my.UIS home pages. Users can design their portals to feature yahoo accounts, RSS feeds or other websites they frequent.

Llosa added the portal is still a work in progress, with new features still to come, such as easier eDoc distribution and announcement listings.

“We are hoping to convert email distribution lists such as 'campus announcements and UIS Student - Official Information DL' to portlets,” Llosa said. “So when an email is sent to them the message goes to the portal instead of the inbox.”

But the customization of portals is what Llosa says could unlock my.UIS's greatest potential. “Maybe we should hold a contest for most innovative student portal design,” he said.

For a guide on making the most of your my.UIS page, go to this link.
http://bit.ly/uE26z

UIS's iTunes store can be found at http://itunes.uis.edu

Researcher examines online class effectiveness

October 28, 2009
By Andrew Mitchell
Copy Editor

In a presentation to UIS faculty and staff, research specialist Bill Bloemer called on his colleagues to further develop research into the effectiveness of online courses.

The number of students taking UIS courses online has grown steadily throughout the years, Bloemer said, to the point where now almost a third of the school's student body takes classes only online.

Furthermore, more than half of the student body took all their classes on campus five years ago. Now, only a third are strictly on-campus students, while the other third takes a combination of on-campus and online courses.

“When I look at that, two things come to mind,” Bloemer said. “One is that this institution is uniquely positioned to do real research into the [effectiveness] of online education. There aren't many places that do it like we do... We really do have experience and numbers here.

“And the other thing that occurs to me when I look at these numbers is, 'Oh my God, I hope this is working.'”

Because the online courses have helped increase enrollment for UIS, Bloemer said the university must ask whether it is effective, rigorous teaching. Online courses are often perceived to be lighter or easier than their on-campus alternative.

In preliminary data, Bloemer showed the grade point average of on-campus students as lower than online-only students. But several variables could go into this, including the level of student taking the course as well as the subject and level of the course itself.

On a larger scale, the research asks whether one can predict if a student will struggle in a certain kind of class more than another will.

Ray Schroeder, director of the Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning at UIS, added to Bloemer's call for reasearch.

“You see what rich data is available,” he said. “I think the implications here are significant. This may be useful certainly for programs, program coordinators, student support. There are many ways we can go at this.”

MAP Grant Resotred

Money promised to students, source of funding still unclear

October 21, 2009
By Andrew Mitchell
Copy Editor

Photo by Andrew Mitchell Protestors from Lewis University display their homemade signs outside the State Capitol Building on Oct. 15. Students from several universities in Illinois travelled to Springfield to make their voices heard by state legislators.

The rallying cry to reinstate funding for the Monetary Award Program, the higher education financial program also known as MAP, came to a climax Thursday as hundreds of students descended on the Capitol, holding up signs and shouting, “We need MAP!”

Their shouts were not ignored; later that day the Illinois Legislature passed an appropriation of $205 million to fund MAP grants for the spring semester, providing money for about 138,000 students, including 827 at UIS.

But questions remain about how the state will pay for grants. Lawmakers have given no word as to where the $205 million will come from, and reports show the state’s deficit in the billions.

Unexpected Crowd

For Student Government Association Members Derek Felix and Jaime Casinova, the rally of students from colleges and universities all over Illinois satisfied them in a very big way.

“It’s a lot bigger turnout than I expected,” said Felix in the Capitol, while other students waved home made signs inside and out. Casinova said even while he helped organize the statewide coalition among other colleges, he didn’t realize he struck a collective
nerve.

“It started out with somebody going, ‘Hey, we’re putting together a bus,’ and I thought, ‘That’s great.’” he said. “Then the same university later said, ‘We’ve got two buses coming for sure.’ We said, ‘Awesome! We’re just happy with a bus.’ Suddenly … there were more universities saying [they had] five buses committed. I mean, committed and paid for … I was just amazed.”

Outside of the Capitol, Governor Pat Quinn joined the students in rallying. Earlier in the week, he traveled to the major state universities to drum up support for the program.

“This was really an inspiring display of demonstration, of grassroots democracy,” he said. “I am really proud of the students of Illinois, and their universities and colleges [and] how they came together, not for profit but for a cause they believe in.”

The stopping of MAP grants would have put a dent in university enrollment, with over 18 percent of the UIS student body receiving grants.

“I think that holds potential to literally invert our enrollment record,” Felix said.

It painted a worse picture for smaller universities. Owen Kerschner, a junior from Knox College in Galesburg, said a more than a 20 percent of Knox students accepted MAP grants, including himself.

“I’ve got a twin brother at UIUC,” he said. “It’s tricky enough [for my parents] sending two kids to college at the same time.”

Concerns still linger

But problems still linger for Illinois’s finances. Even as state leaders almost unanimously agreed to reinstate MAP grants for spring, they acknowledged that they didn’t know how they would pay for it.

Last year, the state hit a record high in budget deficit, over $3 billion. Some critics have balked at Quinn’s approval of a spending program without a clear sense of where the money will come from.

Earlier, Quinn suggested an added tax on cigarettes to pay for MAP. House Republicans proposed a tax amnesty, essentially waiving penalties for late income or sales tax payments.

Quinn did not say whether either or any other revenue source would be used, but said in regards to amnesty, “I’m going to look at that. The basic line is that you can’t use amnesty to get to heaven.”

Regardless, Quinn said that the MAP funding was a matter of setting priorities for the budget, with college educations being high on the list.

Still, some wariness remains. “[We’ll work on this] one day at a time,” Quinn said. “We’ll work on next year when next year comes.”

Best Album [of the week]

October 14, 2009

Best album: The Big Pink - "A Brief History of Love"

At first glance, one might want to compare the English electro-rock duo, the Big Pink, to the '80s one-hit wonder [Soft Cell]. But be warned, there is "Tainted Love" and then there's the Big Pink's black leather, grainy photographed version of love. For their video, "Velvet," we get a more shots of scantly-clad women tied up than a Boy Scout handbook. For the video, "Dominos," we see ice sculptures of naked women explode into snowflakes around the band. Sounds edgy? Sounds uninviting? Well, here's the trick -- "Dominos" has one of the catchiest, most confident choruses of the year. And the rest of their debut album, "A Brief History of Love," lives up to the swagger and cockiness of its singles.

Now that Trent Reznor has put Nine Inch Nails on hiatus, the Big Pink's debut record should fill the void for catchy hard-rock laced with a bracing shot of electronica. From the hypnotic title track to the radio-ready hooks of "Tonight," the Big Pink show that while their image might go for the darkest corners of love, their music shoots for the stadiums. It's one thing to name a song, "At War With the Sun." It's an something else entirely to sound like they could put up a good fight if they needed.

-Andrew Mitchell

Students given chance to “come out” on Quad

Published: October 14, 2009
The Journal

Photo by Melissa Conrad Students in the LGTBQ community added graffiti to the free-standing closet door. Members of the campus comunity were invited to “come out of the closet,” as gay, slesbian, bisexual, transgender or straight ally.

The LGBTQ community at UIS had originally planned to make their National Coming Out Week a celebration of self-pride. But when three current students were charged with attacking two others on campus, allegedly because of their sexual orientation, it gave their week an added sense of purpose.

That could explain why the dance music was playing a little louder during their “Speak Out!” event. Community members and supporters were encouraged to walk on a small stage and pass through a door, effectively “coming out of the closet,” again, with a handful of people cheering them on in the process.

Covered in graffiti and messages of support, the door stood as a symbol of solidarity, said LGBGT graduate assistant Sarah Hale.

“We worked so hard on building it,” she said. “This past month, everyone said, 'There's no way you're going to get it to stand and not blow over.' But we did it.”

Freshman History Major Henry Borgard said building and painting the door alone were acts of solidarity against the attacks.

“The first thing I did with the graffiti was put the newspaper down,” he said, referring an issue of “The Journal,” with the faces of the three accused attackers on the front page. “The first thing we did was cross their faces out.”

Hale said she planned on bringing the door out for other events on campus and repainting it red every year, so a new group of students can make their mark on it.

At any rate, the community said they both felt a surge support after the weekend. Hale said the rally on the Monday following the attack, which they did not plan, and the statement of support from Chancellor Richard Ringeisen added purpose to their week

“It was an incredible thing to be a part of Monday night,” she said, “reclaiming campus and saying we're not going to stand for this kind of behavior.”

Borgard agreed; “Having something like this is basically our way of saying, 'You can't shut us up. You can't make us sit down and be quiet.' Just because this happened doesn't mean we're not going to do 'Coming Out Week.'”

Book published on life of Illinois politician

Published: October 7, 2009
The Journal

While people like former Governor Rod Blagojevich represented for many the worst aspects of Illinois Politics, historian Robert Hartley focused instead on one of Illinois's most beloved politicians, Paul Simon during a presentation Thursday morning.

Hartley recently published a book about Simon's life and legacy, titled, “Paul Simon: The Political Journey of an Illinois Original.” For many young people, Paul Simon's career is a distant memory. Before he died in 2003, he served in various political offices, starting in Illinois House of representatives in 1955 until his retirement from the U.S. Senate in 1997.

Still, he remains a relatively underrated figure in Illinois history; “When I told one of my good friends from the newspaper business that I had written a biography … of Paul Simon,” Hartley said, “his first comment was to ask if my next book was going to be about Art Garfunkel.”

From the podium in the Brookens Auditorium, Hartley shared stories of Simon's past, showcasing the politician’s unique dedication to public service.

“[He was] not perfect, because frankly, I don't know of any who are perfect or have been,” Hartley said, “but he was about as close as anyone could get.”

Hartley told of Simon's early work as a southern Illinois newspaper reporter and editor, including an incident where he helped shut down two houses of prostitution by visiting them and writing about the experience in the first person.

“Oh yes, he escaped with his virtue intact,” Hartley said.

Simon continued writing columns even as he rose to prominence as the politician with horn-rimmed glasses and bow tie, and even though he declared himself to be a loyal Democrat, he had no problem criticizing prominent members of his party, as he did in 1979 with a column titled, “Why I Support Kennedy.”

In it, Simon criticized the leadership skills of then president, Jimmy Carter and threw his support behind Ted Kennedy. Kennedy would get crushed in the primaries, but Simon never wavered from his support, which Hartley said showed a man who was true to his beliefs.

Simon would also found and be the first the director for UIS's Public Affairs Reporting program before he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974 and a Senate Seat in 1984. He would also unsuccessfully run for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1988.

Throughout it all, Hartley says, Simon was a unique politician in that he showed a visible determination to act on his principles, take unpopular positions and explain them in his own words via his written work.

Before there were any meaningful campaign finance laws, Simon would report his spending for public scrutiny, while others did not. UIS Junior English major, Ashleigh Hall, said that was the most impressive thing she learned about Simon.

“He reported his spending when he didn't have to,” she said. “I think most people wouldn't do that if they didn't have to.”

Hartley said it's just one example from, “a public life worth imitating. His political story is as current as a Twitter message.”

Senate looks at Master Plan

Published: September 30, 2009
The Journal

The proposed location for the new Public Safety Building and Child Care Center is once again up in the air according to a report from SGA President Matt Van Vossen to the Campus Senate.

According to Van Vossen, the building’s current proposed location on the UIS Campus Master Plan, along Vachel Lindsay Drive and across the street from townhouse courts Pennyroyal and Foxglove, benefits from being along the university's utility lines.

But the UIS police would still like to consider another location that would allow for more access points.

“The police chief wants to be at a point on campus where squad cars can go in multiple directions,” Van Vossen said. “It's just a matter of utilities.”
A potential spot, he added, is along Shepherd Road, where the Master Plan says a golf driving range will be built.

Also announced at their Campus Senate Meeting were words of support for two university related controversies. In response to UIUC president Joseph White resigning his post in December, Senate Chair Tih-Fen Ting and Provost Harry Berman, spoke kindly on how he is handling his exit.

If White had stayed on until the end of January, he would have been entitled to a retention bonus of roughly $475,000. But his decision to leave earlier in December, Ting said, shows he's considered the financial strains of the University.

“I think that's a great gesture,” Ting said, “As an individual faculty member, I'm very sorry to see that he has decided to resign because I don't think that his very limited involvement with admissions actually constitutes a cause for his removal.”

Ting also said at their next meeting, Friday, Oct. 9, the Senate would bring up a resolution to strongly urge Governor Pat Quinn and the legislature to restore MAP grant funding in advance of a planned rally at the Capitol protesting the cuts.

Business closed with the reconsideration of a resolution passed at the previous meeting, adding three members to the athletic committee. After words from the Faculty Athletics Representative, Marcel Yoder and discussion amongst the senate, a 15-2 vote was passed to keep the committee at its original membership and not add three members.

Springfield news veteran Rich Bradley retires

Photo Courtesy of WUIS Rich Bradley works at a typewriter in his early days at WUIS, then known as WSSR.

Photo by Melissa Conrad As decades at the station passed, technology was forced to change. Bradley sits in his office, checking email and listening to an HD radio.

Published: September 23, 2009
The Journal

This Friday will be a day 35 years in the making for WUIS's Rich Bradley. The veteran broadcaster, a man who has been with the public radio station since it first went on the air, will read his final newscast before retiring.

And true to his nature as a journalist, he is still not sure whether or not to say anything on the air to mark the occasion or simply read the news as he has always done.

“I haven't thought about it too much,” he said of his final days as WUIS's news director.

But for the rest of the station's listeners, Bradley's retirement is quite the sea change. He has been the station's sole news director since day one and his authoritative anchoring of “Morning Edition,” and “State Week in Review,” have informed and made sense of Illinois news for many.

As a boy growing up on a farm in Ogden, Ill., a small town east of Champaign, Bradley said the closest he came to dreaming of a career in radio was when he sent away for something called a Heath Kit.

“When I was in high school, I sent away for an electronics kit that could build an AM radio transmitter,” he said. “It would only transmit about 25 or 50 feet though.”

It wasn't until he transferred from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, that he found his calling.

Unlike UIUC, SIU allowed their students to run the station, which immediately sparked Bradley's interest.

“It really was one of those situations where it was like a bug that bites you and infects you,” he said. “I just fell in love with the business.”

Bradley moved to Springfield in 1965 to work for a rock and roll station and co-founded a statewide audio news service before learning of an opening at UIS, then called Sangamon State University.

“I heard that Sangamon State was looking to start a non-commercial, educational station,” he said. “Later we'd call it public radio.”

Bradley applied the news director position and in 1974 was offered the job of WUIS's first news director.

“At the time I was 34 and it represented for me a career goal,” he said, “to get in on the ground floor and help build a radio station from scratch.”

When he started, National Public Radio was still building itself too, and WUIS had to compete with Springfield's other commercial news radio stations. But with time, public radio grew into a primary source for news and information as commercial news radio declined.

Throughout it all, Bradley has been behind the microphone, covering state politics, organizing an Illinois Public Radio network, and mentoring budding journalists. WUIS reporter Jenna Dooley remembers meeting Bradley for the first time as a Public Affairs Reporting Student in 2007.

“He's always offered creative freedom to choose the stories you want to work on,” she said, “and he'll provide background and context. That's the value and the institutional knowledge that he has.”

Upon Bradley's departure, Dooley will take over the reins as anchor for Morning Edition. She says she's not nervous about following Bradley, because as she puts it, the quality and quantity of news won't change.

“Just by nature of the fact that I'm female and younger, I know my style, without even trying, is going to be drastically different,” she said. “[But] I know how he values news judgment ... I know his tips on news gathering and how to put a newscast together. And in that way, it won't be that different from the way Rich does.”

Bradley says he looks forward to seeing how WUIS grows without him, as the station puts together a new studio and expands their digital broadcasting options. As far as post-retirement plans, Bradley says he doesn't have anything “hard and fast,” picked out yet. He would like to travel to all the Illinois Public Radio affiliates he has worked with for years from Springfield but was never able to see first hand how they operated.

Or he could celebrate his signing off by taking up an old hobby.

“Once upon a time I enjoyed woodworking,” he said, “I might take that up again. I've got a bunch of tools shoved off in a corner of the garage.”

New police building placement raises concerns from faculty

Published: September 16, 2009
The Journal

A group of UIS faculty has raised concerns about the proposed placement of the new Public Safety Building.

The new facility, which will replace the old UIS Police Station on the north end of campus, will be built along Vachel Lindsay Drive, across the street from campus housing, according to the university's Campus Master Plan.

But some faculty members said at a recent campus forum they were worried that a police station placed too close to the students might have a silencing effect on those who should report crime.

Michael Murphy, assistant professor of Women and Gender studies, has worked in rape and sexual assault prevention. He said that even though one in four women will survive a rape or attempted rape while attending college, it is not guaranteed that they will report it.

"We know that one of the reasons survivors of sexual assault are reluctant to report these crimes is a fear that it will become public knowledge," he said. "Because women are charged with controlling sexual access to their bodies ... a good deal of shame and self-blame is observed in rape survivors."

Therefore, he said, a survivor might be even less inclined to report an attack if a police station is within eyesight of a location where a rape might occur.

“This is because the survivor’s peers or her assailant or friends of the assailant might actually see her entering the Public Safety Building.”

Murphy added that he and his colleagues were not in direct opposition to the building’s proposed location, but rather, wanted to raise legitimate concerns before the building location was, “set it stone.”

They plan to present those concerns to a soon-to-be formed committee that will eventually put forward recommendations to UIS Chancellor Richard Ringeisen. Another committee will handle concerns for the proposed Child Care Center, located next to the Public Safety Building.

Associate Vice Chancellor of Administrative Affairs, Dave Barrows said the new facility would take care of some concerns the current police station already suffers from.

“I think a primary problem with the present building,” he said, “is the size and lack of privacy … Wherever the new building is placed on campus, it will be designed to segment or cordon off a victim, or for that matter, as assailant from everyone else.”

Peru program gave students a global perspective

Published: September 16, 2009
The Journal

When Kimberly Bach and eight of her fellow UIS students arrived in Cusco, Peru this past summer, they found a whole new meaning to the phrase “higher education.”

That's because the South American city in which they began their 17-day study abroad trip is almost 11,000 feet above sea level. Needless to say, there were some problems.

“When we first arrived,” Bach said, “a lot of people in our group were having problems due to the altitude.”

Luckily, the students were able to easily find a cure for “soroche,” the Peruvian word for altitude sickness, in the abundant Coca leaves.

The students learned that by putting them in tea, and even chewing them, they could overcome the dizzying symptoms of soroche.

“Our host mother Gladys made sure we had enough rest and coca tea everyday before we left for school in the morning,” Bach said.

Dealing with altitude sickness is just one of the things Bach, her fellow students and their guide, Modern Languages professor Veronica Espina, will share Thursday, Sept. 17 in PAC conference room F at noon. Photos from their trip have also been shown in the PAC cafeteria throughout this week.

Espina and the nine students left in May of this year to take Spanish immersion courses and visit ancient Incan landmarks like Machu Picchu. Cusco was once the capital of the Inca Empire.

All from UIS took the language classes together, which meant Espina found herself learning alongside her students as much as she taught them.

“Attending school with my students in the morning,” Espina said, “studying with them during our excursions and visits to the ruins in the afternoon, and traveling to remote places taught me how to be a better teacher and enriched my teaching.”

The students kept bilingual journals for their trip, writing in Spanish about the Peruvian culture and critical reflections in English on the environmental, historical, and social issues they encountered while abroad.

“I wanted to study Peruvian and Incan history from the point of view of those who resisted the conquest, from those who don’t usually get to write the history books,” Espina said.

“We learned from the community we lived in and received wonderful examples of how to be culturally literate, socially responsible, and great language learners.”

One such social lesson occurred when the group witnessed an organized protest for worker rights in Cusco.

“Many of us experienced quite a reality check when seeing first-hand how people are responding to Globalization and the influence the United States has throughout the world,” Craig Pelka, a student who participated in the program, said. “We all know the U.S. has an impact globally, but to witness that impact is a truly unique and disturbing experience.”

The group was also able to experience the day-to-day joys of their hosts while staying on Amantani Island.

“My favorite part of staying on the island was attending a fiesta with our host mom where we got to dress in their traditional clothing and dance and listen to a local music group,” Bach said. “It really gave us an opportunity to experience life on the island.”

The group described the trip as something more than a Spanish class. According to them it was a conduit to reflect on their place in the world and how they can impact.

That much was true when student Randi Brewbaker visited Machu Picchu. “I couldn’t help but imagine what it must have been like to live in such an extraordinary place,” she said. “It gave me a newfound respect and appreciation for Incan contributions to our world.”

See pictures from the trip abroad

New building stuck in limbo

Published: August 26, 2008
The Journal

UIS Police Chief Don Mitchell wishes the new Public Safety Building was already done and ready for use.

Unfortunately, he will have to wait at least 18 months before ground can even be broken on the new police station.

That is because the state still has to raise the money for the project. The legislature approved the budget in the Capital Bill this spring, that is only step one according to Associate Vice Chancellor for Administrative Affairs, Dave Barrows said.

“Unfortunately the state process is very slow,” he said. “Even though they approved it, [the state] has to sell bonds to pay for it.”

After that, the project will go before the Capital Development Board, the construction management agency that oversees the construction and renovations of state government buildings. “Only after then can we hire an architect and break ground,” Barrows said.

Barrows added the Public Safety Building marks the first capital funding project for UIS in six years. Student fees go toward the University's maintenance and other projects like the recent Founders Hall dormitory.

Barrows says a new police station was the kind of project for which UIS could get state money. But the trade-off seems to be the lengthy process this entails.

Which is why he and Mitchell say the hardest part of the process is the waiting game.

“We've been requesting a new building for many years,” Mitchell said. “It's outdated and in dire need of replacement. We don't meet a lot of regulations.”

One such hardship of the current facility is its lack of holding cells. Mitchell said that if someone were to be arrested on campus, they would have to wait until the Springfield Police Department came and picked them up or a UIS officer transported him or her.

Still, Mitchell is glad that at least there is the prospect of a new facility on the horizon.

“The university [has] built a lot of buildings and spent millions of dollars,” he said. “I think they saw this a project they could get through easier.”

Top Shelf Amenities to Keep Your Propert Competitive

Published: August 2009
Lowesforpros.com

Click blog title for article.

Live music and the economy

Published: July 31, 2009
Northern Public Radio

This time, click the blog title (or here) to hear the story streaming online and view a number of the photos I've taken in DeKalb and at the 2009 Pitchfork Music Festival.

Wasco 12U dominates field

Published: July 21, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

ST. CHARLES – You could find a high school senior who has no idea about where he or she would like to go to college any day of the week.

But many of the 12- and 13-year-old girls on the Wasco Diamonds 12U96 softball team have already set their hearts to schools they’re years away from applying to.

It’s just one of the many ways the girls have shown off their dedication to the sport, with grand results. The team has produced an impressive record for the summer; 79-21 overall, and a dazzling 47-0 in their own 12U division.

The team has progressed to the point where coach Bill Morrow of Lily Lake said the team expects and craves success every time they take their positions.

“I think it’s unusual to see a whole team so driven,” he said. “I don’t have a superstar. It’s very much a team effort... And they always want to get better.”

Morrow has been coaching the girls for four years and said he’s just as impressed with their record this year as anyone else – perhaps more, because he’s seen them grow.

“It’s not just this year,” he said. “We won the 11U nationals last year ... But the continuation from last year to this is just amazing.”

For the girls, softball is who they are and what they do.

“It’s like my life,” pitcher Angela Morrow, the coach’s daughter, said. “My friends think I’m crazy sometimes.”

Even in the winter, team members meet regularly for indoor practices. Morrow had them write their goals down in journals during the offseason.

That’s how Angela and teammate Emily Brodner, of St. Charles, can already say where they’d like to go to school.

“I’m stuck on [Arizona State] and [Angela’s] stuck on Tennessee,” Brodner said.

The winter is also a time for Morrow to emphasize off-field things like keeping their grades up and staying healthy. Brodner remembers how softball was at first just something they all did for fun in the summer.

“In 9U, we were just playing for fun,” she said. “But in 10U, we just got serious about winning more.”
It’s a mission that has brought the girls closer off the softball field as well. Brodner and Morrow describe the team as a group of best friends.

“I’m going to start crying when I have to leave the team,” Brodner said.

“It’s going to be awkward when we have to play each other in high school,” Angela said. She’ll be at Burlington Central, while Brodner will attend St. Charles North.

But for now, the girls will keep practicing for the 12U National tournament in Normal, which starts Aug. 26. The girls just came back from the USSSA 14U state tournament in Rockford with a second place finish after losing to a top-ranked 14U team in the country.

Playing the older teams gives the Diamonds a bigger challenge and bigger learning opportunity.

“We pick up so many new plays [when we play 14U teams],” Brodner said, “And we just practice them over and over.”

“It shows how we’ve evolved into a program that can compete at that level,” coach Morrow said. “I have lot of friends that say, ‘Oh, you’re so hard on them.’ But it’s because I love them and they know how much I care.”

St. Charles Ladies Tournament tees off

Published: July 16, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

ST. CHARLES – After the cancellation of last year’s St. Charles Ladies Tournament, Pottawatomie golf course pro Jim Wheeler had good reason to be happy on the tournament’s first day.

“It’s a perfect day,” he said, “and so far, [the golfers] are having some fun, which is what it’s all about.”

Thirteen golfers hit the greens for a qualifying round of sorts for the 18-hole, two-day tournament. Diana Sandberg led the pack with a one-over-par 38, thanks in large part to a confidence-boosting eagle on the first hole.

“It was a total fluke,” Sandberg said, explaining that as she hit her ball toward the green, she lost sight of where it landed. Turns out, it landed in the hole.

“I was so surprised. [It was] definitely a good day.”

Following her was five-time Ladies Tournament winner, Kathy Braun, shooting 44. Both Braun and Sandberg will play today again in the same foursome for a shot at the championship. Golfers will tee off at 9 a.m.

But Wheeler says they won’t be the only Ladies Tournament winners by the end of today. In an effort to make the tournament more accessible, Wheeler said he was placing each golfer into a division based on their Thursday score.

So by the end of play today, there will be an overall tournament winner, plus two additional winners for an A and B division of higher scoring golfers. Wheeler says this change in format and the word of mouth from this years contestants could help grow the event in the next few years.

“[Others] will see these ladies jumping in and having fun,” he said, “and they’ll get interested.”

But even without a ladies tournament last year, Wheeler kept things in perspective.

“I don’t know of any tournament that hasn’t had a year off for one reason or another,” he said. “I work too hard to get these ladies involved.”

Whirl a fun outing for runners

Published: July 10, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

BATAVIA - Not many people get to say they ran their first 5K at the age of five.

So, when Caroline Hager of Batavia crossed the finish line of the Windmill City Whirl 5K with her father, Matt, by her side keeping pace, she got plenty of cheers.

“It was pretty much her idea,” Matt said, “She sees her mom and I run everyday, so she just wanted to join in.”

Many minutes earlier, another man from Batavia, Doug Jones, would cross the finish line first to take his third Windmill Whirl race in 17:51.

“It’s fantastic,” he said. “I’ve been running this race since 1980... It’s always nice to win the hometown race.”

The two moments seemed to encompass what the 5K organizers had set out to accomplish; a course that was as equally satisfying for the serious and casual runner.

For the second year in a row, the Batavia Park District decided to hold the race in the evening with the Windmill City Festival going on alongside. Although Jones said he preferred a morning start time, Allison Sohr said it helps attract a whole different breed of runner to the race.

“We found that if we have it on Friday, everyone can come and enjoy the festival after they’ve finished,” said Sohr, the director of marketing and public relations for the Batavia Park District.

Of the 230-plus runners, Sohr says about half of them are serious, with the rest being more casual participants. Putting the race alongside the festival helps, but also, she adds, the course itself along the Fox River is an attraction in and of itself.

“The Fox River bike path is a runner’s paradise,” she said, “and it’s not as intimidating as some of the circuit courses.”

Runner Chris Johnston helped lay out the course along the bike path on the east side of the Fox River.
“Course knowledge is advantageous for any runner,” he said. “I went out earlier today on my bike, just to check it out before the race.”

Also enjoying the course was Anna Hartlaub of Elgin, running with a group of 20 or so others wearing “Meaney’s Training,” shirts. The group, organized by Nancy Meaney of South Elgin, train and sign up for races together, encouraging each other along the way.

“Everyone’s at their own level,” she said. “We always say, ‘the first one back has to go back and get the rest.’”

First, second and third place trophies were awarded based on gender and age group, which meant that almost a third of the participants took home a prize, along with a park district gift bag.

But as Hartlaub took her second-place trophy for her age group, she said the prize is not what makes her come back to the Windmill Whirl.

“It’s a good way to get some exercise,” she said. “We have a lot of fun doing it.”

Local foursome moving on

Published: July 7, 2008
Kane County Chronicle

WHEATON – Whenever St. Charles East's Kyle Cook has a good day on the greens, he often repeats something his coaches always say; "It's a good day for golf."

He wasn't alone; it was a good day him and three other local golfers as they shot through Cantigny Golf Club, hoping to qualify for the IJGA Chick Evans Junior Amateur Championship.

Batavia's Tim Schofield led the pack with a 12th-place, 3-over-par finish of 75. The senior said it was a good return-to-form performance for him as he learns to balance playing baseball and golf.

"It's pretty hard to get your mindset to change from baseball to golf," he said. "But now I'm finding my groove, getting my swing back."

Cook's final score was only two shots higher than Schofield's, but because of a competitive field, he placed 26th with 77.

Not that he was complaining.

"My irons were just going dead straight today," he said, "and my putter definitely saved me on the front end."

Cook's only bad hole came after his ball landed in bunker on the 14th hole. He penciled in a quadruple-bogey on the hole. Still, the finish was big for him, not only because it had been two weeks since he played, but some of his summer hang-ups were starting to work themselves out.

"The putter started working for me," he said, "I've been struggling with that all summer."

Also qualifying for the tournament was the pair of Geneva graduates – Jeff Paustian and Cole Oosthuizen. Paustian teed off early and his tiredness cost him a few double-bogeys on the front nine. But his game got better as the morning progressed.

"I was a little shaky," he said. "I was nervous after shooting 43 in the front but then I got 1-under par in the back."

Paustian finished 30th with a 78. Oosthuizen shot one stroke higher to place 35th, and like Paustian, he said his performance as good, not great. Oosthuizen said getting a double-bogey on his last hole didn't help.

"We've been struggling a bit lately," he said. "I've just been trying to get my confidence back."

His qualification helped, especially since missing the cut for this summer's Illinois State Junior Amateur Championship. He said he just needs to work on helping his game come back.

"I'm going to hit the range hard this week," he said.

Foster hosts Health Care roundtable

Published: July 2, 2009
Northern Public Radio

US Congressman Bill Foster held a round table discussion about health care. He said it's an issue that constituents often ask him about.

Click blog title for audio

Vietnam veterans visit set of "Miss Saigon"

Published: June 26, 2009
Northern Public Radio

This weekend, a group of teens from across DeKalb, Kane and Kendall county will perform “Miss Saigon.” The popular musical is a love story between an American G-I and a Vietnamese woman during the Vietnam War. To get a better understanding of the show's historical context, two Vietnam veterans shared their experience with the cast.

Click blog title for audio

Trio shares goal

Published: June 23, 2009
DeKalb Daily Chronicle

BARRINGTON – Trace Royer, Timmy Johnson and Andrew Morreale each came into the IJGA's 40th State Junior Amateur Championship with one goal – to qualify to Day 3, a feat all three narrowly missed last year.

But first, the trio had to endure the hot temperatures and stiff competition from the Slovitt Cup's first day of competition at the Makray Memorial Golf Club, a comparably tougher course than their usual haunt, the Kishwaukee Country Club.

"The greens are the toughest any of us will see all year," Johnson said after finishing the day shooting 80. "You can't just have to attack the pin here. ... You have to think about where you want to be on the fairway."

The Marmion senior struggled a bit with his putting but kept a positive spin on his day's score.

"At least I didn't hit any double [bogeys]," he said.

Earlier in the day, Royer had similar trouble. Although he fared better than Johnson, scoring 78, he said he felt good at the start of every hole but had trouble following through at the end.

"My long game was not that bad," he said. "I was hitting it pretty far ... but I could not putt today."

Luckily, things never got worse than a bogey for Royer as he adjusted to Makray's steeper course.

Morreale finished one stroke behind Johnson at 81, and like he his friends, he said he trouble getting his putting in order, particularly on the ninth hole, where he shot the trio's only double bogey.

"After that hole, my confidence started going down a bit," he said.

But like Royer, he said that he expects a better performance in the second round, now he's gotten to know the course.

"A win is probably out of the question," Johnson said, especially after the tournament's leader, Burr Ridge's Michael Sullivan tied the Makray's record with a 4-under-par 67. "But I hope to get one of us on Day 3."

Royer has a shot at being that one. He is in a nine-way tie for 50th place. The top 50 players after 36 holes advance to Day 3.

Royer said a Day 3 placement would be a fitting cap to his junior golf career.

"I'm just doing it for fun," Royer said, "but it's still kind of competitive. That's just how I am."

Heat gets the best of golfers on 1st day

Published: June 23, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

BARRINGTON – Jeff Paustian’s first-day finish at the Illinois Junior Amateur Championship tournament was nothing to slouch about.

The Geneva graduate goes into today’s round in a five-way tie at 45th after shooting a 6-above par 77. Still, it wasn’t exactly the kind of finish he was hoping for.

“The last two years I shot a 76 on the first day,” he said, “so it’s a bit disappointing, but I’m certainly not out of it at 77.”

Paustian said the 90-degree heat tired him out earlier than he expected, causing him to bogey on three straight holes on the back nine. But he came around in the last three holes, bringing his score down with a birdie on two of his last three holes.

Paustian hoped he could carry over his later success and turn his score around in round two.

“This tournament is the best of the year,” he said of the Illinois Junior Golf Association event. “It’s it the most fun [and] the most challenging.”

For St. Charles’ Mitch Stuetelberg, his biggest challenge came from Mother Nature.

“As a golfer you usually don’t like the breeze,” he said after his round of 80. “But in this heat?”

Stuetelberg and fellow St. Charles golfer Keegan O’Rahilly agreed the tournament field and the Makray Memorial Golf Club course they played on weren’t pushovers either.

O’Rahilly finished in the early evening with a 79 thanks to a birdie on the 13th hole. Stuetelberg had two birdies, but three double bogeys to inflate his score.

“The greens seemed pretty slow uphill and quick downhill,” he said. “Even more than you’d think. It made putting really difficult.”

Geneva’s Andrew Cisco finished with an 81. All four Tri-Cities golfers will compete today for a top 50 spot overall in hopes of qualifying for the tournament’s final day on Thursday.

Stuetelberg said he had his ambitions set.

“I just want to get in the top 10,” he said. “I set my goals pretty high.”

Whether or not he achieves that goal, he shared some of Paustian’s sentiment on the tournament in general.

“It’s a fun tournament … because you’re playing some of the best golfers in the state,” he said.

Fujimoto hopes to take a step back and have fun

Published: June 16, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

For all of Kayla Fujimoto’s accomplishments on the tennis court last season, including a 33-3 high school season and a 5-8 seed at state, one thing was missing from her game.

“I was putting a lot of pressure on myself,” she said. “I think I had to take a step back and remind myself that I love [tennis] and have some fun with it.”

So this summer, with seven United States Tennis Association tournaments planned, the rising Geneva senior says her biggest priority is just to have fun.

And it seems to be showing, according to her coach at Score Tennis and Fitness Club, Barry King.

“For the last two or three months, a lot of players have commented that Kayla is more fun to be around.” he said. “She’s enjoying it more.”

But having fun isn’t just designed to maintain sanity; it’s a key factor in fully utilizing and improving on Fujimoto’s tennis talents.

“I have all my shots,” Fujimoto said. “I just need to execute them. I think I’m in a good place right now. I just need to put it all together.”

“There’s a lot of mental involved with tennis,” King said. “The harder you try, the worse you do sometimes ... As funny as this is going to sound, the more she can enjoy it, the better she’ll be.”

Fujimoto will get her first dose of fun in a USTA Midwest Section District Team Cup this weekend in Indiana, where Fujimoto will play on a team of other Northern Illinois district singles players.

While traveling around the country for USTA events might sound more glamorous than the high school season, Fujimoto said travel tennis and the high school season are not that different.

“You know, a match is a match,” she said, “and a win is a win.”

The busy summer schedule is nothing new for Fujimoto, a Vikings standout since her freshman season.

“That’s what its been like for I don’t know how long,” she said.

But this year, Fujimoto gets something she hasn’t had for years – an actual vacation to Georgia.

“Tournaments have been like vacations,” she said, “because you travel ... but it’ll be nice to just relax and not have to worry about tennis.”

King says the vacation should do Fujimoto some good.

“Most younger players, they just play, play, play,” King said. “It’s tough. So when they make plans, when they can do do something fun, then they know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and I think that helps a lot.”

Fujimoto has also been getting looks from various colleges.

“I’ve talked to a number of coaches already,” King said, “from a couple of Big Ten schools and a Big East school ... I think she’s going to develop and improve even more in college... She’ll be an excellent addition to any team.”

Fujimoto says it’s too early to decide on college just yet. For now, she’s keeping an open mind.

“I’m not looking ahead too far,” she said. “My options are pretty open. I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”

Mistake costly for Geneva's Paustian

Published: June 15, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

BARTLETT – One double bogey was all it took to keep Geneva’s Jeff Paustian from taking home a plaque at the senior boys division of an Illinois Junior Golf Association Regional Tournament.

The recent Geneva graduate ended the day at Bartlett Hills on Monday in a three-way tie for third place with Sam Schmalz of Hampshire and Schaumburg’s Kenny Wienckowski, each shooting 74.

First place went to Barrington’s Brad Beutler with a 1-over par 72, while Stefan Grochowski of Naperville went home with runner-up honors at 73.

Paustian came out strong early in his round, taking the course’s back nine first and earning three birdies. But things started to get a little hairy on No. 8 – his 17th hole of the day.

“I started to get pretty tired,” he said, “and I just made a stupid move and bad shot.”

The mistake cost him a double bogey, but he said he’s trying to not let the bad hole get him down.

“I realized that I just have to stay positive all the way through,” he said.

It’s a lesson he says he can take to Augustana College, where he’ll be attending and playing golf in the fall.

“Because I graduated high school,” he said, “these tournaments are kind of like a glory run for me before college.”

Four St. Charles players also competed in the division, with Jonathan Woods topping them at 80, a score that tied him for 13th place with Lombard’s Jacob Waas.

For Woods, a particularly unforgiving 12th hole sealed his fate, as he scored a quadruple bogey on the par-4 hole.

“That 12th hole killed me,” he said. “It’s so tight and you just have to hit the fairway.”

Still, he felt like he had an overall “decent day,” saying that summer was the time to build upon his skills and start taking steps in the right direction.

“When you play in summer,” he said, “it’s so laid back. All you can do is be aggressive out there and just have fun.”

St. Charles’ Nick Maze finished with an 81, good for a three-way tie for 15th, while Cameron Verisario shot 83 and Keegan O’Rahilly shot 85.

“It was good to get the competitive experience,” Verisario said of the summer tournament. “You try harder.”

The Northern Illinois Food Bank and their rising demand

Published: June 10, 2009
Northern Public Radio

As the recession continues, many charity organizations have seen a big increase in the number of people they serve. The Northern Illinois Food Bank is no exception. I spent time at one of their mobile food pantries to find out how they are weathering the troubled time.

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Giannoulias introduced Bank On Rockford

Published: June 4, 2009
Northern Public Radio

Intro: Yesterday, Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias visited Rockford to discuss a program that could help thousands of people open up bank accounts for the first time.

Click title for audio

East softball falls behind early, can't catch up

Published: May 30, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

Photo by Wendy Kemp

ST. CHARLES – St. Charles East started its softball season with a 1-0 win against Glenbard North, but Glenbard North made sure it had the last word.

Glenbard North (25-8) scored three runs off of Saints starting pitcher Gaby Moe in the second inning, setting the tone in a 4-1 win on Saturday in the IHSA Class 4A St. Charles East Regional championship game.

The Panthers’ Jenny Nelson smacked a triple to deep left-center and was brought home by Laura Scott's RBI-single. Another single and a sacrifice bunt later, No. 8 batter Amanda Cygan belted in two more runs on an RBI single. Saints coach Kelly Barnett then took Moe off the mound and put in Katie Stengler to finish the game.

"Even our all-area pitcher can have on off day," East coach Kelly Barnett said. "It makes it a tougher climb, but our kids have been coming back all year."

Stengler kept the Panthers under control the rest of the game but Glenbard North’s ace pitcher Hannah Santora did the same against East the entire game, allowing only three hits and striking out five.

The Saints (24-10-1) waited until the fifth inning to break Glenbard North's shutout. Junior Jenny Niemiec led off with an uncharacteristic walk from Santora. She then advanced to second off Steph Roan's sacrifice bunt.

With two outs, Kayla Brooks provided what the Saints had been looking for all game – a double to the fence in left field that sent Niemiec home for the Saints’ only run.

"[Santora] was a really good pitcher," Niemiec said. "I thought I had her speed down ... but I ended up hitting a lot of foul balls."

The Panthers padded their lead to 4-1 in the seventh inning thanks to catcher Bri DiGioia's RBI double to center field.

The Saints made another effort to score in the bottom of the seventh after Rachael Edwards singled to right field. With one out, Brooks went to bat again and hit a grounder down the third-base line.

Glenbard North's third baseman, Alyssa Jasinski, ably stopped the ball and threw Brooks out at first, but then the Panthers went for the double play, looking to beat Edwards on her way to second.

The throw to second went astray, and Edwards made a dash for third, but was thrown out.

Despite the disappointment on Saturday, Niemiec looked back fondly on a season in which the Saints exceeded expectations in Barnett’s first year as head coach.

"This year was the best I've ever played," she said. "It's been memorable... We're all really close."

But for senior shortstop Rebecca Reinbold, her final game was a painful one.

"It [stinks] to go out like that," she said, "but [the team] will be back next year and they'll be great."

North duo lands just short of final day at state tennis tournament

Published: May 29, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

ROLLING MEADOWS – John Mittvick and David Johnson almost went the distance at the IHSA State Boys Tennis Tournament.

As it stands, they succeeded in going further in the state tournament than anyone in St. Charles North boys tennis history.

The doubles team followed followed up their strong performance in the tournament's first day with an arguably even stronger one on Friday, making it all the way to the seventh consolation round against a pair from defending state champion Hinsdale Central.

"There's no easy pickings on Friday," North coach Tim Matacio said. "If you're playing today, you are good. We're talking top 40 players."

It could have ended early as Mittvick and Johnson faced their first opponents, Charlie Clausner and Anand Puthanpurayil of Chatham Glenwood. Mittvick said he had to fight off fatigue throughout the match.

"It was kind of a slow start," he said. "I hate morning matches. But once we get started, it works out."

Mittvick and Johnson regained their footing to win the match 6-4. 7-5. They maintained that energy to get an early lead in both sets of their next match against David Martin and Cameron McClelland of Barrington, beating them 6-3, 6-4.

But it was their third win of the day against Alexander Gebert and Jacob Wilson of Oak Park-River Forest, a duo seeded in the 5-8 category, that provided North with the day's biggest accomplishment.

Mittvick and Johnson were brimming with confidence as they walked off the court from a 7-5, 6-3 victory.

"That was their highlight," Matacio said, "They were seeded 17-32, and they're in the top 16."

Unfortunately, the wait between the win and their fourth and final match of the day against Paul Cooper and Josh Sink of Hinsdale Central was a long one – almost two hours. That wait ended up hurting in their 6-4, 6-4 loss.

"They kind of built themselves up with that last win," Matacio said, "but it's hard to get the engine back running like that."

Johnson said that even though he and Mittvick had their school's best showing in state boys tennis, it would have been nice to come back for the final day on Saturday.

"We really wanted that last win," he said. "We were rolling, but they were just better."

In singles play, Batavia's Josh Cogan capped off his freshman season with two more back-draw wins before getting knocked out by Stevenson's Etham Frenkel. Cogan's senior opponent routed him in the first set, 6-3, but Cogan pulled ahead in the second set 5-4, using his deep-ball strategy that helped him conquer Kenta Shimizu of Fremd just prior, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-2.

"I tried to make the points longer and hit the ball deep," he said after his match with Shimizu. "It helps to spoil the momentum after a serve."

But the more experienced Frenkel came out strong against Cogan, to win the match 6-3, 7-5.

"You could tell he was really motivated to win," Batavia coach Bob Kummer said. "It was one of those, 'You had to be there to see it' moments."

Cogan said he had plenty of motivation for next year after his 34-3 high school debut, breaking his school's record for most wins in a season and longest winning streak (32).

"He just kept going and getting better and working hard," Kummer said. "And that's what you want to see ... He was getting better even at state."

"It was really fun," Cogan said. "I was able to win a lot of really good matches."

Cogan enjoys early success

Published: May 28, 2009
Kane County Chronicle

Photo by Jeff Krage

BUFFALO GROVE – Batavia freshman tennis player Josh Cogan treated the first day of the IHSA state tournament Thursday in much the way he has every match since dropping his season opener – a chance to keep racking up wins.

The freshman singles player, Batavia's only state qualifier, made the most out of the cool conditions, winning his first two matches against Tommy Nelson of Crystal Lake Central, 6-1, 6-2, and Max McLean of Belleville West, 6-2, 6-1.

In his second match, Cogan was able to maintain his early lead over McLean by hanging back and waiting for a moment to strike.

"I was up 3-0 in both sets," he said, "and he started to hit lobs instead of hitting it out. So I had to wait for short balls."

"He is a patient player," Batavia coach Bob Kummer said of Cogan. "He works the point really well."

But Cogan finally met his match in his third-round clash against New Trier's Andrew Scholnick, a sophomore seeded No. 8.

"I've known him for a long time [from United State Tennis Association], and he's really, really good," Cogan said.

Still, Cogan was able to keep a pace with Scholnick, ultimately losing the match, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

"It was intense," Kummer said. "The first set, [Scholnick] came out really strong and earned some key points. Josh responded well and controlled the second set. And in the third, [Scholnick] just got hot."

"Josh didn't lose it," Kummer added. "[Scholnick] won it by playing really well."

Cogan seemed to let the loss, only his second of the year and first since his season opener, slide off his back.

"I felt really good about how I played," he said. "I'm kind of floating on a cloud. ... There might be pressure to perform when I'm a senior, but not as a freshman. I'm having the time of my life."

Meanwhile, St. Charles North's six qualifying players earned their school 10 points on the team scoreboard.

"It's great for our program," North coach Tim Matacio said. "Everyone scored, which is what they had to do. ... Last year we had one point, and this year we've scored 10 in one day. It puts us in a position to be a state contender. And that's what we want to be – a program that consistently performs at state."

Seeded doubles team John Mittvick and David Johnson scored the most for North, winning two of their main-draw matches in straight sets. But then they faced opposition similar to Cogan's.

Their third-round match against the No. 2 seed pair from Stevenson made their previous two wins that day feel like a cakewalk by comparison.

As Johnson left the court after the 6-2, 6-2 loss, he joked about the powerful serves from Stevenson's Ross Putterman and David Packowitz.

"I thought I was going to die," he said. "[The ball] came toward my chest and I was barely able to block it."

"They're really good," Mittvick added. "And they're kind of like us, but better. I mean, one of them is really consistent, like David, and the other hits it hard."

Out of the the six North players, Mittvick and Johnson were the only ones to survive for Day 2 of the three-day tournament. Teammates Dan Oakes and Nikhil Mehta won their first-round match, 6-0, 6-0, against a pair from Ottawa Township, but then found themselves against Stevenson's other seeded doubles pair, Nick Stephan and Alex Tunner.

"We weren't really out of it," Mehta said of their 6-3, 6-2 loss. "They just overpowered us."

The two then dropprf their consolation match against Jim Deroche and Doug Nordli of Barrington, 6-3, 6-4.

Both of North's singles players were knocked out of competition as well, but not without some success first. Senior Felix Nitzsche took out his first opponent, Rafael Ramalho of DeKalb, 6-3, 6-1.

He then struggled against Fremd's Kenta Shimizu, losing, 6-0, 6-1. Nitzsche was able to advance in the consolation round, knocking out Pekin's Jeremy Milam, 6-2, 6-3.

His second back-draw meet found him in front a familiar foe – Yuto Tsukida of Streamwood, who beat Nitzsche in the Upstate Eight Conference tournament in straight sets. Nitzsche was able to win his first set, 6-4, but came up on the losing end of several close games in the following sets, losing 6-1, 6-3.

"[State competition] is different," Nitzsche said, "because you can see everyone can play and every match is intense."

His fellow singles player Christian Hoskey lost his first-round match, 6-1, 6-0, won his consolation match against Blake Hollenbeck of Belleville West, 6-0, 7-5, and then dropped his third match of the day against Sam Winkler of Lake Forest, 6-1, 6-2.

"I'm happy that I got the win," Hoskey said. "We needed that."

Marmion's sole doubles team was knocked out. Josh Mason and Austin McWethy dropped their first match against Raghav Sani and Ben Main of Freeport, 6-2, 6-3.

They won the first set of their first-round consolation match with a 7-1 tiebreaker, but opponents Tom Rapp and Josh Lange of Triad came back to win the next two sets, 6-4, 6-4.