The long anticipated College of Education building is still waiting for Illinois law maker’s approval. Without the proposed budget for the state of Illinois, it is uncertain if the building will have another opportunity to be built. It looks hopeful, but it is still uncertain. Originally the building was put in as part of the Illinois Works capital plan.
The Illinois Board of Higher Education proposed the plan for the building to Governor Rod Blagojevich. Until the governor releases his proposed budget, it is not known whether the building will be included in it. If the building is a part of the proposed budget, it will go to legislators for approval.
“We just have to wait to see what evolves. Hopefully, we can lobby and get this approved by the general assembly in the spring,” said Mark Wilcockson, Vice President of Finance and Administration. “We expect that our education building will be included [in the governor’s proposed budget] this year because it was included last year.”
“Last year in the legislative session, there were a lot of issues. There were issues with mass transit, gaming and capital that were all tied up in the general assembly last spring. Basically, those issues didn’t get resolved in the spring, so in the fall and into the winter they reconsidered mass transit and have just reached a conclusion. The issues with capital and how to fund the capital program are still out there; so it’s still an unresolved issue in Springfield,” said Wilcockson.
The proposed cost of the building is $66.4 million, and that includes construction and planning. $4.9 Million is set aside for planning. Once the funding is approved and the governor releases the money, it is estimated that it will be three years before the new building will open. There will be one year of planning and about two years of construction. “It shouldn’t be delayed. We don’t need to empty a building out; we are building a new building,” said Wilcockson. That has been a large issue with many of the renovation projects that are happening around campus.
For example, the theater building was part of the auditorium remodeling, but they could not shut down the auditorium and the theater at the same time. There were issues that came up that delayed the completion of the auditorium. Due to inflation, there is not enough money now to start on the renovations for the theater building. Because of that, the Illinois Capital Development Board is not releasing the money for the building renovations. More funds need to be obtained or a new plan needs to be created to utilize the funds available. Because this is new construction, there is no need for storage so it should happen quickly. Space limitations of storing items is the reason why only one construction project takes place on campus at a time.
The school is working with the firm Perkins and Will on a smaller pre-planning project in regards to the building. However, an official architect firm has not been chosen for the project. The official firm will be chosen when all the necessary approvals have been made.