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State, SIUC officials tout capital bill

BY Scott Fitzgerald, The Southern

Tuesday, October 30, 2007 10:38 PM CDT

CARBONDALE - Illinois state officials joined with Southern Illinois University Carbondale officials Tuesday to tout a capital improvement plan titled "Illinois Works" that would provide money for big building initiatives at SIUC.

The bill provides funding also for money promised in 2002 for three area school districts - Du Quoin, Benton and Johnston City - to aid in their construction plans. There's also money for other infrastructure needs in Southern Illinois such as $25,000 to improve Harrisburg's water system and $4.5 million for life safety and renovation work at Choate Mental Health Center in Anna.

"We need that bill passed. We owe this to the people of Illinois. We owe it to the faculty and we certainly owe it to the students," said Paul Sarvela, dean of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts at SIUC.

The bill would provide $43.8 million for a new Transportation Education Center at SIUC.

Plans call for consolidating Automotive Technology, now located in an aging building in Carterville, and the current Aviation Management programs at the Southern Illinois Airport in a new 271,800-square-foot center at the airport.

"The Transportation Education Center will be an economic boost, as it will provide between 250 and 300 construction jobs. And it will be a high-profile beacon for regional economic development," said SIUC Chancellor Fernando Trevino.

The current auto center in Carterville is housed in a building that is nearly 70 years old. Because of its limited space, Sarvela said, up to 60 students who were qualified to enter the program had to be turned away this fall.

Other money designated for SIUC includes $21.8 million to complete the Morris Library expansion, and $2.4 million for remodeling repair work at other SIUC locations. Another $10 million has been designated for a School of Medicine patient safety center in Springfield that would provide training for medical students on procedures s used in emergency rooms and intensive care units, SIU President Glenn Poshard said.

The bill passed the state Senate in mid-September and has currently stalled in the House, Poshard said.

"I remain optimistic a consensus is available," said Poshard, who along with other bill supporters will continue lobbying efforts over the next several weeks.

Other people who spoke at the rally were Jan Grimes, capital board executive director; Lucy Sloan, vice chair of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and SIUC student Jennifer Arteaga, a junior in the SIUC automotive technology program.

scott.fitzgerald@thesouthern.com

351-5076