State money to NIU could provide closure

By Kevin Lee 217-528-9604

SPRINGFIELD — Two years ago, the community at Northern Illinois University suffered from a school shooting that claimed five students’ lives.

On Thursday, the university moved a step closer towards bringing some sort of closure to the “senseless” act, according to Governor Pat Quinn.

NIU will receive $8 million from the state to redo Cole Hall, the site of the deadly February 2008 shooting.

Cole Hall has been closed since the tragedy, which has made day-to-day operations in NIU more difficult, according to university president John Peters.

Cole Hall had two large lecture halls used for housing larger classes. Without them, NIU has struggled to keep up with larger classes.

Northern Illinois University will redo one of its larger lecture buildings thanks to some help from the state.

The state will provide $8 million to go towards renovating Cole Hall, the site of a deadly school shooting which killed five students in February 2008.

Cole Hall has been closed since then, which has made day-to-day operations on campus more difficult, says NIU President John Peters.

The nearby Stevens Building will also receive $2.3 million in state funding as part of a $20 million renovation.

Peters says a 400-seat lecture hall will be added to the Stevens Building to help ease the lack of classrooms.

NIU has not set a schedule for renovations to begin.