siuDE.com

If it's not broken, don't fix it. Or so the old adage goes.

Consider this our message to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is urging the Illinois legislature to push through a $40 million plan to tear down Cole Hall, the site of Northern Illinois University's shootings, and build a new and significantly larger replacement.

The funds to raze Cole Hall and rebuild would normally come from the state Capital Construction Bill - part of a plan that has been in limbo for the last six years. The bill is where such university projects would land.

The governor, however, has bypassed this system and created a separate proposal, similar to the $25 million CTA bailout in November. At the time, he exercised executive power to funnel taxpayers' money into the mismanaged system.

This time, it's up to the legislature.

The state's tight budget has subsequently triggered tuition hikes and fee increases for higher education institutions across the state, with SIUC as no exception. The Board of Trustees just met last week to discuss increasing the university's price tag. The College of Business and Administration might actually raise its tuition more than $1,000 for future students.

It would be callous to say, "Hey, while you're throwing money around, why don't you throw some our way." We were not victims of a shooting spree. The air of innocence and safety remains mostly unblemished on our campus. And we, like most, fully support endeavors to create a worthy memorial.

We can see how it's easy to contend that no price could be too high to help restore what the NIU community has lost.

Unfortunately, a knee-jerk plan centered on spending $40 million lawmakers have essentially told every other state university and agency is just not available is not the answer. It's irresponsible and unnecessary. The state can hardly pay its bills as is, thanks in part to former Gov. George Ryan's shady tenure.

Virginia Tech still uses Norris Hall, the main site of its shooting that claimed 33 lives last year. They converted the second floor into a center for peace studies and violence prevention. An intermediate memorial, a half-circle of stones with the victims' names, has been constructed in the campus quad.

Blagojevich seems to have the right intentions with this plan, but then again, who wouldn't? There is simply a degree of duty that our state can't afford our governor to lose sight of.

We can only hope our state legislature doesn't either.

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