Aug 28, 2009 8:53 am US/Central
NIU To Remodel Building Where Massacre Happened
Originally, Cole Hall Was Going To Be Demolished
DE KALB, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Investigators look for evidence inside Cole Hall following a shooting on the Northern Illinois University campus Feb. 14, 2008, in De Kalb, Ill.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Northern Illinois University is going ahead with plans to remodel Cole Hall, the building where five students were shot to death when a gunman opened fire on a lecture last year.
The Kane County Chronicle reports that the State of Illinois will kick in about $8 million of the $9.5 million needed for the renovation.
The state funding will come by way of a statewide capital projects measure signed into law July 13 by Gov. Pat Quinn.
The rest will come from various university sources, possibly including the student technology fee, NIU executive vice president for Business and Finance and Chief of Operations Eddie Williams said.
The Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee unanimously voted to remodel the building, which has two large lecture halls that used to serve as learning space for more than 10,000 students annually.
Cole Hall has not been used since Feb. 14, 2008, when
former NIU graduate student Steven Kazmierczak walked into the East Auditorium of the building and opened fire, killing five and injuring another 21 before committing suicide.
"Our faculty have been just superb in working miracles in providing educational venues for students as a substitute," Williams said.
Approval of the project by the full board – which is scheduled to vote at its Sept. 17 meeting – will allow officials to select an architect and engineer so that the school can proceed once the state releases the funding, Williams said.
Immediately after the massacre,
University President John Peters wanted to have Cole Hall demolished and build a memorial in its place. He suggested building a new hall elsewhere on campus, a $40 million plan endorsed by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
But the idea proved so unpopular, Peters backed away and appointed a committee to discuss the building's fate.
Critics argued razing the site amounts to burying the past, along with the memory of the slain students. They wanted to honor the dead by continuing to use the building.
Kate Schott of the Kane County Chronicle, and the Associated Press, contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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