But first, we would like to profusely and repeatedly thank the following people for helping to create this successful event. So, THANK YOU to:

Everyone who attended the hearings

... for coming out on a blustery, bone-chilling day to express their interest in vital issues of higher education. We especially thank our supporters, neighbors, colleagues, and friends, who, by their presence, showed that concern about higher education runs deep among Illinois citizens.

Senators Cronin, Dillard, and Roskam

for making time in their schedule and for coordinating this event, for their undivided attention during witness testimony, and for their willingness to look into an issue that deeply concerns many constituents.

President Michael Murphy and College of DuPage

for providing a venue for this important event, and for the insightful opening remarks.

( Full-time ) Faculty Senate

for their staunch, unwavering support of their part-time colleagues.

Faculty Senate President Chuck Boone

for his continued support, assistance and eloquent testimony.

Donna Manering, Tom Surhbur, and all at IEA / NEA

for their constant support throughout our struggle

Speakers and Witnesses:

President Murphy, Donna Manering, Barbara Dayton, Oleh Sydor, Chuck Boone, Vicki Root, Larry Price, Tom Suhrbur, Katherine Shannon of IFT, Bob Tarsitano, and Mike Monaghan - for the time and effort preparing and delivering their testimony, and for the impassioned and eloquent oratory that visibly moved all who were present.

Remember, this is not over ! We need to maintain the momentum by calling / writing our local senators, senators on the Rules and Education Committees. We need to contact as many of our friends and neighbors as we can and urge them to do likewise.

Senator Cronin mentioned that HB 1720 will be appearing in the Spring session of the Senate ( January - May ), so continued interest from the voters, is imperative to pass this important bill.

The testimony was followed by a brief question-and-answer period. Diane Rzeszewski of CODAA mentioned that faculty compensation may total up to 75% of an institution's expenditures. Several of the senators seemed concerned about the cost to the state of a major pay raise for large groups of adjuncts.

Upon hearing this, Joe Berry of COCAL-Chicago responded that raising pay for adjuncts, as well as promoting adjuncts to full-time status, actually provides for more efficiency in expenditures. He also emphasized that there are many hidden costs incurred in keeping a large contingent of adjuncts at low pay, which administrators generally do not discuss publicly.

Larry Price also brought up an important point: adjuncts are the backbone of most colleges statewide, and thus, schools should not be subsidizing their financial health by paying us deplorably low wages.

If schools are financially solvent enough to invest in multi-million dollar building schemes and massive purchases of technology, they should be able to find a way to pay us equitable wages.

We were a bit surprised that there was no strong testimony opposing HB 1720. We hope that this bodes well for the future, although it may have other implications...The administrators of schools who rely on Harper to continue their adjunct labor practices, may have realized that publicly opposing the passage of HB 1720 is unpopular.

Instead, there may very well be movement behind the scenes, to ensure that the Harper ruling remains in place. We must be vigilant, and we must keep up momentum - maintain contact with our representatives in the Illinois Senate to make sure that HB 1720, is passed.

Upon conclusion of the hearings, many of the full-time and part-time faculty present, proceeded to Butterfield's Pancake House / Restaurant for the All-Faculty Social. After an exhilarating day of politics, it was nice to unwind with colleagues and munch on scrumptious appetizers. We hope we can do this again soon.

If you have not been keeping up with the hearings, and are wondering what all the fuss is about, here's an explanation.