Illinois State News

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CHICAGO (AP) — The University of Chicago and the University of Illinois have announced a partnership that will bring faculty, researchers and students together to work on innovation.

 

The partnership will be part of the Illinois Innovation Network — a group of high-tech research and academic institutions, startups and innovation-driven enterprises. The network seeks to develop and commercialize groundbreaking technology in cancer research, the production of clean water and other fields.

Students and faculty from Illinois’ Champaign campus will work with University of Chicago students at the school’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation on the city’s South Side.

Polsky Center head John Flavin says ground will be broken on the complex in the first half of 2018, and will be fully functional by 2020.

 

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois teachers who buy classroom supplies with their own money may now receive a state tax credit of up to $250.

The new credit is in addition to a $250 federal deduction. It’s available for public school principals, aides and teachers who work at least 900 hours in a school year.

State Sen. Tom Cullerton is encouraging teachers to take advantage of the credit, which is available for the first time this year.

He says more than 90 percent of teachers nationwide use their own money to buy supplies and instructional materials.

Cullerton says the credit “will help lessen the burden for teachers who work endlessly to ensure our children receive the best education possible.”

 

CHICAGO (AP) — University of Chicago graduate students, who both teach and do research in earning advanced degrees, have voted to unionize.

The National Labor Relations Board reports in balloting that took place Tuesday and Wednesday there were 1,103 votes for the union and 479 against. There were 149 challenged ballots.

Graduate Students United, which is affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the American Association of University Professors, is to represent the students.

Daniela Palmer is pursuing her doctorate in evolutionary biology. She says the research and teaching graduate students do is essential to the functioning of the university and students recognize that.

Spokeswoman Marielle Sainvilus says the university also recognizes the importance of its graduate students. However, the school has concerns over what impact their unionization would have on its mission.