University officials and local labor and business leaders held a news conference to garner support for a capital budget plan in the lobby of Lincoln Hall on Tuesday afternoon. Deputy Gov. Louanner Peters attended the conference in place of Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

“It is time to put differences aside and come together to pass a capital bill that would create thousands of jobs, make our infrastructure more sound and safe, and support businesses and commerce in our state,” Peters said.

Peters joined Chancellor Richard Herman, University President B. Joseph White, President of the Illinois AFL-CIO Mike Carrigan and Chip Hull, a representative from Laborers’ Local 703, in urging audience members to support the plan and to encourage the Illinois House of Representatives to approve a $25.4 billion capital budget plan called Illinois Works.

Illinois Works was unanimously passed in the Illinois Senate, according to a press release from the governor’s office. Peters said that it has been eight years since a capital bill was passed.

If the House passes the bill, proposed casinos will contribute 70 percent of their revenue to fund the bill’s projects.

The plan includes funding for local projects in the Champaign area, as well as $55 million for Lincoln Hall renovations and additional funding for new buildings on the University campus.

New buildings would include the Post Harvest Crop Processing Lab, the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building and the proposed building to house IBM’s Blue Waters, the most powerful supercomputer. The budget will also appropriate funding for renovations and a new facility at the University’s Chicago campus.

But Wayne Williams, senior in Business, said that he does not think the budget will pass because there is still bitterness between the House and the Senate over Blagojevich’s budget vetos.

Williams was also concerned about how the state would fund the capital bill. Since the plan draws money from casino revenue and Danville, Ill., is a potential site for a casino, students could be drawn away from their education.

“I fear that students will be at the casino rather than in Lincoln Hall. I’m not against gambling or casinos, I’m all up for a casino in Chicago,” Williams said. “But I’m against students wasting their tuition.”

Herman emphasized the importance of passing the capital budget to fund renovation of Lincoln Hall.

“This building is the heart and core of this institution and represents the liberal arts education we offer the sons and daughters of Illinois,” Herman said. “It represents the president who created the land grant system … And unfortunately, it represents the lack of funding available for maintaining the world-class facilities President Lincoln envisioned students deserved.”