On campus: Student body prepares for upcoming election
Illinois Student Council presidential and vice presidential candidates, as well as student trustee candidates, geared up for the upcoming student elections that will occur from Tuesday to Thursday.
Last Tuesday, presidential candidates and their vice presidents met for a forum in the Illini Union, where they answered questions from the Campus Student Election Commission. On Wednesday, Student Trustee candidates Ariana Mizan and Dylan Sarsany met for a forum to discuss their priorities for campus policy.
On Thursday, UI7 Newsroom hosted a debate where candidates Patrick Holt, Alex Belanger and Gabi DalSanto shared their policy platform and presidential aspirations.
Separately, referenda questions were due Wednesday afternoon. There will be two divestment referenda on the student ballot this year, one gauging student support for divestment from companies involved in human rights abuses and another doing the same for divestment from fossil fuel companies.
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On campus: Killeen addresses Pritzker budget proposal
UI System President Tim Killeen declared on Wednesday that he was “deeply grateful” to Gov. JB Pritzker for the effects the 2026 state budget proposal would have on the University budget.
The state budget proposal, which details estimated revenue and spending for the fiscal year, will increase state-appropriated general operating funds for the UI System by 2.7%. The UI System would increase its funding from the state government to $730.1 million.
“This is an indicator of his continued confidence in public higher education to provide educational excellence, groundbreaking research and sustainable economic development for our state,” Killeen said in a Massmail sent to University faculty.
Outside of increasing operating funds, the budget proposal will also increase funding for the Monetary Award Program Grant by $10 million. The MAP grant, a state-funded, need-based grant, will now have $721.6 million available.
In the US: Pritzker warns of ‘authoritarianism’ in State of the State
Pritzker delivered his State of the State address on Wednesday, in which he attacked President Donald Trump, labeling his recent actions as “authoritarianism.” He likened the patterns he sees at the moment to the rise of the Nazi party in 20th-century Germany.
“The seed that grew into a dictatorship in Europe a lifetime ago didn’t arrive overnight,” Pritzker said. “The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here: They point to a group of people who don’t look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems.”
Pritzker also challenged Trump over his federal policies toward reducing spending, labeling the federal government’s actions as “haphazard.”
Since Trump’s inauguration, Pritzker has gained national attention as one of the most outspoken and critical Democrats in the party.
In the US: Musk, DOGE continue curtailing federal government
Saturday morning, Elon Musk ordered federal employees to detail their work over the previous week — or face dismissal. Musk made the order on X, and afterward, government workers received an email from the Office of Personnel Management.
Trump has made cutting down federal spending a major point of his administration, and since his inauguration, he has largely given Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency the ability to enact changes as they see fit.
Worldwide: China angered by changes to State Department website
The Communist Party of China expressed discontent with the United States State Department after it removed a sentence from its website on Feb. 13 that stated the U.S. does not support Taiwan’s independence from China.
Speaking in a news conference on Monday, Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that not correcting its mistakes would risk “further serious damage” to the already precarious relationship between the U.S. and China.
“This is further evidence of the U.S. stubbornly adhering to the erroneous policy of using Taiwan to contain China,” Guo said. “We urge the U.S. to immediately correct its mistakes.”
In response, the U.S. said the change was a routine website update and maintained a commitment to the status quo. This status quo in recent years has been the One China policy, a diplomatic relationship that formally recognizes one Chinese government, and sees its relationship with Taiwan as “unofficial,” as stated by the State Department.
Worldwide: Russia and US meet, discuss future of Ukraine
U.S. and Russian officials met Tuesday to, among many things, begin negotiations toward ending the three-year war in Ukraine. No Ukrainian officials were present at the meeting, a fact that raised concerns from European allies and angered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy stated he would not accept the outcomes of these negotiations, and postponed a trip to Saudi Arabia, where the talks took place, to avoid giving them legitimacy.
At a press conference Tuesday night, Trump responded to Zelenskyy’s comments, saying “You’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it … You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.”
Trump and Zelenskyy have continued to argue since, with Trump calling Zelenskyy a “dictator” and Zelenskyy saying Trump lives in a “disinformation space.”
