If I could see the new council accomplish one thing, it would be for the city to take more advantage of the fact that it does have a top flight institution in its backyard. Instead of reaching out to the university, the city has a habit of hiring outside consultants with the expertise that could be found in various departments on campus.
This parallels the way SIUC hires lawyers from Union-busting forms each time contracts are up for renegotiation. On my arrival here, the then-Chair told me Carbondale really hates SIUC since it is so economically dependent on it, more so now. Resentment has existed for decades.
ReplyDeleteYears ago, the owner of a now -closed business told me they wished the students would go away and just leave their money.
ReplyDeletePeople have talked about this for decades and i've never really understood the confusion. Most city employees are controlled by labor unions. The state of Illinois and thus SIUC is definitely controlled by labor unions. Neither entity will ever go after cheap or free student labor as it would weaken the union strong hold. If either entity actually wanted cheaper and more productive resources they would kill the unions - bu they both know in the end that unions in Illinois are untouchable.
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