Don’t Miss This: SIU tuition going up, MadCo board questions Prenzler

The Southern Illinois University board of trustees voted Thursday to raise tuition for students on the Carbondale campus by 3 percent starting next year. University fees will stay the same, but room and board costs also are rising.

Madison County Board members brought Treasurer Kurt Prenzler before a closed meeting Wednesday night to question him about an appeal he’s made to a discrimination lawsuit filed by former county comptroller Linda Dunnagan. Dunnagan claims Prenzler pressured her to quit after she suffered a serious illness. Dunnagan refused.

During a visit to Caseyville Thursday, Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin addressed the terror attack in Belgium, Belgian and European security concerns and President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Cuba. Durbin also swiped at Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, saying the Texas senator is not “in touch with reality.” The purpose of his visit was to push for expansion of substance abuse treatment options in Illinois.

Census figures show the population of the metro-east has decreased. Data showed births have outnumbered deaths here since 2010, but 19,000 people have moved out of the region over that same time.

A six-week sweep of fugitives across the country by the U.S. Marshals Service led to 70 arrests in the southern Illinois district. Nationwide, around 8,000 fugitives were arrested, along with hundreds of guns and lots of drugs.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Don’t Miss This: SIU tuition going up, MadCo board questions Prenzler."