“It has been an interesting election year thus far,” Richard Wandling said, addressing students and members of the Eastern community in Lumpkin Hall Auditorium Wednesday night.

In a year where the Tea Party has emerged as a political power, unemployment has been dire and economic growth is beginning to appear as myth, political education professor Wandling argued that these issues and others will shape the election.

The EIU Chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois, in conjunction with the Coles County League of Women Voters, hosted the forum “The 2010 General Elections: What’s at stake?” to examine these implications.

Betty Dodson, of the Coles County League of Women Voters, focused on the future of the country’s social conscience as a repercussion of the election.

“Our values as a country are at stake, depending on the choices voters make at the booths Nov. 2,” Dodson said.

Dodson also wants voters to pay attention to issues that will reflect civil issues like the treatment of elders and the poor and to shift funding from local projects that satisfy the few to helping those in most need.

Jonathan Coit, history professor, tackled the issue of health care reform.

President Barack Obama signed the health care reform legislation, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, on March 23.

The State-based Health Insurance Exchange and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act will create state-based health insurance exchanges where individuals and small businesses can compare and purchase health insurance online at competitive prices, according to the Democratic Policy Committee.

States will be responsible for enforcing what goes on during these exchanges, Coit said. Additionally, the state will have the task of appealing to customers because in order for the exchanges to work, there has to been a large body of people generating them.

Customers will have the choice to be able to invest in the exchange insurance policy or pay the penalty. It will be up to the state to make sure this is not an issue.

Employers would also have to pay for employee insurance or pay the penalty for refusing to do so.

Dan Hickman, economics professor, addressed how economic growth will be affected in the face of escalating budget deficits.

“The issue is not only do we need another stimulus bill, but how spending cuts will have long-term effects on matters such as education,” Hickman said.

On a state level, there is a concern about what is going to be cut in order to balance the budget, Hickman said.

“We need to increase revenue programs, otherwise education may suffer,” he added.

Melinda Mueller, a political science professor, continued the discussion to the topic of education.

Legislatures signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965, which brought attention to performance and funding essential programs like special education.

In 2001, under the Bush administration, this legislation became known as No Child Left Behind. This year, NCLB is up for re-authorization, with several significant proposals made by the Obama administration.

The proposal being made would shift NCLB from minimum guidelines to the new approach of ensuring that students are prepared for college or a career after high school, Mueller said.

If the Democratic Party takes the house majority, these small changes may be made, Mueller said.

During the question and answer session, an audience member asked Hickman whether he believed the stimulus package helped avoid an economic catastrophe.

“I’m not sure we were heading for catastrophe,” Hickman said. “Without the stimulus package, even more jobs would have been lost. It’s easy to evaluate the stimulus package (based on the unemployment rate), but I’m not convinced it hasn’t worked.”

To Dodson, one of the most significant voter groups to affect this election is the students.

“I will not be around to suffer the consequences of this election, but you will,” she said.

Shelley Holmgren can be reached at 581-7942 or meholmgren@eiu.edu.