The Illinois pension reform was one the topics of concern at the Staff Senate meeting on Tuesday.

Angie Campbell, the president of Staff Senate, said the state has skipped out on making pension payments for more than a decade and that has caused a debt surpassing $5 billion.

Pensions for Illinois employees are underfunded in five different systems: teacher, state, university, and judges and state employee retirement systems.

“The state skipped payments and they borrowed as well, but now they are saying they can’t pay the debt,” Campbell said.

So far the state has not taken any formal measures, she said.

A pension reform bill known as the SB 512 is being analyzed in Springfield as part of finding a solution.

The staff senate members also received an update on the payoff of the 2011 Fiscal Year.

According to William Weber, the vice president for business affairs, Eastern received payment for FY 2011 on Dec. 6, 2011.

Originally, the monetary installment was supposed to be received on June 30, 2011.

As far as fiscal year 2012 is concerned, Weber did not have any major updates.

Eastern has received $15 million in appropriation out of $46. 5 million.

Weber also said that the state owes the university $5 million worth of MAP Grant funds. Eastern is waiting on MAP Grant funds from the fall and spring semesters, he said.

Michelle Payne, director of general funds at Eastern, made a friendly challenge to staff senate members.

Payne encouraged staff senate members to increase their participation rate in a project called the faculty staff campaign.

The faculty staff campaign seeks to provide students with an affordable education by helping them financially with donations from faculty and staff according to their website.

In 2011, the staff senate had a participation of 54 percent; however, they were surpassed by the Faculty Senate and the Civil Service Council with approximately 60 percent participation in Faculty Senate and 84 percent participation in Civil Service Council.

In 2011 faculty staff participation increased from 20 to 35 percent.

The staff senate will be meeting again on Wednesday, Feb. 8 in the Martinsville Room.

Pablo Rodriguez can be reached at 581-2812 or jprodriguez@eiu.edu.