Chicago area riders seeking training...

[WoodstockJeff]

Northern Illinois University provides motorcycle training at several sites in the Chicago suburban area. One of the largest of those sites is at College of DuPage (COD) in Glen Ellyn. For background, the Illinois Cycle Rider Training Program contracts to NIU and 3 other universities to provide this training throughout the state. The sites are generally at community colleges or high schools, using donated facilities. These classes are free to Illinois residents, because they are paid for through funds collected on motorcycle license plate renewals.

This year, COD has decided that budgetary constraints require shutting down much of their facility during the summer, which is the primary training time. While they are keeping the building that houses the NIU Motorcycle Safety Program (building M) classes open, they are moving classes that would normally in other buildings to M, displacing the MSP classes. They have told NIU that, for $600/weekend, they will "make room" for classes... However, that fee would apply even for the months when building M would not be booked for other classes.

There is no way to legally pass this additional, unbudgeted cost on to students, and IDOT rules make getting permission to pay rent an iffy situation in any event. This means it is likely that some or all classes at COD (about 90 classes of 12 students each, total) will be canceled in 2009. Unless, of course, the COD Board of Trustees can be influenced to reverse their decision. There is a trustee meeting Thursday night. Contact information for the trustees can be found at http://www.cod.edu/adminstr/board.htm , and the main COD Website should have information on the meeting time and location.

Even though NIU does not provide training within Cook or Will Counties (that's UIUC's territory), this situation does affect riders there, too - the people who would fill those 900+ training slots are often from Chicago and the southern suburbs. There is no way that NIU or UIUC can replace all 90 classes on short notice, especially within the area of Glen Ellyn...

[TEvo]

It would appear COD is confirming the age old adage that...

"Money talks, bull$*^! walks".

[WoodstockJeff]

This is, unfortunately for us, quite true. I know of at least one site (a high school) we were hopeful of getting for training that was killed because a union stepped up and said their contract required certain staffing levels whenever the school was "open", and it would cost $1200 per class to pay for that. That's a major portion of what it costs to put on a class (wages+books+bikes), so it couldn't be worked out.

The community colleges, in general, have "excess facilities" on weekends, because they do offer classes 6 or 7 days a week anyway, so why not allow an affiliated university do the classes?

[WoodstockJeff]

Just to let everyone know, a solution to the problems at College of DuPage has been worked out so that the 90+ classes scheduled for there in the 2009 training season will go on as planned. Registration for them will open at 12:01am on Wednesday, March 25th, on the NIU Motorcycle Safety Program website, with the first classes scheduled for the weekend of April 3/4/5.

[TEvo]

Good news, indeed.

However, it sounded like a bit of AIG mentality for the privilege of using that site this summer... :P