NIU

Northern Illinois University trustees have again voted to freeze tuition and lower fees for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year.

Northern Illinois University may have to reimburse some of its union-member employees for a parking pass fee increase. That’s if the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board sides with AFSCME in a final ruling.

NIU raised its parking prices by $19 as of July 2016. At the time, the university had been negotiating a first contract with a new bargaining unit of the state employee union since February 2016, according to IELRB documents.

Northern Illinois University officials say there will be 150 staff position reductions as the school tries to cut expenses.  NIU president Doug Baker says most cuts will be achieved through attrition however 30 of the affected jobs will be active positions. He says most of the affected employees were notified by Monday.

Controversial former Northern Illinois University Police Chief Donald Grady II will receive $450,000 to end his lawsuit and any other legal issues with the university, the NIU Board of Trustees agreed today.

Grady was fired in 2013 over his department's handling of evidence in a sexual assault charge against a former officer. Grady sued the following year claiming racial discrimination and violation of his rights to due process. The lawsuit had been scheduled for a Jan. 9 court date.

The Illinois Labor Relations Board has certified a new faculty union at Northern Illinois University.  The new union will be called the United Faculty Alliance of Northern Illinois University. The group filed its intent to unionize in April.

An Illinois appeals court has reinstated a wrongful death lawsuit against a Northern Illinois University fraternity by the family of a pledge who died in 2012.  The family of David Bogenberger sued the NIU chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha, arguing the fraternity and its members were responsible for Bogenberger's death because pledges were required to participate in excessive drinking to gain membership. 

Moody's Investors Service will review the credit worthiness of seven Illinois universities after downgrading the state's credit to two levels above "junk" status this week.   Moody's announced that "reviews for downgrade" will proceed on the University of Illinois, Illinois State University, Southern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, Governors State University, Northeastern Illinois University and Eastern Illinois University.

The Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees unanimously voted to rescind Dennis Hastert's honorary degree from the school. The Board met Thursday afternoon to discuss the matter during a special meeting.

Records show Northern Illinois University spent almost $1 million over the last five years on search firms to help fill executive-level positions.

There is no student winner in a contest for free tuition at Northern Illinois University.  Last semester, NIU offered one lucky student the chance to win free tuition for the spring semester if they attended all six home football games. 

An eleven-month travel expense ordeal that started with a Northern Illinois University audit issue has come to an end. A state audit report in March 2015 found NIU improperly reimbursed former consultant Ron Walters for traveling from NIU to his home state, Washington. 

A man's charred body found Tuesday on the Northern Illinois University campus has been identified as that of a former student.

Bibles can no longer be found in the rooms of Northern Illinois University's campus hotel after a secular group complained it had no place in nightstands.

Illinois’ budget impasse is getting the attention of more and more students at Northern Illinois University.  Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner visits DeKalb tonight to speak to members of the County’s Economic Development Corporation.

DEKALB, Ill. - County health officials have confirmed a Northern Illinois University student has mumps. A notice was sent to students, faculty and staff by email. University officials say they're working with the DeKalb County Health Department and the Illinois Department of Public Health to provide more community information. Illinois' outbreak has centered on the University of Illinois' Urbana-Champaign campus, where more than 100 cases have been confirmed. Two cases were confirmed last month at Eastern Illinois University. Mumps is no longer common in the U.S.

A Northern Illinois University student apparently fell to his death from his campus residence hall window late Saturday. 

The NIU student later died from his injuries after he fell 11 stories from his dorm room window. He is believed to have removed the window's screen right before he fell.

NIU police have not released the name of the student or the circumstances surrounding his death. 

The DeKalb County coroner’s office says an autopsy is scheduled for today. Findings will be released in a joint statement this afternoon. 

This story will be updated continuously as developments arise.

   The number of students enrolled at Northern Illinois University has dipped slightly, but retention rates are improving. The university released its 10-day enrollment count for the academic year on Wednesday. The university reported an enrollment of 20,130 students, a decrease of about 2.3 percent from last year. NIU President Doug Baker says: "We are not where we want to be, but there are encouraging signs of progress."   The one-year retention rate for last year's freshmen increased 1 percentage point, to 72 percent. Baker says the university also has been recruiting higher-achieving st

Northern Illinois University is offering students a chance at free tuition for spring semester if they attend all six home football games this season.

DEKALB, Ill. (AP) - Nearly 650 workers at Northern Illinois University have signed a petition and filed it with the state labor board asking to unionize. The workers want to organize under American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents other NIU employees and about 5,000 other state university workers.

There will be no jail time for nearly two dozen former Northern Illinois University fraternity members associated with an unsanctioned party where a pledge died.

Five former Northern Illinois University fraternity members are expected to enter plea agreements in a felony hazing case involving the death of a pledge in 2012.

An attorney for the family of a Northern Illinois University student who died after a party, says five fraternity members charged in his death won't face jail time per plea agreements.

Northern Illinois University is offering a course this semester on the HBO series "Game of Thrones."

  The new finance boss at Northern Illinois University says he's looking into what the school should do after a state audit found a temporary employee was improperly reimbursed $32,000 for travel.