University to retire the Chief Friday
Posted: 2/15/07 Section: News

Sources within the University and close to the Chief tradition confirmed today that Board of Trustees President Larry Eppley intended to single handedly retire Chief Illiniwek under pressure from Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones.

Rumors have been flying on campus about the future of Chief Illiniwek in the recent weeks, especially after the Jan. 17 resolution passed by the Executive Committee of the Oglala Sioux Tribal nation demanding the University return the Chief Illiniwek’s regalia.

Gordy Hulten of the popular blog IlliniPundit.com posted an entry today that stated the University Board of Trustees will eliminate the Chief tomorrow, in one form or another.

The decision will come one day after the current portrayers of Chief Illiniwek filed suit against the NCAA and the University. The suit is seeking a restraining order that would keep the NCAA from enforcing its policy declaring the Chief “hostile and abusive.” Sources say that the lawsuit is a pre-emptive strike intended to prevent the University from retiring the Chief. The hearing on the suit is scheduled for 10 a.m. tomorrow. Should the court issue an injunction, the University will be prohibited from putting the plans to retire the Chief in motion.

Check out www.dailyillini.com for further information and updates on the story as it unfolds.

It’s been a long time coming.  Some small congratulations to the University of Illinois for finally mustering a a half-ounce of courage on this issue.  More substantial congratulations to everyone who’s kept pushing to get rid of “the Chief” for so many years. 

Note: Time may be running out to download your cool Chief Illiniwek wallpaper.  Impress your friends!

This entry was posted on Friday, February 16th, 2007 at 12:39 am and is filed under general. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.