SchaumburgStormer Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 http://m.daily-chronicle.com/2017/04/14/niu-staff-meteorologist-laid-off/atnf880/ Seems like another victim of our states continued financial ineptitude. Tough one to swallow as I always enjoyed his style of candid forecasting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indystorm Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Devastating news. I have read and appreciated his insights for not only NIU faculty and students but Midwesterners for years as I've lived in various places in Indiana. This news along with Trump planning to cut NOAA/NWS funding does not set well with me. I also remember when WILL of Champaign/Urbana let met Ed Keiser go after many years of fine met discussions on radio because of funding issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beavis1729 Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 This is absolutely ridiculous and is evidence of how misplaced our priorities are. I knew Gilbert well when I was a student at NIU in the 1990s. Great person with unmatched passion and work ethic who has done so much for the university. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 I have enjoyed reading his thoughts over the years, especially when significant weather is looming. Based on that story, it sounds like there's a possibility that he may not be gone right away. Hopefully he lands on his feet somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebo Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Terribly shortsighted, based upon idiotic bureaucracy. For the amount of work he put in at NIU, he was underpaid not worthy of being cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Storm Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Word is this decision was made a while ago, but wasn't made public until recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimChgo9 Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 Tough to lose such a talented forecaster. Gil was one of those meteorologists that made weather understandable to people like me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoosier Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 10 months later and Gil is still there, but I guess the clock is ticking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indystorm Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 I'm wondering since the initial announcement was made in April 2017 if he has until April 2018 until dismissal. Going to miss him, both for winter wx and svr concerns. The official announcement in the link posted above said he had a full year from the termination announcement until the time he must leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indystorm Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Notes: It is time. After 20 years, NIU Weather will be signing off on March 31, 2018. It has been a sincere pleasure to serve you all. At that time, our social media pages, website, weather alerts via text and email will all be shut down. Please use http://weather.gov/chicago for the latest forecast, watches and warnings for DeKalb, as well as NOAA Weather Radio. Thank you so much for letting me serve you all of these years! I will certainly miss him and the website, especially as we are just now entering svr season. Thank you Gil for your many years of service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beavis1729 Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 1 hour ago, Indystorm said: Notes: It is time. After 20 years, NIU Weather will be signing off on March 31, 2018. It has been a sincere pleasure to serve you all. At that time, our social media pages, website, weather alerts via text and email will all be shut down. Please use http://weather.gov/chicago for the latest forecast, watches and warnings for DeKalb, as well as NOAA Weather Radio. Thank you so much for letting me serve you all of these years! I will certainly miss him and the website, especially as we are just now entering svr season. Thank you Gil for your many years of service. Thank you for keeping us updated. I echo your sentiment. I knew Gil when I was a student at NIU in the 1990s, and have participated in a few school-related events with him over the years. A person with a ton of passion, class, and dedication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stebo Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 Unfortunate to see him get let go there, would be great if he happened to come along and post here though. He has a wealth of knowledge for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoalCityWxMan Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I’ll be attending NIU next year majoring in meteorology. Sad to see this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indystorm Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 Gil's last weather discussion column is today, March 30 at NIU Weather, signing off at 4:30 p.m. CDT after 20 years. Many thanks. Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Storm Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 Parts of his last column... Notes: After 20 years, NIU Weather will be signing off today. It has been a sincere pleasure to serve you all. At 4:30 PM, our social media pages, website, weather alerts via text and email, and our channel 35 broadcast on campus cable will all be shut down. Please use: https://www.weather.gov/lot/ for the latest forecast, watches and warnings for DeKalb, as well as NOAA Weather Radio. Thank you so much for letting me serve you all of these years! THIS IS THE LAST FORECAST FROM NIU WEATHER. So, it has come to this. I was wondering what, if anything, I was going to say here. First and foremost: THANK YOU. Thank you for reading my forecasts, understanding the implications, and working around the weather hazards we face every week here. Although many of you have written in with kind comments and thoughts, I ask you to remember this: if you want to remember me, remember to take weather safety seriously. Find out what's happening. If you are afraid of the forecast or don't understand it, get an answer from the National Weather Service. Click on their forecast page, and find out what is happening. Make sure your cellular carrier/provider alerts are turned on. Make sure you have redundant ways to get alerted and to get the latest forecast, including NOAA Weather Radio, the National Weather Service web site, Weatherbug (although our station will shut down, you'll be sent to a nearby site), and others. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mike Saari and Rob Vest, for taking a chance on a young whippersnapper to trust I could save the University money on energy costs, and make our campus much more weather resilient. From then, Michele Crase, David Scharenberg, Scott Mooberry and others in my department who have let me be my own boss and be a leader in our profession. For that, I am very grateful. And, to Phil Voorhis in Athletics and Bill Finucane and Chris Gilbert in transportation...and my colleagues in DoIT who made my operation successful by allowing me to have a world-class alerting and data system right here on campus...the NIU Department of Public Safety and the DeKalb Police and Fire departments...thank you. Along with many others, too numerous to mention...I couldn't have done it without you, providing safety to our Transportation and Athletics divisions. Finally, thank YOU. Without YOU taking weather seriously, I would have been wasting my time. Don't stop now! Keep learning, keep being weather aware! The DeKalb Police and Fire departments, the NIU Department of Public Safety and the NIU Environmental Health and Safety department will take it from here. People have asked me what I am going to do next. I will say this: I missed a lot of sunsets over the years at this job and at past jobs. I'm not going to miss this one tonight. I love to work hard, but over the years, I've learned tat life balance is critical. And tonight, I will watch the sunset. I hope you can, too. You don't get many chances in life to do so. Make the most of them. And until we meet again, I am: Gilbert Sebenste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchaumburgStormer Posted March 30, 2018 Author Share Posted March 30, 2018 NIU lets go of someone like this, and on the other hand is then is forced to pay $50,000+ in court costs for a lawsuit stemming from the $600,000 golden parachute given to a corrupt administrator. Sorry to delve into politics, I am just bitter that I am reading an emotional final piece from a passionate forecaster while also reading news of the waste and corruption which plagues the university. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowtie` Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 I guess I will be looking west with him at sunset tonight. Always good to have company, even in absentia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Storm Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 4 hours ago, SchaumburgStormer said: NIU lets go of someone like this, and on the other hand is then is forced to pay $50,000+ in court costs for a lawsuit stemming from the $600,000 golden parachute given to a corrupt administrator. Sorry to delve into politics, I am just bitter that I am reading an emotional final piece from a passionate forecaster while also reading news of the waste and corruption which plagues the university. Sounds like there was a bunch of cuts across the board, including campus maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchaumburgStormer Posted March 31, 2018 Author Share Posted March 31, 2018 9 hours ago, Chicago Storm said: Sounds like there was a bunch of cuts across the board, including campus maintenance. That is the way I understand it as well. Tough to swallow when they cut from the bottom and waste at the top. Budget is a big problem, but declining enrollment and increasing crime in the area of the university are also big concerns. Regardless, not a good look for the university. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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