College of DuPage Vice-Chairman Kathy Hamilton and the “Clean Slate” reform college trustee candidates aligned at a Tuesday morning press conference in declaring their support for a state audit of the college.
Fourteen members of the Illinois General Assembly wrote to the college last week calling on it to agree to the costs and terms of cooperation of the State Auditor General. Hamilton immediately called on College of DuPage Board Chairman Erin Birt to announce an emergency meeting for the purpose of accepting the state audit’s terms. Bit, however, has not called the meeting and implied in weekend news reports that she has no intention of doing so.
“COD (College of DuPage) has gone rogue,” Hamilton said. “It is defying legislators from both parties. It is ignoring the State Auditor General. It has stopped answering press calls. It hopes desperately that voters will not approve the Clean Slate reformers. Instead, by acting this irresponsibly, COD is showing the need for new leadership.”
The Clean Slate candidates - Frank Napolitano, Charles Bernstein and Deanne Mazzochi - called on the college’s board to act.
“The public has lost faith in the COD board,” Clean Slate candidate Frank Napolitano said. “It must move forward with the much needed State Auditor General’s performance audit. Avoiding the audit is a slap in the face of the taxpayers, with whose money the board is entrusted.”
Bernstein said that the audit should be approved and that taxpayers have a right to know what is going on at the college.
“Our unique statement to the district is, if you elect us, you will get reform,” Mazzochi said. “COD will be back on track. We will give COD the bold leadership it needs to make important calls on a timely basis. We will hold people accountable. We will not dither - or throw up procedural roadblocks - when the state demands an audit to determine whether COD followed the law.”
The General Assembly’s deadline for the college’s acceptance of the State Auditor General’s terms is March 12.
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