Dupage Policy Journal

The state Senate's Subcommittee on Executive Compensation held its first meeting on Monday, during which Sen. Tom Cullerton grilled witnesses from the College of DuPage regarding efforts undertaken to prevent further abuses of state dollars on the campus.

The college is embroiled in controversy over a $763,000 severance package offered to end President Robert Breuder's contract early.

“We need to take steps to maintain the integrity of our public community colleges and universities," Cullerton said. "There needs to be reform to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and responsibly."

During the hearing, five initiatives were discussed to protect state dollars at Illinois public universities and community colleges. They included: Senate Bill 2157, which would require new college board trustees to complete four hours of professional development training on labor laws, open meetings act, freedom of information regulations, ethics, and financial and accountability oversight; S.B. 2155, which would require the auditor general to audit one-third of all community colleges yearly; S.B. 2158, prohibiting community college boards from entering into a new employee contract or change existing employee contracts 60 days before election day for trustees; S.B. 2156, which would prohibit severance payments from being classified as pensionable earnings; and S.B. 2159, which will provide transparency at community colleges and state universities by requiring contract terms and annual performance reviews of administrators, in addition to prohibiting contract buyouts in cases of pending criminal charges.

“I look forward to working with committee members in instituting safeguards to guarantee these abuses do not occur in the future,” Cullerton said.