A bill introduced by State Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Dist. 42) to prevent state colleges from approving excessive severance or buyout deals for community college administrators was signed into law this week by Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Ives' bill was specifically prompted by the $763,000 contract buyout approved by the former College of DuPage (COD) Board of Trustees for outgoing President Robert Breuder.
“That agreement was irresponsible and disrespectful to the taxpayers who fund the College of DuPage,” Ives said. “While the new board seems to be acting more in line with the best interests of the college’s stakeholders, this new law will prevent mismanagement at the levels we’ve seen at COD from happening in the future.”
The new law limits future buyout or severance agreements to no more than one year of salary and benefits and also limits employment contracts with a set start and end date to no more than four years, with no provision for any automatic rollover clauses.
Joining Ives at the bill signing in Chicago on Tuesday were chief sponsor State Sen. Michael Connelly (R-Dist. 21) and new College of DuPage Board Chairman Kathy Hamilton.
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