Happy Anniversary!

It's been just over a year since Muddy Williamson first appeared in the blogosphere following the JALC Board of Trustees Candidates Forum in February 2013.  We've made 58 posts, had over 350 comments, and are closing in on 27,000 hits! 

 

Our original purpose of changing the face of the JALC Board of Trustees was accomplished with the defeat of John O'Keefe and the election of Cheryl Graff.

Board members with integrity continue to step up to deal with the antics of Brewer, Rendleman and Kilquist.  It's not perfect, but it's better.

 

We will leave this blog open for comments, but we won't be making additional posts for now.  Before the cheering from our detractors starts, remember that we have had an impact.   JALC taxpayers will continue to keep a watchful eye on the Board.  And there will be more elections and just like Arnold, Muddy Williamson will be back.

Hiring in the Hood

Lest our readers think we only acknowledge differences of opinion between our John A BOT and, well, everyone else involved with the college, let’s take a moment to feel sorry for every single person who attends or works at SIU.

Today the DE website has published the apparently-leaked results of the search for a new prez. The secretive search process and lack of opportunity for participation ruffled many feathers. Searches for less-exalted positions offer open session where constituents can listen to and ask questions of candidates. This time around, no names were even released. That just already smells bad.

Where is the DE getting such inside information? Who is mostly likely to be unsupportive of this guy? Why is he willing to leave his current position after only 7 months? Why did Murry State get rid of him? Why was this session held when two key board members were not present?

This is all just to point out that it isn’t just JAL. Other boards appear to have ethical “issues” too. Not much comfort, maybe. SIU students, grads, and employees, we know how it feels to have friends and colleauges throughout the state call and say “what’s going on down there?!” Enrollments not going to go up as long as the perception of SIU as a divided, chaotic, political mess just keeps getting reinforced.

Coronation in the near future?

We're hearing that one of the out-of-district VPs is planning his/her retirement, leaving room for the ascension of … Clay Brewer to VP! Of what? Doesn't matter!!! C'mon, he's CLAY BREWER!!

His preparation has consisted of securing nearly unlimited power to the Personnel Office (all approved quietly by the BOT of course... if not instigated by them) , sending those essential reminder e-mails about changing the clocks for daylite saving time, and playing hundreds of rounds of golf.

Is it inevitable? Will there be some charade of a "search" or will he simply be anointed by Brewer Senior? Can those board members with convictions and ethics muster the will to challenge it? Will the public have anything to say about the way CB was hired, promoted, given enormously increased control over applications and hiring, and allowed to arrive mid-morning and leave mid-afternoon?

Stay tuned.

What do you know?

No, really, what do you know? We're just not hearing a thing about the ethics of a candidate for a statewide office soliciting campaign contributions while serving as a trustee of a state-funded institution. 

What should we be talking about?

Conflicted...

Or maybe just confused. We here at MW have been pondering this latest attempt of the sherriff to get himself some publicity and get back at Mr. Van Horn for calling him out publically, causing the sherriff to get only half the number of votes as Cheryl Graeff despite his decades of "public service" and name recognition.

We kind of agree that it'd be nice for a community college to support more local players, but we feel really uncomfortable agreeing with Mr. Killquist, even when we're pretty sure Mr. Brewer is on the opposite side of this one.

Its interesting to look at the various team rosters on the website. The JAL womens team has only one player from Chicago (tho Countryside is pretty close), and six players from central or southern Illinois. The Rend Lake College men basketball has NO Chicago players. 

So how is it that JAL mens basketball has SIX chicago players? And only four local (three in-district)? Whats that Chi-town connection?

The differences between the hometowns of baseball and softball players is even more startling--the baseball team has ONE in-district player! 

If Title 9 gives men and women teams the same recruiting budget, what explains the difference? 

Now, we understand that the only reason to have sports teams is to compete and preferably to win. But the college has put a lot of effort into all kinds of missions and goals and key values and such, all based on the role of COMMUNITY college.

Theres just something fishy here.

As we wait

As we wait for news, wondering what the radio silence means, we here at MW were interested in the Anonymous post suggesting that this little blog would be enough to turn Rep. Kilquist against JALC.
The poster (whose initials could be BK) suggests that any criticism of Rep. Kilquist’s methods or motives would make him unwilling to go to bat for J.A.L. funding, once elected.

So, his loyalty to his past employer and his support for one of the biggest employers in his future district is so shaky that it would evaporate because of a few bloggers? He would shutdown the College out of spite, harming thousands of students and staff, just because someone suggested he was … right, not concerned with the good of the college. Ironic, huh?

So good work defending Rep. Kilquist, Anonymous. You make a good case, just not the one you may have intended.

And should he be elected and NOT fight for J.A.L.s full funding, well, there will be another election and this time Speaker Madigan may not dislike the primary opponent enough to fund his campaign

What if Sheriff Kilquist becomes State Representative Sheriff Kilquist?

"I don't want to be labeled with anybody. I've never been labeled with anybody. Bill Kilquist is his own boy. Bill Kilquist is the voters' boy," he said. (Southern Illiniosan September 27, 2013)  –

Actually, Sheriff Kilquist has been labeled, and not all that long ago, it was by Don Brewer, Sheriff Kilquist became Don Brewer's boy when Sheriff Kilquist ran for the John A. Logan College Board of Trustees in April 2013.

Is it really possible that Sheriff Kilquist would be his own person?  When Sheriff Kilquist was drafted to run for his first time at John A. Logan College, it was at the bequest of Don (the Don) Brewer.  Why? To protect and enhance the careers of the sons of Brewer et. al.  And the sheriff has done a great job of doing what Brewer has requested of him – son protection, political patronage, paybacks, retaliation and more.

So we have to ask, when Sheriff Kilquist says he is his own person when wanting to run for Illinois State Representative, is he really his own boy?  The voters' boy?

During the last several months, Speaker Mike Madigan has been trying to recruit someone from Jackson County to run for State Representative for the 112^th Legislative District. (This seat is currently held by Rep. Mike Bost)  There is already a Democrat running for that seat, (Tony Mayville) but Speaker Madigan had to have someone from Jackson County.  After asking about 20 other people to run, Sheriff Kilquist was asked and he said yes.  Sheriff Kilquist met with a representative of the Speaker's staff and he was promised some sort of financial support. Then Sheriff Kilquist traveled to Springfield to meet with a higher level representative of the Speaker's staff where they discussed staff and financial support for Sheriff Kilquist's campaign.  Finally, Sheriff Kilquist traveled to Springfield to meet with the Speaker! 

At this meeting, Sheriff Kilquist and the Speaker settled on an amount for the campaign - $1 million!!!  So, Sheriff Kilquist is really going to be his own boy? Will Sheriff Kilquist/Representative Kilquist (boy of Speaker Madigan) really help John A. Logan College in recruiting, retaining, and graduating students?  Or will Sheriff Kilquist/Representative Kilquist just be a tool for Speaker Madigan? 

Does John A. Logan College really need Sheriff Kilquist/Representative Kilquist?

 

Who's boy?

According to the Southern, speaking about himself in the third person, Sheriff Kilquist said, "Bill Kilquist is the voters' boy."

He may soon have to choose whose "boy" he really is. Why won't (or can't) he confirm that he's running for state rep? What's he waiting for? Supposedly a couple dozen people heard him bragging about a meeting with M. Madigan, then suddenly... silence.

Maybe M. Madigan wasn't quite as encouraging as Sheriff Bill hoped he would be? Sheriff was also supposedly observed meeting with old-time pol Carl Maple. Did Maple tell him not to run? Would it matter? Maple's backed plenty of losers, so we're not sure what his opinions are worth.

A primary is expensive. Maybe M. Madigan decided the partys money would be better spent on the current candidate instead of on a primary. We here at MW remember that despite spending a boatload of money, Sheriff came in a distant second to Cheryl Graef, by a couple thousand votes. Is he worth gambling on now?

And of course his mentor, sponsor, guru, and partner-in-grime Mr. Brewer may have his own opinions about losing his closest ally before getting his son the Final Job.

Will Bill stay & be Brewer's boy? Run and try to be Madigan's boy? He's gotta make a decision soon, if it hasn't already been made for him.

 

Retroactive reimbursement? But only for some?

Looking forward to the posting of the BOT meeting minutes from August 27.  Specifically, the Board Policy Committee report.  Sound dry?  Let’s see. If rumors are true, new BOT policy reimburses staff who have gotten advanced degrees recently. Since a very specific date. Who has just finished advanced degrees, and is trying to suck the (hopefully) last bit from the trough? Might their last names correspond directly with current and very recent members of the BOT? Will the college (and the rest of us) ever be done paying, and paying and paying, for these offspring who are apparently unable to get or keep jobs without help from dad?

Guys, why not try your hands somewhere else? You might like the feeling that you got the next job based on your skills, in a fair and open search. You might even get hired full time right off the bat. Go for it.

What's your favorite line item?

We've been waiting for the new budget, the first one really created by this new prez & staff, and its now on the school website for the required 30 day comment period.

We seem to have lost our main heckler (no one has called us idiots all summer), which leaves us wondering about the the mysterious "follow the money" poster. Same person?

What are you outraged about, but not willing to attend a publc comments period and risk the wrath of Brewer & Co by pointing out?

This is your forum. 

Nothing to see here, folks. Just move along.

If you watched the video of the  prez addressing the troops on the first day of school, all your questions have been answered. Well, except for why that speech was promoted, filmed, and posted... but that's a different issue.

Late budget? Easy. New budget system, much more complicated. Board didn't approve the plan when they were sposed to. 

Institutional support? No explanantion of what it actually IS, but the troops were reassured that JAL doesn't spend ANY MORE than any OTHER schools on that mysterious item. No word on why it grew by 8 million bucks during the same time that instruction (oh yea, thos students) grew by 1 million. 

So don't pay ANY attention to ANY silly blogs. Yep, we got a shoutout. If you were concerned about the appearance of impropriety, don't worry! Be happy!

 http://www.ustream.tv/channel/loganmedia

So, where IS that pesky 2014 budget?

In the past, the board of trustees has approved the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, or at least has SEEN a budget, before the fiscal year ended, since legally it has to be public for 30 days before adoption.

For example, records on the JAL website show that the FY13 budget was presented April 30 and adopted June 28, 2012. The FY12 budget was presented to the board for approval in June 2011, and adopted august 23, 2011.

But there's no mention of any FY14 budget, not in April, May, or June minutes, or on the July 23 agenda. Was it mentioned or discussed at the meeting? If you were there and taking notes, please let us know.

What legitimate reason could there be for a public body NOT to have a budget a month into a new fiscal year? Isn't that an important part of the job they were elected to do?

Is it possible there's been some attention paid to the huge increases in "institutional support," making it more difficult to keep sliding money into that category?

For example, the FY12 budget comparison page (pg. 77) shows the change from FY10 to FY 12 in expenditures on "instruction" goes from 13,530,859 to 14,510,685.

During the same time period, expenditures on "institutional support" goes frm 10,491,697 to 18,920,265. What? BIG difference in increase there.

What's being funded by "institutional support" that's more important than instruction? The increase is also larger than the increase for student scholarships and waivers. This is disturbing—what are the institutional priorities?

(And anyone who can figure out what "institutional support" really means is a more patient reader than anyone here at MW).

Maybe if they re-schedule the retreat once Mr. Rendlman's "administration" is more seasoned, and those "new" board members (ahem, neither of which is NEW, Mr. Rendlman) get some experience, they can re-consider where the college should spend money.

Any theories, followers? Where's the budget?

Who's in, who's out?

Surprise at JALC, the interim dean is named the real dean! Who woulda seen that coming? Now, how would a person from the career side of the house come to be named to lead the transfer area? Whose thumb was on THAT scale? The suspects are just to numerous to list... Sigh.

And down the road, turns out the SIU BOT had some hard questions for Pres. Poshard. So hard, in fact, that he tendered his retirement papers rather than face 'em.

Any loyal followers still here after Muddy Williamson's protracted summer hiatus? Anyone want to comment?

We've missed our ... favorite ... poster... she-or-he who is unable to actually end a sentence ... with a period ... No one has called any of us "idiots" for weeks now.

It's summer and things may be heating up!

It's summertime and the living is supposed to be easy, but we expect some BOT members will be going into overdrive when they think no one is watching.  Keep your eyes on the following:

1.  Discussion of the strategic plan is on the agenda for June 25.  We are hopeful it will be approved in its entirety but look out for ways that some trustees will try to continue to delay discussion or come up with creative ways to undermine it.   Rendleman, Brewer and Kilquist will try to hold on to what little power they have left and be looking for an "escape" clause on any implementation they don't like.

2.  Also on the agenda is planning for a board retreat.  Although Illinois Open Meeting Act permits boards to go into closed session for the purpose of "self-evaluations, practices and procedures of professional ethics, when meeting with a representative of a statewide association of which the public body is a member," we question the board's ability to stick to this purpose.  Going back to 2008, retreats have been linked with special meetings and have been business as usual.  If the board is truly interested in self-evaluation, then have a retreat but keep the other business items off the agenda.   Don't use the "retreat/special meeting" title as an excuse to go off campus and have dinner first and then closed discussions.

Let's keep some things in mind from past retreats/special meetings:

It was in August 2008 when this happened:

Trustee Jake Rendleman expressed his feeling that the position of Director of Personnel should be looked at for possible advancement, due to the fact that the responsibilities of that office have grown considerably. Legal Counsel John Huffman agreed that the additional procedures and requirements established by the work of the Hiring Committee have increased the load of the Personnel Office, and added that the Director of Personnel has grown so much in this position…Trustee O'Keefe stated that he feelsthe office needs more people, and suggested this be looked into by the administration. Mr. Rendleman stressed that he feels the position of Director of Personnel should be elevated to Executive Director of Personnel.

It was suggested that this topic be continued in closed session.  (Of course!)

In June 2011, note these comments from the minutes:

Trustee Sanders commented that most boards are not as involved in the hiring process as the JALC Board.  He saidthat in talking with trustees across the nation, most boards just act on the recommendation brought to them, with the exception of hiring vice presidents and presidents.  After further discussion, Board Chair Mike Hopkins suggested that the Board should only address items in closed session that they have been previously informed of.  It was the consensus of the Board  that they would appreciate being aware of any items that will be brought up in closed session so they can be better prepared to discuss in a timely manner and make good decisions.  (But then Brewer and Kilquist couldn't use their intimidation tactics.)

And from September 2012:

Board Chair Mike Hopkins stated it was desirable to hold a closed session to discuss the appointment,employment, and compensation of specific individuals; and to meet with a representative of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association for thepurpose of self evaluation, practices and procedures.

Jim Snider and John O'Keefe moved and seconded that the special meeting/retreat of the John A. Logan

College Board of Trustees be declared in closed session.

Upon roll call, all members voted yes with the exception of Trustee John Sanders who voted no. (This is the only recent no vote against a closed session – wonder what was going on?)

3.  As the anonymous replier with the ellipsis fetish and hatred of faculty keeps reminding us, there are two dean positions open – Dean for Academic Affairs and Dean for Career & Technical Education.  As stated before, we are not privy to any inside info on these positions.  Our criticism of hiring has primarily focused on the hiring/promotion of BOT and administrators' children and friends.  So we can only speculate that there must be some favorite sons looking for advancement.  Perhaps it's Barry Hancock .  We've been pleased with Aunt Jackie Hancock's recent actions on the board, but we have to question if her vote could be bought on other issues with the promise of a new job for Barry.  And we shouldn't have to remind readers of this blog that Clay Brewer is the filter for all hiring. 

Stay tuned – the heat this summer could be one for the record books!

Help us out, Anonymous...

Clearly, Anonymous, you believe you have some inside knowledge about one or more current searches for positions at JAL. We wish you would clarify what you believe has happened or is happening. No one at Muddy Williamson is privy to this information, so we wish you would be specific.

 

This blog exists solely to shed light on unethical actions on the part of anyone employed by or elected to represent this taxpayer-funded institution in which we all have a stake as southern Illinoisans.

 

We never intended to be (and have never claimed to be) investigators, but we do seem to be attracting some attention. If you post your allegations directly rather than using some kind of cryptic innuendo, maybe they will be read by someone in a position to address the situation.

 

Hoping to hear from you.

Hiring is a Red Herring, Watch Closed Sessions

        During the accreditation review in 2005 (and a return visit in 2007), staff, NTPs and faculty made their views known about the unethical hiring practices of the BOT. In retaliation, the Board created and adopted a draconian hiring policy.  Anti-nepotism rules exist to prevent unfair hiring, promotion, and/or benefits such as salary increases. Faculty play only a minor role in the hiring process, and staff play no role at all, so preventing the college from hiring spouses or children—who would never supervise each other—is absurd.

                It is a strict policy, but as we've seen repeatedly, it is easily skirted, so as it applies to the board, it is meaningless.

                At this point, further talk about hiring and promotion is also meaningless. Clay Brewer has been granted unparalleled control of the entire process and nothing but further board action will change that—and who thinks THAT is likely to happen? Whether the college is hiring a dean or a maintenance worker, there are loopholes in the "policy" you can drive a truck through.

                The person who keeps trying to swing discussion on this blog to hiring, seeming to blame instructional administration for shady dealings in the current search for a dean of instruction, is trying to distract readers from the Next Big Thing, so no one will notice when discussion of the strategic plan takes place entirely within closed session.

                The strategic plan, approved repeatedly by the board during extensive planning and data collection stages, is tied directly to the college's continued accreditation. Without accreditation, the students don't get jobs, or transfer to universities. The "old guard" on the board seem more concerned with protecting their turf and willing to sacrifice accreditation to do so.

The current plan, compiled from mountains of data, is logical, global, and the components are interconnected. If all eyes are on the easily-manipulated hiring process, the strategic plan is likely to be dismantled in closed session, and therefore weakened, perhaps fatally.

It will be up to those board members who genuinely have the best interests of JALC at heart to protect its integrity by preserving it as ONE plan and voting to approve it, in open session.

 

Logan’s Rogue Board Members

Three rogue Board members are perhaps the most perplexing issue confronting John A. Logan College as it begins the process to gain another 10 years of accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).  The three rogue board members are Don Brewer, William Kilquist, & Jacob "Jake" Rendleman.  These three rogue Board members just don't seem to understand that their individual and collective behavior as Board members jeopardizes John A. Logan College's efforts to gain accreditation in 2017.

These three Board members don't seem to get that the institutional goals of providing a high quality affordable education and student success are more important than each of their own personal agendas to micromanage the day to day operations at the college in order to skew the hiring process.  It is difficult to understand the obtuseness of these three individuals since the HLC put the Board on notice for micromanaging and creating a climate of fear at the college during the last accreditation process in 2007!

In 2007 John A. Logan College was reaccredited for another 10 years, but the HLC Evaluation Team recommended that there be a Commission follow-up with respect to the Core Component 1d (The organization's governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaborative processes that enable the organization to fulfill its mission) and Core Component 1e (The organization upholds and protects its integrity).

The Evaluation Team found " that not all policies have been followed in a consistent manner….evidence where the blurring of boundaries between the procedural and operational duties of the College Administration and the policy making duties of the Board of Trustees …appear to have caused continuing tensions within the college community.  The inconsistent application of college policies and the Board of Trustees tendency to micromanage has created a climate of mistrust and fear."  The Evaluation Team also notes that Board of Trustees received low scores on a question dealing with the integrity and ethical and honest behavior of Board members. 

Further, the Evaluation Team recommended that John A. Logan College (1) implement a new strategic planning initiative, and (2) review its hiring practices to add more diversity to its search/screening committees. So, what does this have anything to do with the current business at the College?

At the May 2013 Board of Trustees' meeting it was the rogue Board members that stood in the way of adopting a new strategic plan, the type of plan that is needed for reaccreditation! 

Guess what? Brewer, Kilquist, and Rendleman were Logan Board members during the 2007 accreditation process!  Don Brewer, in fact, was the President of the Board at the time.  Again, in 2013 these same three rogue Board members forge on with their personal agendas resulting in a climate of mistrust and fear at John A. Logan College!  

Fab 4: It’s Time for “The Nuclear Option”

While we at Muddy Williamson disagree with many of our president's recent actions, we heartily applaud Obama's decision to launch three judicial nominees at the Senate (dubbed "the nuclear option"). He said the ridiculous actions of Senate Repubs in postponing judicial appointments has moved far beyond "principled opposition and into political obstructionism."

How is this related to the JALC board? Easy. The recent decision to postpone discussion of the Strategic Plan until the June 25 meeting. Delay, delay, delay till no one is looking, then dismantle it, discarding the parts some members of the board will find disagreeable, specifically the ones dealing with hiring and promotion, and other ethical issues, and/or designed to improve morale by increasing participation.

Patient readers may have read the plan, or waded through graph after graph of survey results. In a nutshell, for the less-patient, here are some of the more striking findings:

·         Asked to rate JALC's effectivenesss in the area of "fair & ethical hiring practices," 54% of full-time faculty and department chairs, 59% of full-time staff, and 63% of non-teaching professionals rated the college "ineffective" or "very ineffective."

·         Asked to respond to the statement "I am a part of the decision-making process at JALC," only 20% of the full-time faculty, 29% of the non-teaching professional staff, and 9% of the staff selected "agree" or "strongly agree." NINE percent.

·         Specifically addressing problems with the board itself, in response to the statement "the BOT displays behavior that reflects integrity and is ethical and honest," the survey results are displayed along with results from 2005 and 2009 (when the accreditation report itself reflected concerns about morale and required a rare follow-up visit). In 2012 66% of faculty, 67% of non-teaching professionals, and 74% of the staff responded with "neutral" (fear of recrimination) or "disagree/strongly disagree." These results were consistent with the 2005 results.

So, to Ms. Hancock (who deserves HUGE recognition for her role in eliminating the buyout clause from Dreith's contract at the April meeting), Mr. Sanders, Mr. Hopkins & Ms. Graff, time to stand up to shadowy back-room dealing, time to bring board actions out into the sunshine, time to exercise your nuclear option.

At the June 25 meeting, move immediately to adopt the entire Strategic Plan. It is comprehensive.  Brewer or Kilquist will probably try to require that each individual part get separate board approval. This will only allow the board members bent on protecting their own turf and/or offspring to defeat those programs they don't like. Make those board members state, in open session, WHY they want to dismantle the plan.

The Strategic Plan can function as effectively as the strategic financial plan, which has protected most College operations despite the state funding crisis. But only if it is adopted in its entirety.

Go nuclear.

Really, Southern Illinoisan?

OK, today's article is supposedly about this plan that a consultant created. Why was half the article given to Jake Rendleman saying he wants to wait to talk about it until "later" (when no ones paying attention, in other words)? 

Do board members not prepare at all for meetings? Most of the plan has been on the schools website for weeks. Apparently most of the board didnt' read the presidents contract when they hired him, or even read it to prepare for a meeting when it was on the published agenda. No, they prefer to talk to each other (illegally) outside of the public eye, and (excessively, according to a recent post) in executive session, where deals are cut and favors granted.

So now Jake Rendleman hasn't bother to read this plan, so prefers to wait. No... read it, do your homework like all the students at the college, get up to speed. Or just ask your board colleagues what they want you to do.

And why is the newspaper consulting Jake about this anyway? If he hasn't even bothered to read the plan, why was his opinion included in the article at all, much less given so much space? Poor journalism.

Just keeps making this board look ridiculous and disfunctional.

Use, Misuse, and Abuse of Executive Sessions?

We hope that new board members Graff and Kilquist are (or will soon be) in compliance with Illinois law that requires all elected and appointed members of a public body (such as a community college board of trustees) take the Attorney General's electronic Open Meetings Act training within 90 days and provide the public body with a certificate of completion of the training.

A review of board minutes from 2012 and 2013 (14 meetings not including the one for presidential interviews and two retreats) shows that more time was spent in executive session than in regular meeting in all but five meetings – and even those five averaged almost an hour each in executive session.  In most cases, the Board comes out of executive session and approves all recommended hires with little else done in the open meeting. 

It's hard to believe that if the hiring process is really working (as some board members claim) there is any need for lengthy executive sessions.  For example, in May 2012, the regular meeting lasted for about 45 minutes and the executive session was over three hours long.  When the Board reconvened, there were only 15 personnel items approved.  What was discussed for over three hours?

Like we saw in the April 2013 meeting, Brewer tried to postpone the discussion on the "no cause" clause in Dreith's contract to executive session.

In all the 2012 and 2013 minutes, the board has gone into closed session "to discuss the appointment, employment, and compensation of specific individuals and pending litigation."  Other times this phrase has included the "discussion of collective bargaining or purchase of real property."  All of these are appropriate reasons to go to executive session – assuming that is what is being discussed.

Is the executive session being abused?  It's certainly something to keep an eye on!