Time for a Fresh Start at Logan

On Friday, April 3, The Southern Illinois endorsed Ray Hancock, Brad Heuring, and Mandy Little for the three open positions on the John A Logan Board of Trustees. This election for the Logan Board on Tuesday, April 7 gives the college a unique opportunity to elect 3 new people to the Board.

As the Southern Illinois stated, John A Logan is facing a deficit of “anywhere between $2.5 million and $3.8 million” in the next fiscal year.  There are many contributing factors to this perfect financial storm. First, although enrollment at the college has remained steady over the last several years, the number of credit hours taken by those attending students has dropped steadily over the last 5 years.  Second, the State of Illinois most certainly will reduce its contribution to the college this coming year because of its financial condition.  Third, and perhaps the biggest factor, John A Logan can no longer count the health credit hours generated at Logan’s Community Health Center.  The credit hours generated at the Health Center represented $1.7 million in revenue for Logan in the last 5 years.

So, with these daunting financial challenges it is refreshing to see the possibility of electing a brand new slate of Board members. On Monday, March 2, the John A Logan Political Science Department sponsored a candidate forum. In attendance were Bill Alstat, Ray Hancock, Brad Heuring, Mandy Little, and John Sanders. Jake Rendleman chose not to attend and participate in the forum.  At the forum Hancock, Heuring, Little, and Sanders each demonstrated that they not only understood that challenges John A Logan is facing today, but they also articulated a passion for the quality education that John A Logan provides.  Alstat has a nice resume, but didn’t communicate an understanding or passion about education.  Rendleman just didn’t show up, maybe that shows us how important education is to him.

Since the forum, John Sanders has been appointed to the State Board of Education and has resigned from Logan’s Board.  Sanders has been a good Board member and will be missed. But Sanders departure gives voters in Logan’s district to elect brand new people to the Board for the first time in many years.  Let this be a change election and elect a new slate of candidates who can bring new vision and ideas to John A Logan College.

Using Logan's logo

Driving around Williamson County, this weekend, one sees lot's of yard signs popping up like crocus.  Many are for candidates to be on John A. Logan's Board of Trustees.

A couple questions spring to mind.  One, is it permissable to use the Logan logo in partisan ads?  Two, if not, why are current Board chair Jake Rendleman and former president Ray Hancock displaying the Logan logo on their yard signs?

It gives the impression that their campaigns have an institutional endorsement.  If it is not OK to be doing this, when will Steve O'Keefe and/or the Logan legal counsel be insisting that Mr. Rendleman and Dr. Hancock cease and desist?

Leadership, A.W.O.L.

So, much has happened in the last week!  Carterville fired its police chief.  Carbondale mayoral candidates are squabbling about who to replace their fired chief with.  The Jackson County States Attorney announced their would be no indictment in the case of Praveen Varughese., leaving many unanswered questions.  The John A. Logan College Board of Trustees approved a plan that will result in the layoff of a combination of full and part time staff.

The Political Science Club, at Logan will sponsor a forum for candidates seeking election to the Board.  The forum is tomorrow (Monday) night, March 2, in the Tarpin/Crisp Rooms, at John A. Logan College.  (UPDATE:  We've learned that the location has changed to the Batteau/Ivy Rooms.)  Rumor has it that one of the candidates for re-election, Board Chairman Jake Rendleman, will be absent.  Given the current climate on campus, recent layoffs, budget pressures and recent close scrutiny from the media, one would think a candidate would arrange his schedule to accommodate the only real opportunity the public will have, during the campaign, to compare the candidates.

Hopefully, this is an unfounded rumor.  However, if true, one has to assume the absence is not due to any emergency, given that word of Rendleman's intended absence has been circulating for days.  If he has some previously scheduled medical procedure preventing his attendance, he should publicly announce that.  Otherwise, non-participation is an insult to his fellow candidates, the student body and the voters of the district.  It would be the height of arrogance to believe that simply because of incumbency one could simply run on past experience and reputation and not be subject to probing inquiry and debate.  The forum starts at 6:00, tomorrow night.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE:

There are six candidates vying for for three seats on the Logan Board.  Here's what we know, or think we do, so far.

Ray Hancock:  Another Hancock on the board?  Yes, Ray Hancock comes with baggage.  His sister-in-law Jackie is already a Trustee, and the hiring of his son Barry when Ray was president raised one of the first cries of nepotism at JALC.  But he is genuinely concerned about the college, he certainly understands budgets, and he has a backbone.  Now that the BOT can't fire him, he might be the best choice to stand up against Brewer and his ilk.

Mandy Little:  Mandy Little is a former student trustee.  Student trustees have no power and their votes don’t count.  They can, however, make one symbolic vote – oppose any tuition increases. Mandy didn’t do that as student trustee.  She’s already been sucked into the “club.”  Student trustees generally make poor board members – remember Cecelia Dunbar?

John Sanders:  John Sandershas been a decent board member and so far, we see no reason to oppose his re-election.  He just needs to show his backbone more than playing the occasional role of board buffoon.

Jake Rendleman:  As we pointed out above, he may play hooky from the candidate forum.  Lacking a really good excuse, that's a real slap in the face to the voters.

Bill Alstat:  Bill Alstat serves on the Jackson County Board and is tight with the Jackson County
Democrats in the style of Brewer and Kilquist.  So far, Alstat has demonstrated an incredible lack of knowledge of higher education and the very serious issues facing JALC.

Brad Heuring:  Brad Heuring is a public school administrator who at least should understand some of the issues facing the college.  He is a former Logan student and athlete.

The Southern Illinoisan had another Voice of the Southern editorial regarding Logan today.  It's unclear that they understand that people have already been given notice that they've lost their jobs. This should be a subject of tomorrow night's forum.

After the candidate forum, conducted prior to the last JALC Board election, WJPF posted the audio recording and we linked to it.  If they do so again, we will link to them again, so those who don't have the opportunity to attend can hear the candidates full answers.

Pizza Czar?

Excerpt from an email sent from President Drieth to JALC employees:

“At last night’s Board of Trustee’s meeting, Trustee Bill Kilquist said he would no longer vote for approval of college expenditures as long as the college continued to spend “so much money on travel and pizza.” He said he wanted one person to ultimately approve travel so there was accountability. 

As the President, I agreed to accept that role. Until further notice, all out-of-state travel must be approved by the President. 

 I will be studying the pizza data to determine if our consumption merits a new policy.”

People are losing their jobs and Trustee Kilquist is worried about pizza?  It is that lack of vision and insight that helped get JALC into this mess in the first place. Just what higher education needs – pizza data!

The education part won't suffer?

“  …I do not feel that the education part itself is going to suffer."  What does the John A. Logan College Board of Trustees Chairman mean by this?

In the January Board of Trustees meeting, the Board, under the leadership of Jake Rendleman, had the opportunity to cut almost $100,000 in college expenses without firing any fulltime faculty or staff.  Before a packed house, and after some articulate and passionate speeches, the Board decided to table the issue.  By tabling the golf issue, Mr. Rendleman, and the Board, gave a pass to the golf team, but set up the firing of full time faculty, who contribute to the College’s core mission: Teaching!

Not to pick on the golf team, but the central question is:  does the John A Logan Board of Trustees choose the sports programs, and the Community Health Education Complex over its core mission of providing an accessible quality education to residents of Southern Illinois?

On its January 28 newscast, WSIL-TV reported, “The chairman of John A. Logan College's board is revealing even he was surprised that the men's and women's golf coaches weren't informed until Saturday that their program was on the chopping block.” It’s hard to believe that Jake Rendleman was surprised.  He starts almost every day of the week at John A Logan College at the Community Health Education Complex.  After he works out, he then goes to the John A Logan Administration offices and wants to know what’s going on.  Can anyone really believe that Jake Rendleman didn’t know about the golf team’s dismissal?  Rendleman was first elected to a 6 year term in 1997.  He has already served 18 years on the Board of Trustees; one would think that by now he knew everything there is to know about the college.

Jake Rendleman is running for reelection to the John A Logan Board of Trustees.  In the meantime, tonight, the Board has a choice to make.  Education? Or, sports and the Community Health Education Complex?

The quality of Logan's courses is something that won't be cut, the Chairman insists. We’ll soon see.

It's a snow day

It's a snow day at SIU, John A. Logan and the local schools.  A good day to catch up with some old newspapers.  JALC Board member, John Sanders, had a letter published in the Southern Illinoisan, last week.  Mr. Sanders points out that the Board could have handled the proposed abolition of the golf program a little better.

He also responds to the Southern's opinion that the Board must "demand" a comprehensive plan from the administration.  That reminds us that, at the last BOT meeting (when it became obvious that the golf cut was turning into a fiasco), a member (not Sanders) complained that the Board needed better leadership from the administration.  Is that a fair complaint?

And... we're back!

Two short years ago, we created this blog as a way to share our observations on some interesting goings-on in, and around, Williamson County.  We quickly got fixated on the culture and governance of John A. Logan College, as it was at the start of the election season for the open JALC Board of Trustees seats.

Well, it's election time again.  So, we've roused ourselves, mid-winter, to take a look around.  And just in time, too!  There is controversy regarding the Community Health and Education Complex, a related budgetary emergency, and elbow throwing as the taste of fear is in many mouths.  Tuesday morning, readers of the Southern Illinoisan woke up to this unsigned editorial, the Voice of the Southern:  Golf.  An unsigned editorial is a big deal.  It's not the individual ravings of a staff writer given some space to fill, but the institutional position of the paper.  Logan got called out.  In chronological order the column relates a quick series of contradictory events that set a program up on a pedestal, invited prospective student athletes to participate and then nearly killed the program.

For those unfamiliar with the events, they are well summarized in the Southern's editorial.  For more background, see the news articles that preceded:  Logan golfers land Hamlton County's Vaughn, Golf standouts to be induced into Logan's Hall of Fame and JALC Board tables vote to cut golf.  

Five days later, there was this:  Logan women's golf signs Effingham twins.  School board elections of any kind tend to be boring.  This one won't be.

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.