* I told subscribers about this in some detail yesterday…
An effort to elect officers on the Southern Illinois University’s governing board short-circuited when two members walked out of the panel’s meeting.
Trustee Marquita Wiley and SIU-Edwardsville student trustee David Hamilton left just before the board’s expected vote Wiley had sought to delay. The vote didn’t happen because the board didn’t have a quorum after Wiley and Hamilton left the meeting.
Wiley says the vote shouldn’t take place until Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois Senate sign off on three new members to replace a trio whose term has expired. The Senate recently rejected three of Quinn’s appointments to the panel.
* More…
SIU Edwardsville student trustee David Hamilton made a motion to postpone the officer and committee chair nominations until a full board is seated.
“I cannot justify electing a Chairman when I’m the only representative from one of our major campuses,” Hamilton said.
* Background…
Tensions on the university board have been high since trustees voted last year to remove Herrin as chairman of the group, a post several trustees and Poshard say he obtained at the request of Gov. Quinn upon being appointed to the board in 2011.
Things boiled over in February, when Quinn removed the three Metro East trustees and sought to replace them with three other individuals. Metro East lawmakers led an effort in the state senate to reject those appointments. Senators regarded Quinn’s removal of Simmons, Hightower and Hinrichs as retaliation for voting Herrin out as chairman, as well as a maneuver to put the Harrisburg resident back in the chairman’s seat.
* This thwarted move by Quinn’s allies was obviously intended to elect Herrin as chairman. Sen. Bill Haine, who is about the most chill legislator I’ve ever met, went fully ballistic after the meeting adjourned…
State Sen. Bill Haine said Wednesday he will file legislation to have all of the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees removed from office after a board member tried to have himself appointed chairman. […]
“I find it to be disturbing, and I find it to be an insult to the Senate, and to SIU itself, that [Herrin] would attempt, with a rump board, to ensconce himself as chair of the board, rather than wait for the constitutional process to work through, and the negotiations between the metro-east legislators and the governor’s office to conclude,” said Haine, D-Alton. […]
He added, “I’m going to pursue a bill which eliminates all of the trustees, and gives the governor another shot at a clean slate, to appoint an entirely new board.” […]
Poshard said the metro-east legislators have been pleading to meet with Quinn since November and it has not happened yet. “Maybe Bill’s got the right idea here,” he said. “That’s probably what it’s going to take.”
* WSIU posted the raw audio of the aborted meeting…
What a mess.
