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SIU war intensifies

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* SIU President Glenn Poshard said that SIU Trustee nominee Melvin Terrell had been lobbied to vote for Poshard’s enemy Roger Herrin for chairman by the governor’s office. That would be a direct violation of an agreement Poshard had with Gov. Quinn. The governor promised to stay out of it, but his alleged interference led partially to the Senate giving the governor’s three new nominees zero votes last week during a confirmation vote.

Terrell now denies that he was contacted directly…

Terrell contacted The Southern on Friday night and said he received calls from current board members concerning the possibility of serving as chairman but had no direct contact with Quinn or any members of the governor’s staff. […]

Poshard said he called Terrell to congratulate him, but in a later conversation, he said Terrell excused himself from the phone conversation because he had the governor’s office on the other line.

Poshard said a short time later Terrell called him back and told him he was going to support Herrin for the board chairmanship and that Terrell said he would become the vice chairman and become chairman later. The president said he was told that this was at the insistence of the governor’s office.

Paula Keith, administrative assistant in the president’s office, said she was present for the conversation. She backed Poshard’s account as accurate.

Hmm.

* Meanwhile…

Gov. Pat Quinn’s removal of three SIU board of trustees members has angered several African American groups in downstate Illinois.

A letter sent to Quinn Friday from the Alton, Edwardsville, East St. Louis and Springfield branches of the NAACP, along with the Madison County Urban League, expressed “disdain” over the governor’s removal earlier this week of John Simmons, Ed Hightower and Mark Hinrichs, three Metro East trustees, from the university’s governing board. Quinn nominated Sandra Cook of Collinsville, Lee Milner of Springfield and Melvin Terrell of Chicago to replace them, but the appointments were rejected by the Illinois Senate Wednesday.

The NAACP letter states specific concern over the treatment of Hightower and Quinn’s alleged push to make Harrisburg trustee Roger Herrin chairman of the board, a position he was removed from last year after other board members and SIU President Glenn Poshard claimed his leadership was divisive and bullying.

The letter also alleges Herrin told one of the ousted Metro East board members one of his goals for SIU was to reduce the minority population of the Carbondale campus.

That same allegation was made on the Senate floor by Senate Majority Leader James Clayborne. But Herrin denies it…

SIU trustee Roger Herrin denies ever making the statement he wanted to reduce the minority population of SIU Carbondale, a claim that was leveled on the floor of the Illinois Senate earlier this past week.

“I’m denying it, of course I am,” Herrin of Harrisburg said in a phone interview with The Southern Illinoisan on Saturday. “In all my 76 years that’s a card I’ve never played.”

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 12:48 pm

Comments

Perhaps the Governors Office is a local tavern that was calling….

Comment by OneMan Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 12:59 pm
Not to be rude, but why would the gov care so much about a third rate school?

Are there a lot of jobs for the gov to fill?

Why does he care so much? What’s in it for him?

Comment by Skeeter Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 1:16 pm
===Perhaps the Governors Office is a local tavern that was calling===

There used to be a tavern in Kankakee called “He’s not here.” So, when you called, that’s how they would answer the phone. Clever, but probably not the best name in the world if you wanted to convince your spouse that all was well.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 1:19 pm
The admin assistant to the president is verifies the president’s account? Shocking.

Comment by horseracer Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 1:28 pm
The gov. may be interested in this “third rate school” because it is the second largest university in the state. Thats all.

Comment by Downstater Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 1:32 pm
To Poshard, it is an OUTRAGE that Quinn’s staff would call board members. AOK for him to call around, though. Odd…

Comment by horseracer Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 1:38 pm
Politicians who could care less about education are fighting for power.Capital improvements on campus make money for contractors and jobs for the Laborer’s Union.The campus maintenance and upkeep is ignored.SIU needs a change of direction.

Comment by eddie Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 1:40 pm
-why would the gov care so much about a third rate school?-

Skeeter, I’m not a Saluki, but I have family members whom received a great education at SIU.

Your sentence was below the belt. Hopefully, your statement was a bad attempt at snark.

Comment by Endangered Moderate Species Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 1:52 pm
Downstater answered my question.

Thanks, everybody.

Comment by Skeeter Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 1:56 pm
Can someone explain to me how ed hightower even has time for the siu board when he’s a school superintendent AND officiating ncaa basketball every night? Just something I’ve been wonderingt for a while.

Comment by hisgirlfriday Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 2:17 pm
hisgirlfriday, good question. He does live a full life.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 2:20 pm
It’s too bad that they can’t settle all of this controversy with a duel.

These guys are all so old that they wouldn’t be able to see well enough to use pistols….so……Shotguns at ten paces!!!!

Comment by JoeVerdeal Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 2:24 pm
Hightower also has one of the best toupees I’ve ever seen. The man has style.

Comment by horseracer Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 2:31 pm
==Not to be rude, but why would the gov care so much about a third rate school?==

I’ve often wondered that about the U of I, but I usually hold my tongue. (Go Dawgs!)

To your larger point, I’ve noticed that the gov seems to pay a lot of attention to even some of the most obscure board appointments. There seems to be a strong Quinn loyalty test for any appointee.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 3:05 pm
Were all the University Trustees elected at one time? I know the U of I Trustees were once elected.

Didn’t Jim Edgar orchestrate the change from elected to Governor’s appointments so as to remove the politicizing of University Boards?

Comment by Endangered Moderate Species Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 3:10 pm
Rename siue to MIU, Middle Illinois UNIVERSITY, thats where we are.

Comment by joe from miu Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 3:23 pm
This is like a bad reality show.

Don’t you just love transparency! Oh, for the closed doors of yesteryear.

Comment by walkinfool Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 3:53 pm
SIU has always been the most political institution of higher education in the state. Long history of political patronage and spoils.

Comment by D P Gumby Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 4:29 pm
It’s nice to see university leaders acting like 3rd graders. I bet my dad can beat up your dad.

Comment by Demoralized Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 4:43 pm
SIU could be very important for the economic development of Illinois. SIU’s Mining Engineering program could play a huge role in relation to fracking in Illinois. Western Land Services, a Michigan-based company that acquires titles and land rights for energy companies, said that in less than a year they have signed about 1,000 leases covering several hundred thousand acres in southern Illinois for energy companies interested in fracking. The Denver-based company Next Energy LLC, has also reportedly signed leases with many Illinois landowners. HB2615, mandates baseline water testing before fracking starts, and water monitoring thereafter. If contamination is found, it is presumed that the industry is liable. The bill goes further than federal clean air laws in limiting the release and flaring of natural gas during operations, important for reducing carbon dioxide and other emissions.

SIU will likely provide many of the technical workers for this industry and state regulation of it assuming it takes off. This is why the Governor should be interested in SIU, if for no other reason.

Comment by Rod Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 4:47 pm
If the three new appointees are seated there would be five SIU Carbondale degree holders and none SIUe dgree holders on the Board. Could this be the start of the split of the two campuses and then the Govenor could appoint another seven of his friends to the new SIUe Board.

Comment by Makandadawg Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 4:48 pm
Only UI Trustees were elected. Obviously the change eliminated all political influence. Until the Blago/Quinn “administration.”

Comment by Arthur Andersen Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 4:58 pm
Has anyone connected the dots between Poshard and Senate staffer, maybe Chief of Staff now, Dave Gross? Gross was on the Sente staff, Poshard hired him in a cushy job at SIU, when Cullerton took over as President, Gross left SIU and went back to the Sente. Poshard and Gross have been close for decades. Please someone tell me where this is not happening. Surely the media as it is can see through this ruse!

Comment by Come on Glenn Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 8:01 pm
AA — That whole “Blagojevich/Quinn” thing is just nonsense.

Comment by soccermom Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 8:46 pm
soccermom, that was snark, albeit badly done. My point was that changing to appointed didn’t remove the politics, as typified by Blago/Quinn. Sorry.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 9:21 pm
==Not to be rude, but why would the gov care so much about a third rate school?==

SIU is a nationally ranked school not a third rate school. It has a 44% acceptance rate. The state needs to better fund SIUC’s engineering program. The average ACT for UIUC engineering is 32. It is getting impossible for high performing Illinois students to get in there without being in some special group.

Comment by Liberty_First Monday, Mar 4, 13 @ 9:48 pm