COD Trustee Wars Episode Five: McGuire's Empire strikes again!

For the fifth time in five weeks College of DuPage Trustee Dianne McGuire led her three person Board faction to boycott a Board meeting, continuing shutdown of College of DuPage governance. Bills are not being paid. Academic programs are on hold. New new hires are going forward; tenure decisions remain in limbo. Worst of all, the Board is paralyzed in its most critical mission: complying with the Higher Learning Commission's (HLC) requirements to get COD off academic probation which endangers their academic accreditation.

The crowd of about a hundred community residents once again called for McGuire, as well as Erin Birt and Joe Wozniak, to resign or be charged with official misconduct. Acting Board Chair Deanne Mazzochi reiterated her plea at last week's two boycotted meetings that COD's urgent business cannot go forward without the Boycott Three's involvement; welcoming them to return at the next meeting without rancor or recrimination.

Besides boycotting all COD Board meetings, McGuire's Boycott Three are boycotting their sworn duty to pick a replacement for former Board member Kathy Hamilton. Though 28 local residents have applied for the seventh trustee spot, McGuire has written to the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) stating her faction will not work with the three working Board members to pick Hamilton's replacement, leaving the decision to an outsider, Acting ICCB Chair Laz Lopez.

Sometimes silence is not golden. McGuire and company's silence tonight spoke load and clear about their disdain and disrespect for public service, the College, students, faculty and taxpayers.