Endorsements: Tomei, Griffin for College of Lake County Board

This endorsement is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

The five candidates vying for two, 6-year terms on the College of Lake County Board bring a wealth of expertise and experience to the table.

That knowledge will be useful to help ensure the college is maximizing its new Lakeshore campus building in Waukegan and its new Advanced Technology Center in Gurnee amid a national trend of declining student transfers from two-year colleges to four-year universities.

Robert J. Tomei Jr., 36, of Gurnee, an attorney with Johnston Tomei Lenczycki & Goldberg, LLC, is the lone incumbent seeking reelection. Tomei has served one 2-year term on the Grayslake-based college's board.

Former CLC board member William M. Griffin, 70, of Lake Forest is re-upping after electing not to seek an additional 6-year term in the spring 2021 election. Griffin, a professor at Triton College, led CLC during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenging times during his 25 years on the board. He received the 2017 ICCTA Gary W. Davis Ethical Leadership Award from the Illinois Community College Trustees Association.

Richard E. Soller, 65, of Gurnee, who retired from CLC, wants to use that teaching experience and institutional knowledge on the board. He was elected multiple times as the president of the faculty union.

Allena Barbato, 54, of Lake Villa is an administrator at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, a former administrator at CLC and a former Lake Villa trustee.

Renita D. Davis, 59, of Round Lake Beach is a social worker with YMCA Metro Chicago who has worked in education for more than 20 years.

While each candidate has a valuable perspective to offer, Tomei deserves an opportunity to build on his two years already served on the board and Griffin, as a seasoned veteran, can provide longitudinal insight from his decades of service.

They are endorsed.