Tom Cullerton's reform package passes Senate's Committee on Higher Education

SPRINGFIELD- In light of the continuous news of scandals and misuse of taxpayer dollars on state universities and community college campuses, the Senate's Committee on Higher Education voted on a key reform package.

An executive compensation reform package sponsored by State Senator Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) passed the committee with bipartisan support.

"These reforms are necessary to end the days of bloated overpaid administrators banking on executive perks at the expense of our college students," Cullerton said. "We need to reform the way taxpayer dollars are spent to make college more affordable in Illinois."

Cullerton is committed to reforming abuses at state community colleges and universities to keep institutions credible and costs affordable for students.

Six initiatives were discussed today to protect state dollars at Illinois public universities and community colleges:

Community College Trustee Training (Senate Bill 2157) - Requires new college board trustees to complete four hours of professional development training that range from labor laws, open meetings act, freedom of information regulations, ethics and financial and accountability oversight.

University Board Training (Senate Bill 2174)- Requires every voting member of a public university governing board to complete a minimum of four hours of professional development leadership training that range from labor laws, open meetings act, freedom of information regulations, ethics and financial and accountability oversight.

External Audits (Senate Bill 2155) - Amends existing laws to require the auditor general to audit one-third of all community colleges every year.

Preventing Lame-Duck Decisions (Senate Bill 2158) - Prohibits community college boards from entering into new employee contracts or changing existing employee contracts 45 days prior to Election Day for trustees and extends through the lame-duck period until the first meeting of the new board.

In 2009, Former DuPage Community College President Breuder's contract extension was approved by a lame-duck board.

Severance Packages inclusion in Pension Checks (Senate Bill 2156) - Changes the existing pension code to bar several perks, such as room and board expenses, from being classified as "pensionable earnings."

Transparency at Community Colleges and State Universities (Senate Bill 2159) - Promotes transparency by requiring contract terms, annual performance reviews of administrators and forbids contract buyouts in cases of pending criminal charges.

"These reforms are a long time coming," Cullerton said. "We need to act now and act responsibly for the sake of Illinois taxpayers."