WIU Board meeting cancelled as two trustees were quietly removed.
From the Quad City Times:
https://qctimes.com/news/local/wiu-boar ... 4265c.html
A New Beginning has Begun
Sounds like they weren't going to be confirmed by the senate anyway (a process that was still ongoing). Pritzker wants to make sure that WIU has the right BOT members in place to really work to get things turned around. There were apparently issues/questions with the two who were removed that had recently come to light.
A few BOT members, who don't really have a full "lay of the land" yet, and maybe a couple of people in the QC area (not anyone actually at the QC campus, but local QC business people, I think). That's about it though. Nobody else, from the governor down to the building service workers on either campus want Rives to be the Interim President.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
I'm sure they love the university...they had a huge hand in making the Ray Hanson Statue a reality...but the reasoning had more to do with how they handled the senate confirmation process (i.e. poorly). Just because someone loves the university doesn't mean they will make the best BOT member. I, for example, also love WIU...this campus has literally been my home for my entire life...but I also would not make a good BOT member.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
Nope...Governor's people look into candidates, do an initial vetting for any obvious problems, then the Governor can give his "ok" and they are essentially "tentative" BOT members. However, the BOT members do also require senate confirmation to be "official", and that process can take a while longer.
On page 402 of the State Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability's list of Expirations and Vacancies (http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lru/Gov.pdf) you can see "20046 Western Illinois University, Board of Trustees" listed as "Confirmation Required". Not all governor appointees need Senate Confirmation, but all state university BOT member positions do require it.
I've heard from a couple of sources now that the two members who were removed were not likely to be officially confirmed by the senate. I don't know if we'll ever know for sure what the reasoning was, but that's what the process is.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
Western Illinois University Alum/Fan/Employee
Member of the Marching Leathernecks - 1996-2000
- Tere North
- Posts: 1146
- Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:59 pm
That is what is on the Capital Fax site, but let's be honest. The Governor withdrew his support, for whatever reasons.
I guess what makes me the most nervous about this is that the only way they didn't get to name Rives the interim president is because of the two removed and the other 3 who did not show up out of solidarity. Are we now going to be stuck with a skewed BOT who wants this guy even though most people think it's a horrendous choice?