News
College of DuPage board fires Robert Breuder
Chicago Tribune | Oct. 21, 2015
After months of public controversy and numerous investigations, College of DuPage trustees fired President Robert Breuder on Tuesday night and ended his controversial tenure at the state's largest community college. Read more...
College of DuPage board lowers tuition, taxes
DuPage Policy Journal | Oct. 10, 2015
The College of DuPage's newly elected governing board voted Sept. 28 to revise the 2016 budget. The $314.1 million spending plan will reduce tuition by $5 per credit hour and cut the school’s property tax levy by approximately 5 percent. Read more...
COD board agrees to cut tuition, taxes
Daily Herald | Sept. 30, 2015
College of DuPage trustees have approved a budget that will reduce tuition by $5 per credit hour and cut the school's property tax levy by roughly 5 percent. Read more...
College of DuPage trustees vote to shutter Waterleaf restaurant
Chicago Tribune | Aug. 13, 2015
College of DuPage will close Waterleaf restaurant at the end of the month, shutting the door on the upscale establishment that came to symbolize questionable spending by the school's embattled president. Read more...
College of DuPage report: WDCB manager may have known about Elmhurst fraud
MySuburbanLife | June 12, 2015
A previously redacted report released by the College of DuPage Board of Trustees shows the school's former WDCB radio station manager may have known about an investigation of an employee who allegedly stole thousands from the college years before senior administration learned of the possible wrongdoing. Read more...
New College of DuPage board chair Hamilton hopes to cut tuition, restore confidence
DuPage Policy Journal | May 22, 2015
Kathy Hamilton, newly elected College of DuPage Board of Trustees chairwoman, said by the end of her first year in office as chair she hopes to reduce tuition and restore the public’s confidence in the college. Read more...
Hamilton, board fund state performance audit of COD
DuPage Policy Journal | May 21, 2015
College of DuPage Board Chairman Kathy Hamilton and her fellow trustees have approved funding of a performance audit by the Illinois Auditor General. Read more...
New COD board chairwoman outlines reforms to come
Daily Herald | May 12, 2015
Sweeping reforms enacted by the just-installed College of DuPage board were only the beginning, according to new board Chairwoman Kathy Hamilton. Read more...
New College of DuPage Board Takes Action
WTTW Chicago Tonight | May 4, 2015
There's a new board chairwoman at the College of DuPage, and she wasted no time making changes. In a contentious first vote on Thursday, April 30, the new majority of reform trustees voted 4-3 to put the school's controversial president, Robert Breuder, on paid administrative leave. Carol Marin talks with COD board chairwoman Kathy Hamilton, trustee Joseph Wozniak, and Chicago Tribune's Jodi Cohen about the board's new direction. Read more...
Hamilton: “Fraud, waste, abuse” by College of DuPage President
WGN Radio | April 7, 2015
Vice Chairman of the College of DuPage’s Board of Trustees, Kathy Hamilton joins WGN’s Bob Sirott, Walter Jacobson and Paul Green to talk about her campaign to expose the malpractice of College of DuPage president Robert Breuder. Read more...
Clean Slate candidates call for College of DuPage audit
DuPage Policy Journal | March 10, 2015
College of DuPage Vice-Chairman Kathy Hamilton and the “Clean Slate” reform college trustee candidates aligned at a Tuesday morning press conference in declaring their support for a state audit of the college. Read more...
College of DuPage officials drink, eat well on taxpayers' dime
Chicago Tribune | March 6, 2015
With a dozen bottles of wine, pate and $70 prix fixe plates, College of DuPage President Robert Breuder hosted a holiday dinner for the school's board of trustees in December 2013 at the campus' high-end restaurant, Waterleaf. The tab — $2,331 — was paid by taxpayers. Read more...
Only one trustee opposes president’s severance package
DuPage Policy Journal | Feb. 25, 2015
Only one member of the College of Dupage Board of Trustees voted against the controversial $760,000 early retirement package for college President Robert Breuder. Read more...
Controversial Buyout for President of College of DuPage
WTTW Chicago Tonight | Jan. 29, 2015
College of DuPage President Robert Breuder is set to exit his post next spring-- three years ahead of the end of his contract. The college's board of trustees voted 6 to 1 to let the controversial Breuder leave early offering a severance package of $763,000 and it’s resulted in a lot of outrage in the western suburb and beyond. The board says the sweet deal is actually less than what Breuder is owed under the remainder of his contract. Nevertheless, the board has faced a lot of anger over its vote. We hear from College of DuPage Trustee Kathy Hamilton, who was the one board member to vote against the deal, and Chicago Tribune reporter Jodi S. Cohen. Read more...
State Rep. says College of DuPage trustee should be rewarded for political courage
Illinois Review | Jan. 26, 2015
It's time for DuPage County voters to step up and reward College of DuPage trustee Kathy Hamilton for her political courage by supporting her slate of three reform candidates on the April 7th ballot, says State Rep. Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton). Read more...
Maybe the Best College Trustee in Illinois
HuffPost | Dec. 29, 2014
Kathy Hamilton stands four foot eleven, is a mother of two, a classic violinist, and a director at her local ballet. In 2012, she was elected as Trustee of the local community college and won with the most votes in the school’s fifty-year history. She has ferociously battled corrupt practices and an imbedded culture of insider trading. Read more...
$95 million in hidden spending revealed at College of DuPage
Illinois Policy | Oct. 7, 2014
Illinois’ second-largest college was revealed on Oct. 2 to have hidden more than $95 million in spending since 2009, according to data from American Transparency’s openthebooks.com. The waste therein has cost students and taxpayers dearly. Read more...
$26 Million Selfie at Illinois Jr. College
Forbes | Sept. 10, 2014
Dead elephant, shooting club, global satellite phones, double dipped reimbursements, and $26 million in hidden payments to vendors and school employees… the College of DuPage (COD) is caught faking transparency to pass the goodies. Read more...
A censure for speaking out
Chicago Tribune | Aug. 27, 2014
If you serve on the College of DuPage board of trustees, your responsibilities include overseeing the finances and guiding the future of the Glen Ellyn-based community college. You're also expected to sit down and shut up. Read more...
Stop expansion for expansion's sake
Daily Herald | July 8, 2014
Because of board policy restricting member speech, I must assert my First Amendment right in this letter as a citizen. We all want to meet the educational needs of our community. I take that goal very seriously as the vice chairman at the College of DuPage. Recently, the COD board voted on a $50 million building for new classrooms. I was the only board member that opposed that investment. I felt the project warranted further analysis and definition of scope in terms of funding. Read more...