JJC Proclaims Hispanic Heritage Month as Chair Cites Funding Threats

Joliet Junior College | August 12, 2026

Article Summary: Joliet Junior College trustees unanimously proclaimed Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month on Aug. 12, with two students reading the proclamation in English and Spanish, and Chair Nancy Garcia Guillen using her first chair’s report to warn of threats to state funding and support for undocumented students.

Hispanic Heritage Month Proclamation Key Points:

The proclamation, agenda item 1.4.1, passed on a voice vote with all trustees in favor.

It notes the college’s designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution and commits to raising the Hispanic Heritage Month flag.

Students Abigail Camacho and Maria Fernanda Amaya Carmona read the English and Spanish versions.

Garcia Guillen, the first Latina to chair the JJC board, said higher education faces “threats to state funding and financial support for our undocumented students across the state of Illinois.”

JOLIET — The Joliet Junior College Board of Trustees on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, adopted a proclamation designating Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month across Illinois Community College District 525.

Dr. Karl Brooks introduced the two students who read the document. Abigail Camacho, who Brooks said is a 20-year-old Mexican American student serving as president of Latinos Unidos, vice president of REACH for Phi Theta Kappa and a peer mentor and student ambassador for the Center for Multicultural Access and Success, read the English version. Maria Fernanda Amaya Carmona, described by Brooks as a 19-year-old Colombian student majoring in business administration and active in the IDEAL student club, read the Spanish version.

The proclamation recites that citizens of Hispanic ancestry “comprise a significant percentage of the residents of Illinois Community College District number 525,” that the college has received the Hispanic Serving Institution designation, and that the board will raise the Hispanic Heritage Month flag “in celebration of its students and community.” It was adopted, in its own words, “this 12th day of August 2026,” and names the district’s seven counties: Will, Grundy, Kendall, LaSalle, Kankakee, Livingston and Cook.

Trustee Alicia Morales moved approval, seconded by Trustee Diane Harris. A voice vote was taken and all trustees voted yes.

The themes returned at the close of the meeting, when Garcia Guillen delivered what she called her first official chair’s report.

“It is an incredible honor to begin my first full meeting as the chair of JJC, and to do this as the first Latina in the history of JJC to be the chair,” she said. “This moment represents the generations of families, students and the community members who have believed in the power of education and the vision of JJC.”

Garcia Guillen then turned to the year ahead. “As we begin this academic year, we also recognize that higher education is facing significant challenges,” she said. “Among them are threats to state funding and financial support for our undocumented students across the state of Illinois. We cannot lose sight of what is at stake.”

She said the college “has always been a place where opportunity is meant to be accessible and not limited by a student’s background or circumstances,” and that the board has “a responsibility to be thoughtful leaders at JJC, to continue to advocate for our students and to ensure that we continue providing pathways to education and opportunity.”

Garcia Guillen closed by saying she looks forward to working with fellow trustees “to be visionary leaders and put aside individual egos to be able to focus on our students and our greater community.”

The chair’s report drew applause and was followed immediately by adjournment. Garcia Guillen also opened the meeting by reminding trustees that it would be conducted under board policy 01.45.00 on meetings of the board and Robert’s Rules of Order, with the board’s attorney serving as parliamentarian, a three-minute limit per trustee on each agenda item and two minutes for rebuttal, and a reminder of board policy 01.03.00 on civility and respect.