New JJC Trustee Seated as Colleague Faults Appointment Process

Joliet Junior College | August 12, 2026

Article Summary: Trustee Tim Bradley attended his first regular Joliet Junior College board meeting Aug. 12, drawing congratulations from faculty leaders and fellow trustees — and prompting Trustee Maureen Broderick to say the process that produced his appointment lacked any governing policy.

Trustee Appointment Key Points:

Broderick said 17 candidates applied, that the field was cut to five without board action, and that the college has no policy governing trustee appointments.

Trustee Elaine Bottomley said every trustee was given the opportunity to take part in the selection process.

Trustee Diane Harris said candidates who were not interviewed can still run for a seat in April.

The board’s attorney said an ad hoc committee on the president’s evaluation was omitted from the agenda by oversight and can return next meeting.

JOLIET — Trustee Tim Bradley took part in his first regular meeting of the Joliet Junior College Board of Trustees on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, leading the Pledge of Allegiance and telling the audience he is a JJC alumnus.

“Thank you for everyone that put me here,” Bradley said during trustee updates. “I’m here to support and even more proud after today to be a JJC alum and, of course, to join the board.”

Faculty Union President Curt Ward welcomed him from the podium, telling the board, “Trustee Bradley, welcome and congratulations on your appointment. We look forward to your support of the faculty as we continue to deliver the world-class education here at JJC.” President Dr. Clyne Namuo included a photograph of Bradley taking the oath of office in his report and formally welcomed him to the board.

Broderick congratulated Bradley but said she objects to how the seat was filled. “It’s not about Tim, it’s about the process,” she said. “We have 17 candidates. We have no policy on how to appoint a candidate. There was no board action for us to go from 17 down to five.”

She said the interview questions used were not the ones she had helped draft, that they did not probe whether applicants were bringing an agenda, and that no rubrics were produced to show how candidates were ranked. “Typically, when a fifth person drops out, number six gets put in, so that you still have the five candidates,” she said. She also said she believes the college lost prospective candidates who might otherwise have run for a seat in April, and that “there needs to be a process put in place in policy.”

Bottomley answered in her own closing remarks. “We provide every opportunity for folks to be involved, for this entire board to be involved, in our selection and appointment process,” she said. “And if you decide to show up or not show up, that is 100% on you.”

Harris, who along with Broderick and absent Trustee Michelle Lee was named by Broderick as one of three trustees she said should have been called about the ad hoc committee’s work, struck a different note. Speaking again at the end of trustee updates, Harris said she wanted the candidates who were not selected to know “they still have an opportunity to serve on the board by running for office. So I don’t want to discourage that.”

Earlier in the meeting, during approval of the agenda, Broderick asked why items on the ad hoc committee for trustee candidates and the ad hoc committee for the president’s evaluation were not listed. The board’s attorney told trustees the candidate committee’s report had been delivered at the board’s most recent full meeting, a special meeting, and that the president’s evaluation committee item “was an oversight” that “can be done at the next meeting.” He added that any report on the evaluation itself would be a personnel matter, limited in open session to noting that the board had gone into closed session and discussed it.

Garcia Guillen told Broderick trustees would have an opportunity for a debrief or update in the future, but not at that meeting.

The agenda was then approved on a voice vote, with all trustees in favor except Broderick.