Trustee Questions $138 Million JJC Investment Portfolio Before Approval

Joliet Junior College | September 16, 2026

Article Summary: Joliet Junior College trustees unanimously approved the treasurer’s report and financial report on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, after Trustee Maureen Broderick asked how the college’s roughly $138 million in investments is positioned and requested more detail on capital outlay spending.

Treasurer’s and Financial Report Key Points:

Broderick cited “137, almost 138 million” in the college’s investment accounts.

A college finance official said about $65 million sits in a five-year maturity ladder, “basically entirely in treasury notes.”

Between $3 million and $3.5 million matures each quarter; the average rate of return is “probably a little under four” percent.

Broderick asked for a breakdown of a $375,000 capital outlay line and a $276,000 contractual services line in the operations and maintenance restricted fund.

JOLIET — Joliet Junior College trustees approved the college’s treasurer’s report and financial report on separate unanimous roll calls Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, after Trustee Maureen Broderick pulled both items from the consent agenda to question how the college’s investment holdings are structured and how its capital spending is reported.

Broderick, who identified herself during the discussion as a banker, said she was looking at the investment schedule in the treasurer’s report.

“I know that we get the investments money that’s calculated into our revenue. Are all of these accounts in a very progressive rate situation?” she asked. “Because there’s a lot of money — 137, almost 138 million in it. How progressive are we with the interest rates?”

Namuo asked her to define the term. “Progressive means a valuable rate, a good rate — not something that is progressively getting better,” she said. “That’s what I’m looking at as a banker.”

Farmer then invited a college finance official, identified in the recording as Jeff Heap, to the podium.

“I’d say we have about $65 million in a maturity ladder, investment ladder, spread out over five years, basically entirely in treasury notes,” he said. “We have some stuff committed in local banks where they’re guaranteeing interest rates, and then you’ve got a lot of stuff that just is sitting liquid in money markets because it’s going to be needed” over the next six to nine months.

He said the college has “somewhere between three and three and a half million maturing every quarter” and is going out almost five years on the longer-dated holdings.

Asked for the average rate, he said: “Probably a little under four.” He added that “until last month, it hadn’t been above four for quite a while,” and that the yield curve “finally became a regular yield curve in the last six to 12 months.”

Broderick said she asked because longer terms often carry higher rates. “I know when they do extended rates or extended terms, we usually have higher rates sometimes because of the fact that they’re worried about anyone taking it out and not meeting the maturity dates,” she said.

The treasurer’s report, item 3.3, passed with Bottomley, Harris, Bradley, Broderick, Morales, Garcia Guillen and McCullum all voting yes.

Capital Outlay Detail Requested

On item 3.4, the financial report, Broderick turned to the statements of operations for the auxiliary fund and the operations and maintenance restricted fund, citing pages 10 and 12 of the board materials.

“My concern is the capital outlays and any contractual services. I know in capital outlays we have a lot budgeted, but we don’t sometimes always use all that budget,” she said, citing $375,000 in current capital outlay for the operations and maintenance restricted fund and $276,000 in contractual services.

“Is there any way that we can get at least an idea of what is in these two areas,” she asked, “because basically when we approve things, we are approving things, but we’re not seeing what the budget is.”

A staff member pointed her to a summary by fund at the end of the bill list. Broderick said that showed totals but not purposes.

“I think capital outlay is something that all board members should have an idea of what is in there and what we’re doing with it,” she said, adding that unspent capital outlay “ends up going into the reserves.” She said she wanted more detail before budget season: “I don’t want to see us doing a lot of guessing on what it is when we get to the budget time.”

No commitment to a specific format was recorded. The financial report then passed with Morales, Bottomley, Bradley, Broderick, Harris, Garcia Guillen and McCullum all voting yes.