Faculty Association President Rebuts Chair on Contract Wages

Lake Land College | August 17, 2026

Article Summary: Brenda Hunzinger, president of the Lake Land College Faculty Association, used the public comment period on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, to deliver what the minutes describe as a rebuttal to the board chair’s message from the prior month, raising concerns about the proposed three-year faculty contract. It was the second consecutive month she addressed the board on the contract.

Faculty Contract Public Comment Key Points:

• Hunzinger spoke on behalf of the assembled faculty and the Faculty Association, providing a rebuttal to the Chair’s message from the prior month.
• She raised numerous concerns with the proposed contract covering academic years 2026-2027, 2027-2028 and 2028-2029.
• At the July 13 meeting she addressed the same contract, focused on wage-related concerns, and was granted an extension to 3 minutes and 50 seconds.
• The board does not, as a matter of practice, respond to questions posed during public comment, per Board Policy 3.17 guidelines.

EFFINGHAM — The president of the Lake Land College Faculty Association addressed trustees for the second straight month on Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, this time to rebut a message from the board chair delivered at the July meeting.

Chair Tom Wright welcomed attendees and outlined public comment guidelines under Board Policy 3.17. Brenda Hunzinger, president of the Faculty Association, then addressed the board “on behalf of the assembled faculty and the Faculty Association, providing a rebuttal to the Chair’s message from the prior month,” according to the minutes, which state she “highlighted numerous concerns with the proposed contract between the College and the Faculty Association for the Academic Years 2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029.”

No other public comments were offered.

At the July 13 meeting, Hunzinger addressed the board on the same proposed contract, “regarding the Faculty Association’s wage-related concerns,” and requested an extended three minutes and 50 seconds, which Wright granted. Individual comments are ordinarily limited to three minutes under the policy guidelines read at that meeting, which also state that speakers should identify themselves and their topic, that comments should be directed to the board as a whole rather than to individual members or staff, and that the board “listens and considers public comment but does not, as a matter of practice, respond to questions posed during this portion of the meeting.”

The board convened into closed session later in the Aug. 17 meeting under 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1), (2) and (11) to discuss the appointment, employment, compensation, performance, discipline or dismissal of specific employees, to discuss collective negotiating matters and to discuss pending litigation. No formal action may be taken in closed session. Following closed session, the board returned to open session and conducted a roll call at 8:22 p.m.

The only action taken after the board reconvened was approval of the Human Resources Report, which the motion states followed discussion in closed session “related only to the termination of employment for an employee with the Illinois Department of Corrections educational program and two requests for a general leave of absence without pay.” That motion carried 8-0.

The minutes do not record the content of the chair’s July message that Hunzinger was rebutting, and the July minutes contain no separate “Chair’s message” item. The chair’s July report under the President’s Report and committee reports headings makes no reference to the faculty contract. (See Editorial Flags.)