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Schools

Village Board to Hold Special Meeting on COD De-annexation

COD says they will not be attending the meeting in any official capacity

The Village of Glen Ellyn will host a special board meeting on the de-annexation plans, even though the college will not be in attendance.

Joseph Moore, COD associate vice president of external relations, said the college has no plans at this time to attend the meeting and will continue to pursue de-annexation.

“Our board realized they could not continue to chase a moving target, and ultimately voted to pursue deannexation,” Moore said.

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Carl Henninger, village trustee, said he was disappointed over COD’s decision to not attend the special board meeting.

“Inevitably, the citizens will probably pose the question, ‘Why is COD doing (this)?’” Henninger said. “We’d rather have them there to answer that.”

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Even though COD will not be attending in any official capacity, Henninger said the purpose of the meeting is threefold – to answer questions, hear citizens’ concerns, and to potentially act on the issue.

Henninger said there is a possibility the village board will approve the proposed intergovernmental agreement – the same agreement COD rescinded from its May 23 meeting.

College and village officials had been negotiating a new IGA for at least a year, coming to an agreement on April 18. But when the village approached the college with health and safety ordinances, the college looked into the option of de-annexation.

“The college worked extremely hard over the past year to negotiate a fair IGA. Through this process, we have been transparent and forthright in our efforts to come to a resolution that both sides can live with,” Moore said. “Every single time we thought we came to an agreement, village leadership would change its mind.”

COD officials have described the relationship between the college and the village as being “irretrievably broken.” Village Board President Mark Pfefferman disagreed with this assessment.

“I am steadfast in the opinion that we can make it work,” Pfefferman said. “It is the right thing to do.”

The special board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday in the Glen Ellyn Civic Center. Materials related to the meeting can be found here.

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