An otherwise routine vote to approve monthly bill payments ignited a tense exchange at the Joliet Junior College Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday, revealing ongoing friction over redacted legal invoices, trustee conduct, and past board sanctions.

The debate began when Trustee Maureen Broderick requested the approval of bills be pulled from the consent agenda. She stated she had not received the unredacted legal bills she requests monthly, a practice she said hinders the board’s fiduciary duty.

This led to a direct exchange with the college’s attorney, Bryan Kopman. He explained that certain redactions are necessary to protect attorney-client privilege and legal strategy, particularly in relation to lawsuits that Trustees Broderick and Michelle Lee had filed against the college.

“I can’t provide you with unredacted copies of those bills because then you would see what the strategy is and you could share it with your counsel,” Kopman said. “That’s just common sense.”

Trustee Lee countered that bills were redacted even before any lawsuits were filed.

The dispute over legal matters resurfaced during trustee closing remarks. Broderick addressed a past censure by the board, stating that according to state and national community college associations, the sanction does not carry over after her re-election, and she should be considered a trustee in “good standing.”

Lee followed up by claiming that the board’s budgeting for trustee travel and training was a “tactic to isolate” her and Broderick, preventing them from attending educational conferences.

The sharp exchanges prompted Trustee Elaine Bottomley to call for a change in tone. “The way that we speak to each other matters,” she urged her colleagues. “We don’t all have to agree… but we have to respect the outcomes of our votes.”