By Steven Stilt
The Kaskaskia College Board of Trustees swore in three of its members to new terms during Monday night’s meeting, and voted to maintain the board’s current leadership structure.
Trustees Craig Finke, Bill Hawley, and Linda Stover took the oath of office for their new terms, having been re-elected to seats on the board during the election held earlier this month.
Trustees voted to retain Hawley as chairman and Stover as vice-chair of the board, and to have Laura Wedekemper continue serving as secretary.
KC President George Evans says Hawley has been an instrumental part of the board and an exemplary leader over the past 20-plus years.
“He has been through the ups and downs of this institution … believing in us and the leadership here at the institution, and past presidents, to really execute the vision of what Kaskaskia College can be. He’s been an incredible mentor to me, but also to other presidents. He’s very diplomatic, and most importantly is, he never brings personal politics into the board room.”
Also during Monday’s meeting, board members selected Evans to serve as president pro tem, and picked Karol Potter to serve as recording secretary and as secretary pro tem.
In other action, trustees approved a resolution to approve capital project and matching funds required for a Capital Development Board project that will update the water system on KC’s main campus, including installation of new distribution lines, isolation and shut-off valves, pressure sensing gauges and pressure reduction valves. The cost of the project is estimated at just under 1.7 million dollars, with the college responsible for one-fourth of the costs and the Capital Development Board covering the other three-fourths.
The board approved the purchase of LED light fixtures from Springfield Electric of Mount Vernon to retrofit the main campus at a cost of $38,500.93.
Approval was also given on the purchase of lounge furniture for the Harry L. Crisp Center from KI Furniture, and on a two-year agreement with Timely Telehealth LLC to serve as the college’s vendor for virtual mental health counseling.
Trustees approved a resolution to rename Classroom L104 to the “Joseph H. Heimann Classroom,” in honor of Kaskaskia College’s first board of trustees president.
In personnel items, the board accepted the retirement of Construction Occupations professor Pete Donnelly, effective May 17th, 2026, and the resignation of building and grounds technician Randall Dean Meredith, effective April 14th, 2025.
