Председатель совета доверителей колледжа Тритон подал в отставку после ареста за хранение наркотиков

Mark Stephens, the longtime chairman of Triton College’s board of trustees, should resign his leadership position in the wake of his recent drug arrest in the suburbs, according to two colleagues on the panel. “This is an opportunity for us to move in a different direction,” says Triton board secretary Tracy Jennings. “So I’m hopeful he would see this and decide to resign that position.” “As a board, we can’t remove him as a trustee, he’s an elected official,” Jennings says. But as chairman — which the seven-member board chooses, with Stephens holding that position since the early 1990s — “I’d ask for him to resign.” Jennings, who doubles as a pastor in far southwest suburban Joliet, said calls for resignation aren’t only about Stephens’ July 31 arrest during a traffic stop in far northwest suburban Harvard, where police found cannabis and a substance believed to be cocaine in his car. “Before all of this stuff happened I had already sounded the alarm that I didn’t think we were going in the right direction,” Jennings said, pointing to a “closed-off culture” under Stephens where there’s not enough transparency and accountability. That includes board meetings that aren’t streamed live, and “condescending” treatment of students who speak during the public comment sessions of those gatherings, he said. Also galling, Jennings said, is that Stephens is known to miss the school’s annual commencement ceremonies, with more than 2,000 students graduating this past May. “The most important day of our students’ lives, and he doesn’t show up,” Jennings said. Stephens is the brother of Rosemont Mayor Bradley Stephens and a son of late Mayor Donald E. Stephens. He couldn’t be reached for comment. Another Triton board member, Glover Johnson, said: “I see my responsibility is to protect public confidence in Triton and remain focused on our students, employees, taxpayers and communities. I therefore believe and respectfully hope that Mr. Stephens relinquishes the chairmanship and steps away from active board duties while this case is pending. This is not a prejudgment of guilt; it is a prudent step to prevent a personal legal matter from becoming an institutional distraction.” A community college based in River Grove, Triton draws from numerous suburbs, including Bellwood, Maywood, Melrose Park, Oak Park and Westchester, whose village board Jennings once served on. A Triton board meeting was held this past week, but Stephens wasn’t there. Tony Johnston, a leader of a union representing Triton faculty and staff, spoke during the public comment session to implore the board to act transparently in dealing with this scandal. “Boards owe their students, faculty and taxpayers real accountability,” he said, adding that “when a board of trustees is under this kind of cloud, silence isn’t neutral — it’s a choice, and it sends its own message about what this board considers acceptable.” But the board didn’t end up discussing Stephens’ status or legal issues in public. Johnston also has raised questions about Stephens’ “fitness” to remain board chairman. Johnston later explained that, at such public meetings, Stephens has “numerous times... interrupted presenters,” and is known to show up “very late” to board meetings and act “in a very erratic way.” And on substantive issues to Triton employees such as diversity initiatives, “he did not take those concerns seriously,” Johnston said. Johnston also asked the board to examine “whether Stephens’ business and political ties have ever compromised the board’s decisions.” Stephens runs a maintenance company that has reaped millions of dollars from Rosemont’s municipal government run by his family. He’s also been affiliated with an influential Rosemont law firm. It’s unclear whether either business has done work for Triton and, if so, in what context. A lobbying firm run by a member of Rosemont’s village board — Jack Dorgan, a longtime political ally of the Stephens family — has represented Triton at various times, state records show. Previous iterations of Dorgan’s DBP LLC have given $9,000 to Friends of Mark Stephens, Stephens’ main campaign fund. That campaign account has also accepted contributions from Triton employees — including the school president that reports to Stephens and the rest of the board, Mary-Rita Moore. Moore contributed $1,000 to Friends of Mark Stephens in 2023 two months after the board approved a four-year employment contract for her, with a starting annual salary of $288,000, records show. Moore made two other contributions totaling $1,000 in 2025, campaign disclosure records show. She declined to comment. Jennings challenged Stephens for the chairman post earlier this year, but came up short. He said should he ever get that job, he would “introduce a policy where I would not take any” campaign “money from any staffers.” Robert Herguth Chicago Sun-TimesWatchdogs reporter