The Illinois Community College Board warned the College of Lake County last fall that there was “confusion” over its authority in regards to equipment at the school’s Advanced Technology Center lacking U.S.-specific certification, reigniting discussions between the school and the village of Gurnee.
The 40 pieces of equipment, ranging from bandsaws to laser welders, do not have NRTL certification, a U.S. standard, although school leadership said the “majority” have CE certification, meaning they meet European Union safety, health and environmental standards.
According to school and village emails, last year a dispute over the equipment’s safety certifications and the village’s relevant standards was brought to a close when Gurnee delegated its enforcement authority of equipment standards to the ICCB, under the impression the ICCB could act as an oversight board and accept responsibility for the machinery.
After the ICCB was anonymously notified, legal representation with the board notified school leadership that it would not accept this delegation of the village’s enforcement authority.
“The ICCB … does not employ equipment safety inspectors and thus does not assert that its authority supersedes or replaces local government control over building safety issues,” a letter from ICCB’s legal representative said.
Discussions about the equipment, which has been installed and is being used by students at the ATC, have been ongoing since, leadership with the village and school said, with a resolution on at least six pieces of equipment being reached.
Howard Metz, a legal representative for the school, said the same machinery is being used at other educational institutions and manufacturers. CLC President Lori Suddick emphasized the equipment was safe to use and was purchased with the input of industry partners.
“All the equipment that’s on that list was purchased and determined to be integrated in the curriculum because the industry is using that equipment,” she said.
Suddick characterized the issue around ICCB’s role as a simple “miscommunication” between the school and the village.
Gurnee Mayor Tom Hood said the CLC had been a “great partner” with the village, and it is “excited” to have the ATC. Both parties are working to find a solution to the equipment issue, he said.
“It’s really getting both of us to a place of comfort, to know that the machines are properly certified, and we’re going down that road,” Hood said. “I’m confident that we’ll work it out.”
