Governor J-B Pritzker is withdrawing the appointments of two members of the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees.
Marsha Ryan and Tom Britton - both selected by Pritzker's predecessor Bruce Rauner but never confirmed by the state Senate - are off the board as of Tuesday.
Britton's tenure as a trustee lasted only 10 months. He says he's disappointed with the decision because the board was making progress recently.
"And I think was really ready to move forward. My fear, again, and my disappointment is that opportunity might be threatened by all these changes."
Britton says the stability could be further diminished if trustees Shirley Portwood, Joel Sambursky and Randal Thomas are removed when their six-year terms expire this year.
Ryan -- who joined the board in January 2017 -- says she believes board chair Phil Gilbert's leadership will help the board continue its progress, despite the changes.
"He is a trusted manager and has the interests of the system and all of its components at heart."
Britton says he believes the move was politically motivated.
"The governor has a lot of political obligations to meet and I think this was simply a matter of the governor meeting some of the obligations he took on."
Ryan says she doesn't know what led to Pritzker's decision.
"I've not been in communication with him or with his office. Therefore, I can't speak to what motivates him. But, as I say, the appointment initially was the governor's and this retraction is also the governor's."
Both Ryan and Britton say they would like to further serve the SIU system if called upon in the future.
