Designed for new trustees at community colleges in the Illinois Community College System (ICCS), this handbook provides background information and an orientation to the responsibilities of members of community college boards of trustees. The booklet briefly covers the following topics: (1) historical and legislative background to the establishment of community colleges and the ICCS; (2) the characteristics of ICCS students; (3) the organization of higher education in Illinois and the administrative levels within which the ICCS functions; (4) the specific legal duties and responsibilities of community college trustees in Illinois (i.e., defining the role and mission of the college, evaluating institutional performance, approving college plans, establishing tuition and tax rates, hiring and evaluating the college president, establishing institutional budgets and approving contracts and expenditures, and representing the community to the college and the college to the community); (5) the role of board officers, the chairperson, and the president; (6) board policymaking and administrative procedures; (7) the role of the board attorney and auditor; (8) the board's relationship to students and faculty; (9) reviewing the college's budget report; (10) the Illinois Community College funding formula used to determine the allocation of fiscal resources to the colleges; (11) the Illinois Open Meetings Act and its relevance to the conduct of board meetings; (12) statements of economic interest (relating to trustee financial holdings) and conflict of interest; (13) collective bargaining laws; (14) relations with state legislators; (15) maintaining up-to-date information; and (16) non-profit associations of interest to community college trustees. A list of 27 commonly used acronyms is included. (PAA)