Former College of DuPage President Robert Breuder is like a bad cold; just when you think he’s gone, he makes his comeback. After being bought out, taking an administrative leave, and getting fired just last Tuesday, Breuder isn’t going down without a fight. Instead, he is suing board members in a last, fatal attempt at redemption. This should be interesting.

To get one thing straight: Breuder isn’t all bad. The negative press he’s received over the past year might suggest otherwise, but the 164-page lawsuit he filed on Wednesday, just one day after being fired by the board of trustees, extensively lists his accomplishments and how board members have blatantly ignored them. Increasing school funding, improving the college’s campus aesthetic, and implementing new educational programs are listed among dozens of other achievements during his presidency. Yet he’s certainly no saint either.

Breuder was essentially the catalyst for all of the negative press surrounding COD in the past year. From inappropriate emails to overspending, Breuder has made a name for himself as the worst president COD has ever seen, earning a no-confidence vote from full-time faculty shortly before being bought out by the administration. And nothing has been the same since.

It seems as though Breuder is alone in thinking he was wrongfully fired, although he isn’t the only person to hurt the school’s reputation. There’s no doubt that the unprofessional behavior displayed by Chairwoman Kathy Hamilton at past board meetings was more than a bit embarrassing. And now Hamilton, the leader of the anti-Breuder campaign since day one, and her “Clean Slate” board members Frank Napolitano, Deanne Mazzochi, and Charles Bernstein are being sued by Breuder for tarnishing his reputation.

Make no mistake: if this lawsuit goes to court, it will get ugly. Neither side has been known for playing fair, staying professional, or giving up. In fact, it could actually be entertaining to watch if the issue wasn’t already painfully drawn out. At this point, we’re done laughing at the petty comebacks, the subtle jabs, and the desperate actions taken to make a statement. We just want the whole situation to finally be over.

Instead, there are months and months of legal action to look forward to, with COD certainly making more negative headlines. The disparity between Hamilton and her minions and the board members who supported Breuder, Joseph Wozniak, Dianne McGuire, and Erin Birt, will become even more apparent. In fact, Wozniak and Birt weren’t even present for the last board meeting, with Birt missing in action for a large portion of meetings this year. And one can’t help but notice that no legal action was taken against them. It’s all too predictable, and once again we are left disappointed by everyone involved.

When Breuder was fired, many people thought that it was the end of this soap opera-worthy drama. Instead, it feels as though everything up until this point has merely been a warm-up. This lawsuit, whichever way it may go, will not be simple, and may even end up costing the college more than Breuder’s initial buyout. No one is going down without a fight, and all we can do now is make our bets on the last man standing. Let the better trash-talker win.