A case study of a contract college, John Wood Community College, is presented. The history of the community college movement in Illinois is traced, and the nature of state governance is examined. The Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) is the body charged with the overall regulation, supervision, and planning for the community college system. Both the ICCB and the Illinois Board of Higher Education have encouraged the sharing of resources to avoid duplication of efforts and have endorsed the common market concept of delivering educational services through contractual arrangements with other agencies. John Wood Community College serves five counties using existing college and proprietary schools in Illinois, Missouri, and Iowa to provide instructional and support services for its students. Counselors of the community college maintain contact with students throughout their educational programs, and the full range of student services are provided, including counseling, financial aid, student government, student activities, and placement. Funding support for John Wood comes from four sources: tuition and fees, state aid, local tax levy, and federal monies. Not every course is offered through the common market system. John Wood has its own open learning center, a nontraditional delivery system allowing students to take developmental studies and college-level courses on a self-paced mastery basis. An outreach project also provides courses whenever and wherever they are needed within the district. Among the advantages of the common market approach are that it maximizes the utilization of facilities and discourages tax-supported building projects, and it enhances program flexibility for students. Challenges or possible problem areas are also identified. (SW)