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 The Teachers' Retirement System of Illinois is a key part of the
corruption allegations against indicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Its board accepted Jon Bauman's resignation Wednesday, effective
immediately, and named chief investment officer Stan Rupnik as a
temporary head while a nationwide search is launched for a
replacement.
Bauman, 52, leaves the $236,000 job to Rupnik, 37, a Springfield
resident who currently makes $218,300.
A TRS spokeswoman did not immediately know if his salary would
change.
Gov. Quinn endorsed the search but said he didn't want a new boss
hired until he can appoint new trustees, allowed by a pension-reform
law he signed last week.
The position "requires a person of integrity and competence," Quinn
said. "And those men and women are out there."
Bauman quit after Quinn signed the law last week evicting board
members from four pension and investment agencies and singling out
Bauman for firing as of July 1.
TRS has a $29 billion investment portfolio providing retirement
income for 356,000 educators and retirees outside Chicago.
Former TRS board member Stuart Levine and Blagojevich campaign
fund-raiser and adviser Tony Rezko were convicted last year of
corruption charges for trying to skim campaign contributions and
personal kickbacks from companies seeking investment work from the
pension fund.
A 19-count federal indictment issued last week against Blagojevich
and five associates includes the TRS scheme.
The new state law immediately ends the terms of four appointed TRS
trustees but allows them to serve for 60 days, or until Quinn
replaces them. And it expands the board to 13 from 11, giving Quinn
two more appointments, for six total.
TRS board president Christopher Koch said he didn't know how
difficult it would be to find someone to take the state job, given
the corruption allegations that have swirled around the fund.
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"We've talked about that. We'd certainly be looking wide and far to
find the right person to do this," said Koch, who is also the state
schools superintendent.
Quinn said last week that TRS experienced "larceny of the highest
order. The pension fund was being looted."
But federal authorities said only one of the kickback schemes
succeeded, and that money came from the company seeking state work,
not from state funds.
Bauman became executive director in August 2001, 18 months before
Blagojevich took office. He says he alerted appropriate people when
he learned of mischief and cooperated when the FBI visited him. He
is not charged with any wrongdoing.
Quinn has promised that holdovers from the Blagojevich era -- which
ended in January with the Democrat's impeachment and ouster by the
Illinois Legislature -- don't need to fear getting canned if they're
doing their jobs.
Quinn would not say last week whether his staff had talked to Bauman
or reviewed his performance.
Bauman said Wednesday that Quinn's office never contacted him.
[Associated Press;
By JOHN O'CONNOR]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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