Bill to close university golden parachute loophole on governor’s desk
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[June 23, 2021]
By Greg Bishop
(The Center Square) – A measure on Gov.
J.B. Pritzker’s desk could protect taxpayers from having to cover the
cost of golden parachutes and special deals for public university
administrators.
After several high-profile cases of public university administrators in
Illinois getting large severance packages, a couple of years ago
Illinois lawmakers made changes.
“We put a restriction on how much these severance packages could be,”
said state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego. “What we found is that
there was a loophole in the original bill.”
While the cap on severance was at one year’s salary, that law didn’t
include whether an administrator was transitioned to another job within
the institution as part of that agreement.
“The severance packages were being awarded when the individual would get
these large payouts when they didn’t leave the institute they were
working in and they just changed jobs,” Kifowit said.
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One high-profile instance is former Western Illinois
University President Jack Thomas. In 2019, Thomas was given two
years of salary worth $570,000 to take a sabbatical and then come
back to teach at the university for $200,000 a year, making more
than any other professor.
“That’s a good example that this bill would address
as well,” Kifowit said.
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She said Senate Bill 2240, which passed unanimously out of both
chambers, is now on the governor’s desk.
“The bill provides that if a provision in the transition into the
different position is included in a university president’s or
chancellor’s contract then the contract must include which
department and the annual compensation cannot exceed that of the
highest employee of the department,” Kifowit said.
The measure also requires a portal be maintained by the Illinois
Board of Higher Education with training, statutory and other
resources for college board trustees to access. |