Lawmakers target golden parachutes
Bills would curtail large severance payouts
STATEHOUSE | Alan Kozeluh
Illinois House Republicans are fuming at a lucrative severance deal between the College of DuPage and its outgoing president. In response, they’re filing legislation to make sure it doesn’t happen again elsewhere in the state.
In January, the board of trustees for the College of DuPage in the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn voted to give President Robert Breuder a $763,000 severance when he leaves the community college in 2016. House Republicans called the deal a “golden parachute” as they announced a series of bills to prevent any similar activity in the future.
Part of the issue with Breuder’s compensation is how it was approved by college trustees. In January, watchdog group For the Good of Illinois sued the College of DuPage (COD) under the Illinois Open Meetings Act, saying the board meeting was held in a room too small to accommodate all the members of the public who wanted to attend, and that the board would not move to a bigger room when requested. The lawsuit claims the details of the change to Breuder’s contract were not made available to the public before it was voted on, and the board would not read it aloud when requested.
A request for comment from the College of DuPage board of trustees was not answered by press time.
Breuder’s severance isn’t the first to raise controversy in Illinois government. Timothy Flanagan, former president of Illinois State University, received a severance of $480,000 when he resigned amid assault allegations in 2014. Alex Clifford, former CEO of the Metra commuter rail system in Chicagoland, was awarded a severance worth up to $740,000 last year. In 2012, former University of Illinois president Michael Hogan retired under pressure and received a $37,500 retention bonus and a $285,100 salary as a professor at the University of Illinois Springfield. Hogan’s former chief of staff, Lisa Troyer, received a severance of $175,000 in 2012 amid allegations of wrongdoing. And in December, outgoing Gov. Pat Quinn named longtime aide Lou Bertuca to a state board with a guaranteed $160,000 salary, plus two months’ salary as severance even if he ends up being removed by current Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Although the contract changes in Breuder’s case were listed on the meeting’s agenda, details like the buyout of his contract were not. Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, is hoping to remedy that type of situation with a bill requiring that all contracts or contract changes involving more than $150,000 of public funds be posted publicly for 14 days. That would apply to all state contracts, not just in higher education.
“Dr. Breuder’s contract is actually addendum number four to his original contract,” said Ives. “You can’t just do it on the original; you have to do it on every single subsequent contract where the cost or the compensation would be greater than $150,000 to catch situations like this.” Ives introduced a similar bill in the last General Assembly.
Rep. Margo McDermed, R-Mokena, is also reintroducing legislation from the previous session to deal with the issue. House Bill 303 would stipulate that severance agreements involving public funds – in education or otherwise – are subject to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which provides for disclosure of public records. Those agreements aren’t necessarily secret now, but McDermed said it was a way to clarify existing state law.
“The idea is to make sure that it’s not somehow excused and that the agency using public funds for the severance doesn’t somehow try to work it into one of the many, many exceptions,” McDermed said.
Rep. Peter Breen, R-Lombard, is introducing what he calls the “Breuder Rule.” It would cap severance agreements at one year’s salary for community colleges.
“While we can’t alter current agreements, we can make sure the homeowners and students don’t pay for the poor decisions of party boards,” Breen said.
Rep. Ron Sandack, R-Downers Grove, is introducing a bill that would cut a community college’s state funding by the amount of any severance packages the school approves.
“I’m not interested in mandating or taking away local autonomy,” said Sandack. “However, I do not believe state dollars should be utilized for severance payments.”
Contact Alan Kozeluh at [email protected].
