Pay to Play

By Amy Hart in News on Oct 11, 2005 4:53PM

If you would like to receive a cushy position on the Illinois state pension boards, then you better pay up and walk around wearing an “I ♥ Blago” button.

Governor Blagojevich has appointed about a dozen campaign contributors and Democratic supporters to the pension boards.

Appointees serving on the pension boards such as the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System, the State Universities Retirement System, and the Illinois State Board of Investment receive no pay, so Chicagoist would never be interested—we demand cash for our precious time and energy.

So why would anybody want to serve? Well, board members are charged with investing billions of dollars on behalf of current and retired state employees, and they maintain a close relationship with the governor’s office….which probably comes in handy when you need a little extra state business thrown your way.

Blagojevich was previously linked as being part of a ploy involving the shakedown of investment firms doing business with the Teachers’ Retirement System, but he has claimed to do nothing wrong.

It’s not like Blago is the only Illinois governor to put contributors in government positions, and did any of them try to insure Illinois children? Huh?