SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A report from Illinois lawmakers has found that state university and community college presidents have enjoyed lavish perks, some worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, that aren’t always disclosed to taxpayers.
According to a copy of the report obtained by the Chicago Tribune (https://trib.in/1ISX8eU ), some of those perks include a $32,000 housing allowance for the president of Harper College, a $450,000 retention bonus for a former University of Illinois at Chicago chancellor and $30,000 toward two retirement plans in addition to state pension contributions for the Elgin Community College president.
The report also calls out public universities and community colleges statewide for providing “excessive fringe benefits” and lucrative exit deals for top administrators, including a $480,418 severance package to the former Illinois State University president after less than a year on the job.
“This has led to a culture of arrogance and a sense of entitlement reflected in many of these executive compensation plans, with an apparent disregard for middle-class families whose taxes and tuition dollars are funding these exorbitant salaries and excessive fringe benefits,” according to the report.
The newspaper reports that colleges long have defended the benefits as a way to attract and retain talented administrators. They also maintain that certain perks, like club memberships, provide administrators opportunities to meet and entertain donors and other community members.
A Senate panel investigated the benefits as the state deals with a budget crisis and outcry over tuition costs. The panel plans to push several reforms, including audits and severance pay restrictions. Democratic state Sen. Bill Cunningham, who is chairman of a higher education subcommittee on executive compensation, said he hopes to hold hearings on the report this summer and pass legislation in the fall.
“In these tough financial times, there is no justification for some of these perks,” Cunningham said.
___
Information from: Chicago Tribune, https://www.chicagotribune.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.