IL Lawmakers Vote to Clean Out Pension Board Leadership

The Illinois House voted today to overhaul management of state pension boards after the scandals of the Blagojevich administration. The measure was sent to the Senate on a 116-1 vote.

The bill calls for dumping the directors of four pension funds. And it calls for stricter ethics laws for all pension boards in the state. Investment advisers would be chosen through competitive bidding.

The purge applies to the Teachers' Retirement System, the State Universities Retirement System, the State Employees Retirement System and the Illinois State Board of Investment.

The teachers pension board was involved in one of the scandals under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. A Blagojevich friend conspired with one of his board appointees to demand kickbacks from companies wanting to do business with the pension fund.