Mangieri wants deputy to scrutinize investments
Says expert would monitor state panel
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
SPRINGFIELD - Paul Mangieri, a Democratic candidate for Illinois treasurer, said Tuesday he would hire a deputy state treasurer to monitor the investments handled by the Illinois State Board of Investment.The state treasurer sits on the nine-member investment board. The panel manages investments of the pension funds for lawmakers, judges and state employees, as well as any other retirement system electing to come under the board's authority. In addition to the state treasurer, the chairmen of the three pension funds and five gubernatorial appointees also serve on the panel.
Mangieri said his deputy state treasurer would be an expert in pension funds, investments and security analysis and would accompany him to board meetings. Mangieri, who is currently serving as Knox County state's attorney, said the investments would come under greater scrutiny from the treasurer's office.
"Where it is determined that pension funds have been lost through corporate greed, corporate fraud or negligence, in my role as ISBI board member, I will call for and initiate securities litigation to recover any pension funds that are so lost," Mangieri said during a Statehouse news conference.
Current Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka teams up with her deputy chief of staff for law and policy, Martin Noven, for investment board issues, according to spokesman John Hoffman.
Alexi Giannoulias, the other Democratic candidate for treasurer who currently serves as a vice president in his family's Chicago bank, said creating a new position in the treasurer's office would add to state-government bureaucracy.
"This is a very important issue and should be handled by the treasurer and not delegated because the treasurer lacks experience," Giannoulias said.
State Sen. Christine Radogno of Lemont is the sole Republican candidate running for the treasurer's office. She also questioned the need to hire someone when the treasurer's staff already offers expertise. Radogno said more focus should be on the make-up of the board, since the governor appoints the majority of the members.
"It's the structure of the board that has to be changed," Radogno said.
The treasurer's office is an open race, since Topinka is running for the Republican nomination for governor. Mangieri and Giannoulias will face off in the March 21 primary, with the winner facing Radogno in the Nov. 7 general election.
