McHenry County Board Member Sees "Vendetta" Behind Pension Probe
CHICAGO (CBS) -- McHenry County Board members put the head of a municipal pension fund on the hot seat Thursday night, after he had warned they could lose their pensions if they qualify for them.
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund executive director Louis Kosiba recently asked McHenry County Board members to document the 1,000 hours a year they're supposed to work to qualify for a pension.
At Thursday night's meeting, Kosiba told the board they could be dropped from the pension plan without documentation, drawing the ire of Michael Walkup and other board members.
"We were never informed of that, so now we are in the position of having to try to reconstruct time," Walkup said.
State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo) had called for IMRF to conduct an investigation into whether the board members put in enough time to qualify for pensions. He doesn't think they work the required hours.
Board member Nick Provenzano accused Franks of having a vendetta against the board, and he didn't like the answers he was hearing from Kosiba.
"I'm not buying it. I think you're asking us to suspend our disbelief for a few minutes here tonight. I think you were dragged into a political ploy by a state rep who's had a vendetta against this board for many, many years," he said.
Provenzano also questioned why Kosiba spoke to the editorial boards of two suburban newspapers before talking to the board about the question about hours worked.
For his part, Kosiba said he didn't think he did anything more than provide information to the editorial boards, just as he routinely does to any organization that asks.
Kosiba also suggested board members risk losing their pensions if they don't go back over their calendars and try to determine how many hours they worked all of last year and this year to date.
Most board members had signed affidavits stating they had worked the required 1,000 hours, but now the IMRF wants proof.
Walkup, an attorney, indicated board members might be able to plead the 5th Amendment against self-incrimination and not submit documentation, as a way to keep their pensions.
Kosiba followed up by saying board members should keep detailed records of the number of hours worked doing county board business, not just being out in the public with constituents.