From the Chicago Tribune:
College program funds used for new SUV
While parents come to grips with major investment losses in a college savings program, public records show that Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias' office spent Bright Start proceeds to buy a $26,000 SUV he uses as his state car.
The purchase is surfacing as the politically ambitious Giannoulias continues to face criticism for his oversight of the Bright Start investment program, which lost $85 million last year.
It's the first time since the program was launched nearly a decade ago that money from it was used to buy a state vehicle, the treasurer's office acknowledged.
Giannoulias refused to comment for this story, but his spokesman defended using Bright Start funds to buy the black 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. Scott Burnham said the SUV is not exclusively driven by Giannoulias but is part of a pool of a dozen cars used by workers to travel the state promoting treasurer's office programs, including Bright Start.
"They use it just like any vehicle is used by the entire staff," Burnham said. "Bright Start is a large part of the treasurer's office, and marketing the program and Illinois residents is critical."
But Burnham could not provide a breakdown of how often that particular Ford Escape is used for Bright Start-related purposes and said no log is kept of how that car is used or for what reasons.
Though the SUV is registered to Illinois license plate No. 6, Burnham said there are three such vehicles with that plate and that Giannoulias drives all of them, plus his personal car, which also is a Ford Escape Hybrid.
Giannoulias' office bought the Ford Escape in October 2007, according to state records obtained by the Tribune.
An identical car was purchased at the same time with funds from the Illinois Public Treasurers' Investment Pool, which allows towns and other taxing districts to pool their assets and have them invested by the treasurer's office.
Burnham said it is Giannoulias' discretion how operating money for the office's various funds are spent. He noted that the money for the SUV didn't come from parents' investments, but from a fee the firm that handles the investments pays to the treasurer's office to offset the cost of running the program.
"All of the funds pick up a portion of the expenses of the treasurer's office," Burnham said. "But we're not talking about taxpayer dollars here."
The Ford Escape Hybrid has become the go-to eco-car for politicians. Several Democrats running for president last year used the SUV, including Giannoulias' political mentor, President Barack Obama.
Giannoulias, who already has raised more than $1 million as he weighs a run for the U.S. Senate seat Obama once held, has made great use of his public support for hybrid cars.
In 2007 he traveled the state in his personal hybrid to promote a rebate program for Illinois residents who buy new hybrids or energy-efficient vehicles with loans from in-state banks. Materials from the treasurer's office note that people buying Ford Escapes like his are eligible for the rebate.
In recent months, Giannoulias has come under fire for his stewardship of the $2 billion Bright Start program, a college savings plan that is supposed to allow parents to put away money and earn interest on the cash for their children's education.
The fund lost more than $85 million last year in large part, Giannoulias has said, because of the management of OppenheimerFunds. A big reason for the drastic drop, he has said, is because Oppenheimer pursued a "reckless strategy" that involved buying mortgage-backed securities and credit-default swaps.
The treasurer has vowed legal action against Oppenheimer if necessary. But questions remain about how much Giannoulias was on top of Oppenheimer's investment strategies and what he did to encourage the firm to avoid putting Bright Start money into some of those more risky investments.
One Republican state senator has said he may soon call for a full audit of the fund.
--John ChaseNOTE: Alex G NEVER takes responsibility--look above at how he blames everyone else and DOES NOT admit he just might have been an idiot in how he handled the program. This is what happens when you elect people who have NO skills, no experience, and no abilities.
