DEKALB, Ill. (AP) - A state watchdog contends Northern Illinois University administrators routinely ignored ethics requirements in hiring five consultants.
In a report released Wednesday, the Illinois Office of the Executive Inspector General says the university hired the consultants in 2013 and 2014, employed them under the wrong classification and kept them on staff too long. As a result more than $1 million in taxpayer funds were spent, well in excess of allowed limits.
In a statement Wednesday, NIU President Doug Baker says he has worked with the university’s trustees to make several policy revisions on hiring and compensation.
The report asserts that since Baker took office in 2013, the university has repeatedly misclassified high-level, highly paid consultants as affiliate employees. It says that was done “for the purpose of circumventing the Procurement Code’s requirements.” The report went on to say Baker is ” responsible for mismanaging NIU’s resources.”
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