.jpg)
A DeKalb County Board member has filed a temporary restraining order to prevent Northern Illinois University (NIU) from beginning its payout to former President Douglas Baker, according to the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW).
Misty Haji-Sheikh's motion, published on the ECW's Illinois Leaks website, stems from her ongoing lawsuit challenging the transition agreement on the basis that it was not properly announced in the NIU Board of Trustees’ agenda for the meeting at which it was approved. It also argues that the board did not allow sufficient public comment on the agreement.
The restraining order would last until Aug. 14, or until the case moves to a preliminary injunction hearing.
NIU President Douglas Baker
| http://www.niu.edu/
Haji-Sheikh’s lawsuit centers around an agreement that allowed NIU and Baker to part ways while Baker still had one year left in his contract and a tenured position in the university’s College of Business, according to the Chicago Tribune. The Governor’s Office of the Executive Inspector General found that Baker had committed several ethics violations, including employing highly paid consultants instead of standard employees and reimbursing them for housing and travel expenses.
The transition agreement includes a full year's salary of $450,000, a $137,500 payment for Baker to resign his position with the College of Business and up to $30,000 to cover his legal fees.
Alerts Sign-up