Nepotism: "bestowal of official favors on one’s relatives" (Black’s Law Dictionary, 8th Edition). Nepotism is normally frowned upon within a public body and most public officials who truly care about protecting the taxpayers have anti-nepotism policies. NIU's policy is as follows: "Faculty and administrative employees are selected...
DeKalb, IL. (ECWd) - Previously we focused on violations of state rules and the questionable “ethically inspired leadership” by Northern Illinois University’s President Doug Baker and his administration. But perhaps we jumped the gun in placing all the blame on Baker for these violations. Was Baker only...
DeKalb Co. (ECWd) - We previously printed a story regarding Northern Illinois University’s Interim CFO Nancy Suttenfield’s alleged attempt to save the Illinois taxpayers’ monies by refusing to accept a final written report generated by an illegitimate consulting/assessment contract—but only after she had already spent $468,050...
DeKalb Co. (ECWd) - We have already shown that President Doug Baker and Northern Illinois University have experimented with many variations of questionable actions regarding procurement and contracts, especially for friends of President Baker. But there are still new riffs on an old song. We recently...
DeKalb Co. (ECWd) - Previously, we had debated whether NIU’s President Doug Baker actually hired his good friend Ron Walters as an employee or a consultant as found in this article. Arguments were made for both sides, however, it might be best to just hear it...
DeKalb Co. (ECWd) - At what point will law enforcement on College Campuses and State-s Attorneys start arresting and prosecuting public officials for their illegal acts? Want a Red flag indicator that there is a problem in your local public body? FOIA their e-mails and see...
Northern Illinois University - (ECWd) - In our recent post (here) concerning NIU’s illegitimate subcontract with Alvarez and Marsal, we asked the question: "Why did the University not accept a final report?" We now have an answer. In an email from then-Interim CFO Nancy Suttenfield to Director of Internal...
NIU (ECWd) - So far we’ve looked at numerous ways in which NIU President Baker and his Administration has violated, or at least has made a valiant attempt to violate, state procurement rules: using open orders, putting consultants on payroll, using Foundation funds to pay for...
Northern Illinois University (NIU) - (ECWd) - Northern Illinois University has been paying for President Baker’s membership in a private social club, the University Club of Chicago, which is located at the corner of Michigan and Monroe in downtown Chicago. This "perk" is included in President Baker's...
DeKalb, IL. (ECWd) - In our previous article entitled "NIU’s IT Director, James Fatz, used NIU equipment in for-profit private business – " we wrote about James Fatz' use of Northern Illinois University software in a private for-profit business, according to court records. We are in possession of documents where he indicated to...
