Whatever might have been said about Alexi Giannoulias last year, he’s certainly getting off to a fine start as state treasurer. First it was cleaning up the Cellini hotel mess, now it’s a much better deal - and a bunch of new scholarships to boot - for the college savings program Bright Start.
Until recently, the $2.2 billion fund was managed by Baltimore-based Legg Mason, whose underperfoming funds placed the Illinois education savings program 48th out of 49 in a ranking of college savings programs, according to Savingforcollege.com, an independent analysis firm based in New York. Bright Start has been running for about seven years.
Following a competitive-bid process, the state signed a seven-year contract with Oppenheimer Funds Inc., headquartered in New York, which will lower existing fees and offer three times as many portfolio options for families, said state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.
For example, under the new program, families contributing $3,000 a year with an 8 percent rate of return will save a total of more than $5,000 in fees by the time their child is 18, according to Giannoulias’ office.
The transfer will occur over the next few months at no cost to the families or the state; Oppenheimer will absorb all transaction costs, Giannoulias added. […]
Also included in the contract with Oppenheimer is the formation of a $3.5 million scholarship fund for Illinois students. Giannoulias said his office would work over the next few months on the qualifications for the scholarship money, set to be around a total of $500,000 a year.
I don’t usually hand out praise, but I can'’t say enough positive things about Giannoulias right now. He’s vastly exceeding expectations so far, and the reports that I get from inside the office are that he’s running a highly professional show and resisting entreaties from political types to install their people.
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- Way Northsider - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 7:15 am:
The people who continuously smeared Alexi with ridiculous charges should be ashamed of themselves. He is not only off to a great start, I predict he will continue to do well. It is wonderful to see energy and enthusiasm put into the work of running State government.
- Anonie! - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 7:27 am:
Way - Those “charges” happended to be true. He’s done a good job so far, but considering that he’s a Chicago Democrat, and its only been a few months since his election, forming a firm opinion of him one way or the other is very premature.
- Boone Logan Square - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 8:02 am:
Maybe Obama knew what he was doing when he endorsed Alexi.
- Amy - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 8:41 am:
yes, he’s done a good job with things in office.
this Bright Start change is especially welcome,
and made my financial day. but, Governor Ryan
pardoned the death row inmates, which was good
to some, and still had major ethical problems.
you can do good things and still have very bad
problems. The Treasurer still has issues and
they are not going away, for him, or Obama.
- HeKnowsBarack - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 8:50 am:
The Bright Start move was VERY good.
The hotel stuff is an open question until we see the final chapter.
Wonder why none of this occured to JudyBore?
- Levois - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 9:08 am:
I’d be willing to give him a fair chance. I can see that he seems to be doing some things right. Perhaps he knows that’s what he has to do.
- Johnnie Cakes - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 9:09 am:
I agree, Rich. Alexi is doing an outstanding job and he is proving all the cynics wrong. Age is irrelevant. What is important is that we have a banker doing the work of a banker and that just makes good sense. Keep up the good work, Alexi.
- Dollar USA - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 9:11 am:
Great start! But why is he giving out scholarships? Why not transfer the funds to universities who are already giving scholarships to the needy? Doesn’t his staff have enough to do?
- Bill - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 9:16 am:
I was wrong about Alexi. He is off to a great start.
- Orland (D) - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 9:17 am:
It looks like Alexi is building the resume for a gubernatorial run down the road. Can he hurdle Lisa, Dan and others? He has the money and will have 4 years of public service experience. Sign me up.
- suburbancookman - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 9:18 am:
I couldn’t agree more that he’s doing a tremendous job. The Brightstart reforms he’s instituting will benefit the entire state and should be front page news on their own. And to negotiate a great deal for Illinois taxpayers right away, and w/little fanfare, shows his mettle and financial acumen. If only the rest of our constitutional officers could act like this. I don’t think there’s ever been so many folks were excited about the Treasurer.
- Tweed - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 9:19 am:
It’s very nice to see you say this Rich. When I met Alexi Giannoulias for the first time, I knew the state of Illinois was going to get a great new Treasurer. I’m glad to see that you have made the turn around. As a poster above said, Obama knew what he was doing when he endorsed him.
- The Truth - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 9:24 am:
This is indeed an impressive start. The hotel mess lasted 15 years (Judy gave up on it a decade ago), and Bright Start partcipants have dealt with a second rate program for several years, and now Giannoulias comes in and begins to turn things around in six weeks!
Rich — have you ever seen such a fast start?
- Hopefund - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 9:29 am:
You are all right! Alexi is doing a wonderful job. Robin Kelly (Alexi’s Chief of Staff) is a powerhouse when it comes to understanding what people want and need. She built her career on making sure that comprehensive issues are dealt with in a very citizen-centric manner. With Alexi driving the car and Robin givng directions–there is no question in my mind who will succeed Blago in 2010. I see the change of the guard making the right steps to move in the right direction.
- John 3:16 - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 9:32 am:
For the naysayers (Anonie! and Amy) — don’t forget his ethics package and the fact (as Rich points out) he is resisting making political appointments.
Alexi is really living up to his declaration of “Enough is Enough”.
- PalosParkBob - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 9:36 am:
It’s really tough for me to complement a Chicago Dem, but his guy is showing the “testicular virility” to do right by the people he was elected to serve, and get the job done.
By comparison, we’re now seeing what an inadequate job JBT had been doing.
It kind of reminds me of the results oriented style we saw out of Paul Vallas (coincidently another politician of Greek extraction) who made incredible progress at CPS.
One can only dream about what the “state of the state” would be today if he was able to out-campaign Blago…….
- GOPer - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 9:50 am:
Kudos to Alexi. This just further proves what a lot of Republicans said last year, Topinka didn’t deserve a promotion.
This is what an experienced business person can do. The Treasurer’s office may not yet be in the 21st Century, but at least it’s now in the 20th.
Keep it up Alexi.
- Not So Fast - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 10:02 am:
Both Alexi and Radogno blasted JBT for mismanaging the Bright Start Program — one of the things she touted as justifying her promotion to governor — as getting low returns and paying to much in commissions. This shows how little substance she had.
- corvax - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 10:12 am:
as i said on this site during the election, Alexi is a serious student of fiscal and public policy. many were underestimating him but will now find that this is only the beginning of a great career in public service. welcome aboard!
- John 3:16 - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 10:16 am:
Just for clarification — Radogno only blasted the Bright Start Program after Alexi had been pointed out all of the flaws during his primary campaign. When Alexi had originally called for an audit, Radogno responded that we don’t need an audit to tell us that a great program is working well.
- Team Sleep - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 10:20 am:
I will admit that he’s doing much better than I expected. However, how much of these ideas and “improvements” are a direct result of his staff and advisors? I’m not trying to be skeptical but I do wonder what exactly has come from Alexi’s desk.
Oh, and the whole “ethics” plan is ridiculous. His family is loaded and he can afford to buy himself another term and hire whomever he wants. Plus, if you look at his D-2, a lot of his big contributions came from outside of Illinois, so he doesn’t “owe” the jobs to people that gave him some serious bones.
- New Blood - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 10:34 am:
Team Sleep –
Maybe you should read Rich’s comments more carefully. “. . .reports that I get from inside the office are that he’s running a highly professional show. . .” Your insinuation that he isn’t running his own show is baseless.
His moves to date have also been very consistent with what he campaigned on (he had been detailing the shortcomings of Bright Start from the beginning of 2006).
And given what we are reading about state contractors with ties to the governor either overbilling or trying to sell state loans, what is ridiculous is your critique of any ethics package. Even removing the appearance of “pay for play” is a HUGE step up from where we are.
Anyway, great start by the Treasurer, and let’s hope he can keep it going.
- Tango Charlie - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 10:46 am:
I am glad I didn’t listen to the powers that be during the primary. I am glad I didn’t listen to the powers that be during the General. I probably won’t listen to the powers that be next election cycle either. Instead I’ll be wanting to know “What’s Alexi thinking?”.
- Anon - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 11:03 am:
Can someone explain to me how it is that after a campaign that we were told that (a) it doesn’t matter if the Treasurer has investment experience; (b) this particular candidate is too young; and (c) he had ethical problems — this Treasurer stands as the only official that is enacting an ambitious agenda AND staying away from controversy?
I have to admit, I bought into the attacks on Giannoulias during the General, but I am now a convert. He has taken control of an office with tremendous potential and making the most of it. He is extracting the state from bad deals, and he is taking initiatives that he doesn’t need special legislation for. On top of that — and what I thought was the most impressive part of his Bright Start initiative — he is really stressing accountability by pushing for legislation that would remove the tax penalty for Illinois families using a 529 other than Bright Start.
Bravo Treasurer Giannoulias. You have a new fan.
- Number 8 - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 11:03 am:
PAlos Park Bob, there a good number of CPS teachers who would disagree with your assessment of Paul Vallas. Perhaps even Mayor Daley would share their sentiment about him.
The point here is that Alexi ran for an office for which he was qualified and he won over the hand picked, unqualified, and underwhelming choice of Speaker Madigan. I dont even think its fitting to refer to him as the “kid” any longer. Alexi has proven himself to be a person who takes his job very seriously and has been doing a very good job at it.
And back to Palos PArk Bob’s comment, I think history will judge that Blagojevich will have been one of the best governor’s in this state’s history. Health care, education, public safety, child welfare, environment, the reemergence of the southern illinois coal industry — go down the line and his list of accomplishments is solid. He has been a good governor and I believe that we are not witnessing his last term in office.
- John 3:16 - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 11:06 am:
Are any of the other constitutional officers helping the Treasurer get a better value for the hotel by letting their employees stay there?
- Pat Hickey - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 11:18 am:
‘. . .there a good number of CPS teachers who would disagree with your assessment of Paul Vallas.’
They would no doubt be among those fine educators who would identify Catlina Island as a place where tubby tabbies go to slim down.
Paul Vallas is a remarkable public service professional and Alexi seems to walking the same path ‘th Kinnas, Lads!’
- Cassandra - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 11:56 am:
I don’t know…how hard can it be to fix a loan portfolio that was 48th out of 49th in the country or something. Seems like that’s an easy button accomplishment. Legg Mason has been faltering for a while, too.
Unlike Blago, Alexi was apparently smart enough to see that hiring a bunch of political hacks up front could cause unpleasant complications. He’s holding off anyway.
More importantly for his political future, he was supported by Obama. Even if Obama doesn’t make it to the White House, his support could be a huge
benefit to Alexi when he runs for higher office.
And that he will do if he stays in politics. The Treasurer’s Office is a starter job or a retirement job, not a real job. Obama likely would expect him to keep his nose clean (so as not to reflective negatively on Obama’s judgment) and it looks like he is doing that.
But what would he run for? If Obama won, would
Blago be willing to appoint Alexi to replace him, thus getting him out of the way. Is he most scared of Lisa or of Alexi for 2010?
- Little Egypt - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 12:02 pm:
I just came back from the print shop with my new bumper sticker “Alexi for Governor - 2010″. Anyone else want one? Bill?
- Bill - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 12:30 pm:
Hello Little e,
That depends on what Rod wants to do.
- Napoleon has left the building - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 1:07 pm:
I agree, he is exceeding the low expectations that were set for him. I’ll really be impressed when he stands up to his mentor Blagojevich.
- Carl Nyberg - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 1:28 pm:
Does this vindicate Obama for supporting Giannoulias?
- bluedog demo - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 1:31 pm:
If Blago doesn’t srew it up totally and that is a big if we are looking at Lisa for 8 years and Alexi for 8 years ! Bring on the future !
- Bubs - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 5:12 pm:
Bluedog-
Isn’t Alexi ineligible for Governor, on ground that he is not of Royal Blood, i.e., not related, directly or by marriage to a child of a sitting Democratic officeholder?
- Team Sleep - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 6:53 pm:
Carl, it also shows that Obama has a golden touch. He can go anywhere in the country and raise oodles of money for candidates in other states, and he can back anyone in Illinois with a great shot that they will win.
I’m sorry, Alexi fans, I’m just skeptical of his policies. He hired his campaign spokesman as his government spokesman, and I know that half of the office was let go. Who did he hire to fill those positions? I guarantee you those were politcal hires or at least Dem activists. Did he hire donor-sponsored workers? Maybe not, but he probably hired friends of other pols.
I hope he does a good job and runs for higher office. Right now, I only see Alexi, Lisa and Dan are pulling their own weight. If he can keep it up, he is in line for better things.
Pingback WurfWhile » Blog Archive » Alexi Giannoulias - “The Kid’s Alright” Says Rich Miller Of Capitol Fax - Tuesday, Mar 13, 07 @ 11:55 pm:
[…] Congratulations to State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias for getting praise from Rich Miller - which in itself is pretty high praise. Rich knows his beat (Illinois) and is pretty discerning. It’s great to hear an early review that State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has positioned himself to serve Illinois citizens well. […]
- Bridget Dooley - Wednesday, Mar 14, 07 @ 11:56 am:
Team Sleep, part of running a professional office is hiring competent people who know what they are doing and have good ideas. If Alexi’s people are coming up with good ideas and he is implementing them, that is just more testament to the fact that he is doing exactly what he is supposed to do!
In response to another poster that said that being the Treasurer is “not a real job” and either a starter job or a retirement job, I think that you’re going to see Alexi make the most of his job and stretch his accomplishments as far as he can. I agree that he is setting himself up for higher office and so far he is off to a great start!
Pingback ArchPundit » Blog Archive » The Kid is All Right - Thursday, Mar 22, 07 @ 1:31 pm:
[…] I’m stealing the line from Rich’s Headline a while ago, but Alexi Giannoulias has been an incredibly pleasant surprise for his performance so far. […]
Pingback Class, Alexi Giannoulias style « Illinois Reason - Monday, Mar 26, 07 @ 12:50 pm:
[…] Others are taking notice too. In January, Rep. John Fritchey posted about Treasurer Giannoulias keeping his promise by way of an executive order putting stronger ethical guidelines in place at the Treasurer’s Office. A few weeks back Illinois political journalist/columnist/blogger Rich Miller touched on the newly elected Treasurer’s work to finish cleaning up Cellini Hotel scandal and tune up the Bright Start program — both tasks that JBT initiated and worked to transition into Treas. Giannoulias’ hands. Miller follows up on that earlier post today by writing that Mr. Giannoulias is quick to share the credit on that work with Judy Baar. Even the generally conservative Chicago Tribune is today giving him laurels for his work on finishing the improvements to Bright Start (which, the Trib notes, has til now been woefully unimpressive at a time when college costs are soaring). […]
- Manos - Tuesday, May 22, 07 @ 4:58 pm:
Sorry :(