Alexi Giannoulias | Democrat for U.S. Senate

Acted to Save Jobs and Spur Economic Growth

Committed $1 Billion To Illinois Financial Institutions

• In an effort to thaw the credit freeze and boost investment returns to the state, Alexi made up to $1 billion in interest-earning deposits available to Illinois banks and credit unions.
• This initiative to reallocate state investments was designed to assist financial institutions and Illinois residents during the credit crisis, which froze the flow of money in and out of banks and negatively impacted the state's economy.
• The cash infusion for Illinois financial institutions – which, unlike the recent $250 billion federal bailout program, was a fully collateralized, safe state investment - helped provide banks and credit unions with the liquidity to resume lending money to businesses and consumers throughout the state.
• Since the program was announced in October, 2008, several states have inquired about duplicating the program for themselves. All deposits are fully collateralized from 102 to 110 percent of their value, depending on the type of collateral pledged, to ensure the investments are secure.

Protected Illinois Investments During Turbulent Times

• The State of Illinois avoided some of the problems of the 2008 market meltdown because Alexi did not invest any of the state's $14 billion portfolios in debt issued by failed Wall Street firms or in sub-prime mortgage market investments.
• As the state's chief investment officer, Alexi took steps to protect taxpayer money through a diversified investment portfolio that emphasized the Treasurer’s three primary investment objectives; safety, liquidity and yield.
• Neither the Treasurer's Office, which invests about $8 billion in state taxes and fees, nor the Illinois Funds, which invests $6 billion on behalf of state agencies, local governments and other taxing bodies, had exposure to Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, American International Group (AIG) or Washington Mutual.
• Alexi was the first Illinois State Treasurer to implement “securities lending”, a low-risk, effective way to generate additional income for the state by making short-term loans of otherwise idle securities. Alexi created a safe, secure program designed to generate additional income on securities as they take the time to mature by negotiating full indemnification of both the securities lent as well as the reinvestment of the cash collateral. In the program’s first year it generated over $1 million in additional interest income that the state would not otherwise have generated through its previous investment policy.

Aggressively Protecting Illinois Families

Capped Predatory Finders Fees

• Alexi successfully pushed for strong regulations on "finder" companies. “Finder” companies charge finder’s fees to consumers to locate property they would otherwise be entitled to recover for free from the State Treasurer’s office. Alexi’s bill, which became law on June 1, 2009, was the first bill to regulate these companies and put a 25 percent cap on the fees charged to consumers and a 33 percent cap on fees charged to estates.
• Additionally, the legislation includes disclosure language that informs the individual that after five years they will be able to redeem their money free of charge from the Treasurer's unclaimed property division.

Prevented Foreclosures With “Finally Home” Program

• During a time of record foreclosures, Alexi reacted quickly to help homeowners refinance so they can keep their homes.
• Alexi’s bill, H.B. 4611, received unanimous support in the General Assembly and became law on August 15, 2008.
• Alexi’s bill expanded an existing home ownership assistance program in the Treasurer’s office to provide assistance to borrowers who were looking to refinance out of mortgages that they could no longer afford. This successful program helps qualified borrowers by providing collateral for 10% of the mortgage for the first five years.

Removed Tax Penalty For College Savers

• Alexi believes that families shouldn’t be penalized for saving for college. That’s why he drafted a bill to remove the tax penalty Illinois residents once paid when they invested in out-of-state college savings plans.
• Before Alexi’s action, Illinois was one of just two states in the nation that imposed a tax on families that chose a non-Illinois 529 college savings plan. Alexi’s bill was signed into law in August 2007, removing the tax burden on thousands of Illinois families.

Led Call To Regulate Debt Settlement Companies

• Debt settlement companies prey on families in crises by promising to negotiate with your credit card company and debt collectors. But too many families are charged excessive fees and are left worse off when these companies mismanage their finances.
• Alexi has proposed stringent regulation of these debt settlement companies. He wants to cap the fees they can charge, empower consumers to have more say over their contracts, and regulate the types of claims these companies can legally make.

Ethics & Government Reform

Commitment To Clean Government From Day One

• On his first day in office, Alexi instituted the strongest ethics order in state government at the time, barring campaign contributions from contractors, employees and banks and limiting lobbyist activity.
• In addition, all bidders of contracts of $10,000 or more awarded by the Treasurer’s Office must disclose all contributions to Alexi’s campaign fund.

Battled Collinsville & Abe Lincoln Hotel Corruption

• Refusing to stand for the status quo, Alexi dedicated himself to investigating and rooting out corruption involving two politically-connected Illinois hotels. The hotel ordeal, which funneled state money into the hands of a few political insiders as part of sweetheart deals from the 1980’s that were never repaid, gave Illinois yet another black eye when it came to unethical practices. When Alexi took office, the investors in these sweetheart deals owed the state $60 million and had not made any payments in years. That’s why Alexi moved quickly to foreclose on both loans and take possession of both properties.
• Alexi decided to put an end to this sorry chapter in state history. In July 2008, the Collinsville Holiday Inn was auctioned off to the highest bidder in an open bidding process. The sale price combined with the revenue from the hotel and other collateral resulted in a total of $10.4 million that the state recovered on behalf of taxpayers, an amount far short of what was owed. In December 2009, Alexi will also auction off the Springfield Abraham Lincoln hotel, which is also expected to receive less than the amount owed on the loan. These loans should have never been made and the cost of corruption to taxpayers can be measured in real dollars.
• Alexi also attacked corruption at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Springfield. With an independent audit, Alexi worked the FBI to uncover a grand scheme, where the owners of the hotel diverted $2 million for personal expenses rather than pay back the state-backed loan.

Ran A Clean, Ethical Treasurer’s Office

• Alexi believes that taxpayers deserve to know how their tax dollars are invested. That’s why he drafted legislation that requires the Treasurer’s Office to make investment information available to the public. The law went into effect in 2007.
• Under the bill, the Treasurer's Office must provide monthly investment updates on its website, showing: the amount of money the office is holding; where that money is invested; how much money the state is making on its investments; and how the state's returns compare to industry standards known as benchmarks.

Tackled State’s Pension Liability Head-on

• Good budgeting results in good solutions. Alexi drafted a bill, passed unanimously by the General Assembly, which requires the State to apply money generated from the Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Decision directly to paying down the state’s $43 billion unfunded pension liability.
• Traditionally, the general Assembly and Governor would use the excess money from the Treasurer's Office in lieu of the amount they were supposed to put into the State Pension Fund instead of supplementing the state's annual budgeted pension contribution. Under the new plan, which takes effect 2011, the state will potentially save $16 billion by 2045.

Established Permanent eBay Auctions

• The State holds all unclaimed property for citizens to redeem free of charge indefinitely. However after at least 10 years any non-cash property will be auctioned off and the cash value of that property will be kept available for the proper owners. Prior to Alexi’s term, Illinois sold unclaimed property at an auction held once a year at the State Fair. Only about 150 bidders attended these auctions.
• Alexi wanted to open up the process, so that more people could bid on items and so that the auctioning of unclaimed property would not just occur once a year under a tent downstate.
• Alexi implemented a program that put the state’s unclaimed property on eBay. The first year of eBay auctions attracted more than 150,000 visitors from around the world.
• Online auctions have saved more than 400 hours in staff time, which amounts to more than $10,000 savings in payroll alone. Also sales over appraised values have increased dramatically and more than $300,000 in revenue has been collected.

Education

Overhauled State’s Struggling Bright Start College Savings Program

• One of Alexi’s first acts as Treasurer was to completely revamp the state’s Bright Start college savings program. In the past, Morningstar had routinely criticized Bright Start for its high structural costs and tax penalties. Savingforcollege.com, an independent authority that analyzes college savings programs, had ranked Illinois' Bright Start program 47th out of 48 plans nationwide due to high costs, underperforming funds and lackluster investment options.
• Alexi overhauled the $2.2 billion Bright Start program. Through a competitive bidding process, OppenheimerFunds Inc. was selected to manage the program. Oppenheimer significantly reduced the costs of Bright Start, making it among the lowest-cost programs in the nation, and tripled the number of investment options to provide a better opportunity to meet each participant’s individual investment needs. As a result, Money Magazine called Bright Start one of the three best college savings programs in the country.

Increased Excellence In Agriculture Scholarships

• In order to inspire high school seniors to pursue careers in agriculture-related fields, Alexi doubled the number of Excellence in Agriculture Scholarships awarded to Illinois students.

Launched Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund

• Please see a fuller description of the program under our Veterans Issue section.

Created Bright Start Scholarship Program for 3,000 Illinois Students

• When it came time to re-bid the management contract for the Bright Start college savings program, Alexi used his private sector experience to negotiate a scholarship fund for Illinois families completely funded by private dollars with no tax dollars included. While thousands of Illinois families invest in Bright Start, Alexi knows that many students need financial aid, now. That’s why he established the Bright Start Scholarship Program in 2008. Through his program, 3,000 Illinois college students received scholarships at colleges and universities throughout the State of Illinois and a chance at a great education.

Energy & Environment

Founded Green Rewards, Providing $2 Million In Rebates For Green Cars

• In 2007, Alexi founded Green Rewards, the largest state-backed rebate program for fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles in the nation. During the program, more than 200 Illinoisans took advantage of the program, putting green cars on our roads and putting an extra $1,000 in their pocket while helping to save our environment.

Created “Green Energy” Program To Spur Development

• Alexi knows that clean energy is not only the best thing for our environment, but it’s the most efficient way for our business to operate as well. That’s why Alexi founded Illinois’ “Green Energy” program. Through the program, business that “go green” independently or through energy efficiency programs receive an interest rate reduction on their loans.

Veterans Issues

Saved Military Medals & Honored Our Veterans

• Alexi believes that we must always honor the memory of those who have worn the uniform for our nation. That’s why he drafted H.B. 5904, which prohibits the state from selling any U.S. Military medal recovered from lost or abandoned safety deposit boxes at public auction. Additionally, Alexi ensures that his office uses its best efforts to return found medals to military personnel or their families. H.B. 5904 was approved unanimously by the Illinois General Assembly and was signed into on August 14, 2008, effective the same day. 

Launched Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund

• In order to honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country, Alexi launched the Fallen Heroes Scholarship Fund to benefit the children of fallen Illinois service members.  The fund helps children of those who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom attend any college or university anywhere in the U.S. or select institutions abroad.  

Helped Our Communities

Aided Storm Victims

• Alexi initiated $700,000 in low-interest disaster relief loans to individuals and businesses affected by floods across the state in 2008.
• Under his program, residents and businesses that expect insurance to cover their damages qualified for one-year bridge loans with interest-only payments.
• Underinsured residents and businesses qualified for low-interest loans with repayment terms of up to five years.

Created Holocaust Fee Waivers Resource

• In December 2007, Alexi asked banks statewide to voluntarily waive wire transfer fees on Holocaust reparation payments from the German government. The average monthly wire transfer is $350, with each transfer being assessed a fee of between $10 and $40 per wire transfer. The fee amounted essentially to a 10% tax on reparation and restitution payments, causing unnecessary hardship to the recipients, many of whom are elderly Holocaust survivors with low to moderate fixed incomes.
• Nearly 100 banks across the state agreed to the plan.

Empowering The Disabled

• In support of National Developmental Disability Awareness Month, the Treasurer's office teamed up with the Neumann Association to promote the state's eBay auctions. The Chicago-based Neumann Association employs individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illness.