Star investigates NIU's hiring practices

Amid a season of state corruption, the focus on ethics becomes prominent.

At NIU, some question the ethical nature of hiring family, friends or associates of administrators. The Northern Star has received numerous persistent tips over the years about the nature of specific individuals receiving or occupying their respective positions.

Steve Cunningham, assistant vice president for human resource services, said he is aware of questions concerning connections among employees.

“I hear about it internally,” he said, referring to complaints of children working in the same realm as a parent, or friends of administrators in high-paying positions. “I’ve certainly heard over the years, ‘Why this?’ ‘Why that?’ There’s very legitimate concern for inquiry.”

Many administrators said the number of connected individuals is not uncommon.

A university is typically one of the “giant employers” in smaller communities, said Board of Trustees Chair Cherilyn Murer.

The university is extremely careful in maintaining lines of separation, Cunningham said.

“Whenever we’re aware of a relationship, we maintain and document the firewalls,” he said. “Those lines are carefully maintained by both parties and human resources. There’s at least one line of separation. The closer those lines are, the greater the necessity that all the parties carefully monitor those firewalls.”

The secondary firewall, Cunningham said, is monitoring done by human resources and the response if there is any type of inquiry or complaint.

“Signing off on things, evaluations, any type of correspondence -- people in family relationships cannot be involved in those trails.”

Though administrators defend the way things are handled at NIU, some on the outside see things differently.

Brad McMillan, the executive director of the Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service at Bradley University, believes any employees who are related and working in the same area of a state employer creates a problem.

“We think there should be a complete ban on anybody hiring family in their sphere of influence,” McMillan said. “There’s clearly an appearance of impropriety there that needs to be avoided. It’s hard to argue that when there’s a direct line up the chain and there’s a family member hired in that chain that there’s not personal benefit.”

McMillan is pushing for these ideas to be adopted in Illinois. He is part of the Illinois Reform Commission, which will present these potential changes and others today in its 100-day report to Gov. Pat Quinn.

“That’s what we’re advocating at the state level,” McMillan said. “State universities would have to abide by these rules.”


Continue reading this story by clicking on part two.

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