From the Chicago Daily Observer December 30, 2009

So if it wasn’t a total blunder in the treasurer’s office, there’s little doubt they weren’t paying enough attention, which is not a great idea when handling billions of dollars.

The bottom line is the Core Plus fund lost 38 percent of its value in 2008—while other bond funds grew 5 percent. Some 65,000 Illinois families were told they lost a total of $85 million during the year’s last three quarters. Then they were told Illinois would sue Oppenheimer, as did five other states that lost money in the fund.

From the  Chicago Tribune, January 22, 2008

Political fallout from major losses in a state college savings plan are spilling beyond the U.S. Senate race and into the Democratic contests for treasurer and comptroller.

State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has taken heat from a Senate foe after parents lost some of their college investments in the Bright Start program. Now rivals are raising the Bright Start issue against Giannoulias’ former deputy treasurer, who is running for comptroller, and his former chief of staff, who is running for treasurer.