Pension Fund Lawsuit

Former Employee Sues Chicago Teachers Pension Fund

By Jim Vail

CTPF Chief Financial Officer Alise White

The Chicago Teachers Pension Fund (CTPF) has been a hot news item ever since current interim director and President Jeffery Blackwell accused fellow trustees of racism and intimidation against staff and vendors last summer.

Numerous whistle blower complaints have been filed against current trustees alleging racism and other egregious acts. 

The question this news blog raised was whether or not these accusations were politically motivated in order to silence those raising questions.

Former CTPF accountant Albert Thomas filed a lawsuit against the pension fund last month alleging retaliation and racial and age discrimination, according to FundFire, an investment management website.

Thomas had accused the pension fund of making accounting errors in 2019 that went back to 2012, and then the pension fund retaliated by denying him promotions and paying him less than other non-African American employees, FundFire reported. Thomas is African-American.

After Thomas raised these accounting errors to the fund's chief financial officer, his boss urged him "not to do anything or report anything to anyone," the lawsuit stated. The financial officer was later terminated. Thomas then raised the accounting errors to his new boss, who told him the same thing - keep your mouth shut.

Thomas reported the errors to three more people at the fund, and when nothing was done, he took legal action in 2019. That year he applied for a role as operation manager of accounting but was denied the opportunity to pursue the new position because the fund intentionally withheld information from him, FundFire reported.

Last year he applied to be an account manager but was denied an interview.

The CTPF Chief Financial Officer is Alise White who was hired by Chuck Burbridge in 2015.

CTPF director Charles Burbridge was the director of the fund while Thomas was working there. Burbridge was accused by trustees and others of running an operation beholden to him where employees were given raises and other perks if they supported him, while shunned or fired should they question his practices. He abruptly quit the fund last October, and was replaced by Mary Cavallaro, who then also abruptly resigned in January. Cavallaro, who was promoted by Burbridge, claimed the boardroom was filled with "chaos and toxicity" and "vile disrespect and insults" were directed at her allegedly by trustees. She quit after one trustee questioned why accounting errors happened under her watch.

This lawsuit begs the question about why numerous whistle blower complaints are being filed against trustees whose fiduciary responsibility is to making sure the $12 billion fund is run properly on behalf of the teachers and other Chicago Teachers Union employees invested in the retirement fund.

Whistle blower complaints have also been filed by staff members against the fund's leadership.