CTPF Dir.

Teachers Pension Fund Leadership Changes

By Jim Vail

New CTPF Ex. Dir. Carlton Lenoir

The Chicago Teachers Pension Fund just named its new Executive Director Carlton Lenoir and lost Chief Investment Officer Angela Miller-May in the midst of a battle between trustees and the staff over alleged acts of racism and unprofessionalism.

Lenoir was the chief benefits officer at the $62.2 billion Illinois Teacher Retirement System (TRS) and had earlier worked for the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund as an accounts counselor. He is also a graduate of Whitney Young High School with over 32 years of experience.

"I have always had a desire to serve the public school system" Lenoir said in a CTPF statement. "When I left CTPF in 2005, I believe it was to prepare for this opportunity."

A national search for a permanent Executive Director commenced after the departure of Executive Director Charles A. Burbridge in October 2020. 

Trustees and others have expressed fear that the Chicago pension fund problems could result in a merger between TRS and CTPF which could erode health benefits retirees currently enjoy. 

Miller-May was named the chief investment officer at the $53.1 billion Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund. She told Pensions & Investments that her last day at the teachers pension fund will be Aug. 13 and the board is meeting internally to discuss an interim CIO. 

CTPF President Jeffery Blackwell served as the interim director and even voted himself into the temporary role, which upset enough people that the Illinois state legislature passed a bill in June banning trustees from taking on staff positions, unless under certain conditions.

Blackwell has led a fight against three minority trustees and one white trustee, all female, in which he alleged they engaged in unprofessional and disrespectful behavior that mandated they issue apologies and their censures were printed in the CTPF newsletter.

Blackwell made headlines last summer when he made a speech to the board of trustees about a "cabal of evil" permeating the teachers pension fund in which blatant racism, misogyny and vile disrespect between trustees and staff members must be dealt with. 

Interestingly enough, he choose to focus his assault on three female minority trustees, and his reprimand against those trustees never mentioned anything about racism or misogyny. No details about their alleged transgressions were reported and some of those trustees complained that they had no idea what they were being charged with. Three of the four trustees that Blackwell and the board voted to censure usually vote against the president.

The question on a lot of people's minds will be whether the new executive director will be able to heal a divided pension board and bring the trustees together. It will also be interesting to know how he treats the forensic audit that will take a close look at the fund's dwindling resources.  

Big business led by publications like Crain's Chicago Business criticize CTPF and other public pension funds because they want them eliminated.