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Questions Raised on Carlyle Lobbyist
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The current staff of the pension fund cannot recall having any interaction with Kjellander or his consulting firm, Day said, adding that he was not speaking for members of the pension fund's board.
The Chicago Tribune reported that, according to the pension fund's executive director, Kjellander had contact with Levine, the former pension board member who has since been indicted.
Kjellander said that he may have had contact with Levine, but that if so, it would have been simply to ask that Carlyle be given a fair chance, the Tribune reported.
Kjellander did not return calls seeking comment. A lawyer representing him, Mark L. Rotert, said that what Kjellander did to earn his Carlyle fees is "not something about which I feel like I'm particularly knowledgeable."
"The folks at the Teachers' Retirement System may not know all of the details about the work that Mr. Kjellander does either," Rotert added.
Ullman said Kjellander told the Carlyle Group that he had a number of meetings on Carlyle's behalf with members of the pension fund staff and board, including the executive director. Carlyle personnel did not attend the meetings, Ullman said.
"We are relying on reports from him," Ullman said.
Asked how many hours Kjellander had worked to earn the $4.5 million in fees, Ullman declined to comment.
Carlyle, which also has about $30 billion of assets under management, is known for the Washington luminaries who have worked for it in various capacities. Former President George H.W. Bush gave speeches on the firm's behalf, and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III was a senior counselor to the firm until this spring. For years, the firm was led by former defense secretary Frank C. Carlucci.
The firm pools funds from others to invest in real estate, technology ventures, and corporate buyouts of aerospace and defense firms, among other things.
Carlyle predicts that, over more than 10 years, it will double the Illinois pension fund's money, generating annualized returns of about 20 to 25 percent, Ullman said.
Carlyle turned to Kjellander after making several unsuccessful attempts to do business with the pension fund, Ullman said. The firm enlisted Kjellander to introduce the firm to the pension fund "and help them understand who we are, our products and services, and . . . the types of returns that we're able to provide," Ullman said. Kjellander "did a very good job at it," Ullman said.
