State watchdog investigating NIU President Doug Baker
(Northern Illinois University)
DEKALB, Ill. (AP) — A state watchdog agency has been investigating Northern Illinois University President Doug Baker for months, and the university has paid tens of thousands of dollars for his legal representation.
The (DeKalb) Daily Chronicle has obtained documents confirming an investigation by Illinois' Office of Executive Inspector General and showing the university has been billed more than $85,000 for legal work on Baker's behalf.
The documents include a Board of Trustees memo and an agreement with the Boston-based law firm.
Baker told the newspaper "there is an investigation," but he refused to comment further.
The inspector general's office would not say what it is investigating and would not confirm an investigation is underway.
The retainer agreement with law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo, P.C. was signed in February.