U of Illinois to dismiss chancellor, rejects $400,000 bonus
(AP) — University Of Illinois trustees plan to begin the process of firing Chancellor Phyllis Wise rather than accept her resignation and pay her a $400,000 bonus she had negotiated.
The action followed calls by Gov. Bruce Rauner and others to reject the bonus in the aftermath of the school's announcement last week that she and other administrators had used their private email accounts to avoid public scrutiny of their communications on university business.
Trustees and Killeen planned to inform her of their decision not to approve the previously negotiated resignation deal or the bonus, as well as the decision to begin dismissal proceedings, in a pair of brief letters.
Deputy Gov. Trey Childress wrote to the chairman of the board of trustees, saying the administration had "deep reservations" about the deal in the midst of a state budget crisis.
Killeen earlier announced that Barbara J. Wilson, dean of the school's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, would be Wise's interim replacement.
In addition to the email controversy, two lawsuits have been field over allegations of mistreatment by former soccer and women's basketball players, and the university is still waiting for a report from a law firm on allegations raised by three former football players.