Eastern’s local state representative said he had contacted the executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education to make sure that a top state legislator was acting properly in his intervention into union negotiations with the university, which have now become the target of a federal investigation.

Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, said he contacted IBHE Executive Director Keith Sanders, who has been subpoenaed by a grand jury in the investigation, to “make sure the interests of the system was upheld.”

“(Sanders) didn’t make any promises,” he said.

Righter was contacted in late February or early March by Jill Nilsen, the university’s vice president for external relations, shortly after Eastern was contacted by House Speaker Michael Madigan regarding the negotiations.

Two meetings between university officials, union leaders and Madigan were later arranged in the spring of 2001, prompted by the union, which makes substantial contributions to the Chicago Democrat’s campaigns.

Madigan, Eastern, head officials of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the International Union of Operating Engineers, the Illinois Department of Labor and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board have been subpoenaed by the federal grand jury investigation.

According to subpoenas provided by Eastern and the IBHE, the investigation is requesting information about the negotiations, Madigan’s meeting, the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act and anything that connects Eastern’s budget, which is significantly controlled by the General Assembly, to the union negotiations.

The IDOL, IELRB and the union have not released their subpoenas.

Carol Surles, who was Eastern’s president at the time and attended the meetings with Madigan, has said she is cooperating with the investigation.

“Neither university officials nor I made the initial call to federal officials,” she said in a statement.

Sanders and the IBHE’s legislative liaison, Ross Hodel, have been called before a grand jury. A date was set for April 5, but has since been postponed.

Nilsen confirmed that she had contacted Righter about the issue, but characterized it as a “courtesy call.”

Since the house speaker contacted the university, she said it was only fitting to let Righter know of that.

“I told (Righter) of the issue, and he is typically aware of negotiations that go on here,” she said. “I told him what we were doing and how we were handling the negotiations.”

Because of the “on-going investigation,” Nilsen refused to comment on whether Eastern felt pressured by Madigan or other officials to settle the union negotiations in a certain way.

However, Righter said he thought Eastern was a “little surprised” and a “little unsettled” that Madigan was intervening in negotiations with the Local 399, which represents 10 Steam Plant employees.

“I just wanted the (IBHE) to be aware of my position,” Righter said about his phone call.

He said he was not involved in the meetings, and his office has not been contacted by investigators about the issue.

In response, Don Sevener, spokesman for the IBHE, said the state board would not comment during the investigation.

“We have said we will respect the confidentiality of the grand jury process,” he said.

Righter also said he knew Eastern had contacted Sanders about the negotiations and Madigan’s meetings, but he “did not know what the conversation was.”

Negotiations between Eastern and the union began in June of 2000 and a settlement wasn’t reached until September of 2001. The union was demanding a prevailing wage; however, no prevailing wage existed for their job classifications, Robert Wayland, Eastern’s director of employee and labor relations, said Friday.

Ultimately, the union did not receive a prevailing wage, and the university’s budget was passed by the General Assembly as it was recommended by Gov. George Ryan.

Wayland said he “did not know” if the IBHE played a role in the negotiations or the situation with Madigan.

“There is nothing in (legislation regarding negotiations) that would call for their involvement,” Wayland said.

While Righter said he didn’t have “any reason” to know that Madigan was pressuring the university in favor of the union, he said he called Sanders “to make sure that did not occur.”