A few weeks ago, you could have stopped the first 100 people you saw on State Street and asked them who Miriam Santos was and got back about 98 blank stares. Being the city treasurer of Chicago has never been a job that lands you on the cover of People magazine.
But now she has become an instant media star-the courageous, independent protector of old folks` pension money.
On the front pages and TV, there is Miriam Santos single-handedly taking on City Hall and the greedy rascals who would have geezers eating Dog Chow and sleeping in doorways.
It`s a fine yarn and the liveliest political fracas since Council Wars.
The only thing wrong with it is that it appears to be a lot of baloney.
And rather than being someone deeply concerned about good government and justice for all, Ms. Santos appears to be a shrewd opportunist who knows how to generate headlines and TV soundbites to her political advantage.
Despite all the attention she has received, Ms. Santos has not come up with any evidence that the billions of dollars in the four municipal funds she claims to be defending are in any danger. All appear to be well-funded, well- managed and earning better rates of return than most such funds.
But that isn`t what the fuss is really about. Ms. Santos would have us believe that the pension money is threatened with exploitation by cronies of Mayor Daley.
Maybe. But she hasn`t come up with anything substantial about that, either.
If anything, there are documents in the funds` files that tell us Ms. Santos has been using her clout to try to get pension funds put to use by her cronies.
In one instance, she arranged a meeting in her City Hall office so some big-time Chicago money men could try to persuade a fund`s manager to toss some of the money their way.
A letter dated Aug. 12, 1991, from a financier`s office to the fund director, read: ”I appreciate you . . . taking the time recently to visit with me in Miriam Santos` office” about the fund entering into a business venture.
It isn`t unusual for those on the boards of pension funds to be approached by those looking for investment money. But it is not common for an elected public official to bring everyone together in her office. The normal procedure is to refer them to the funds` manager. Maybe nobody told Ms. Santos that she didn`t have to be so gracious.
Incidentally, the deal involved a big money guy who had dropped $1,000 into Ms. Santos` campaign purse. And it`s probably mere coincidence that a former colleague of Ms. Santos in private industry now works for the big money guy. He, too, tossed $1,000 in her campaign chest.
They aren`t the only ones to be steered by Ms. Santos to the funds.
There`s a letter from another money manager in the files that says: ”At the suggestion of The Honorable Miriam Santos, we are writing to introduce you to our firm. . . . We would like the opportunity to present our firm to you and will call you to set up a meeting at your convenience.”
Their deal didn`t go through, either.
And in a letter on official city stationery, Treasurer Santos wrote to a pension fund official, saying: ”Recently I met with representatives from . . . a minority-owned money management firm. I would appreciate it greatly if you could review their information.”
The information was reviewed. And the ”minority-owned money management firm” didn`t get any pension funds to manage. Life is hard.
So what is Ms. Santos up to in her role as the Joan of Arc of the pension funds?
Well, if she is really that worried about the funds, maybe she should go to more pension board meetings. Since she has been on the boards, she has missed about half of the meetings. And she hasn`t talked to the professionals who manage the funds about her grave concerns. But, then, there are no TV crews or reporters in their offices.
Meanwhile, the other board members-who go to the meetings and pay attention to what`s happening-are hearing from hundreds of hysterical old ladies who believe their money is being gobbled up by aldermen, the Mafia and Donald Trump.
Some frightened pensioners and gullible reporters believed Ms. Santos when she said a prominent foundation had made a study and found reasons to worry. Later, the foundation flatly denied making any such study, but the denial received less attention.
So what we have here is not some great threat to pensioners or taxpayers, but a case of political ambition.
For whatever his reasons, Mayor Daley apparently decided he didn`t want Ms. Santos on the pension boards-and with her 50 percent absentee rate, who needs her? So she decided to scream that the sky is falling.
Now she is being touted as a heroine by the remnants of the Harold Washington Party for standing up to Daley. Or maybe they want to borrow some funds, God forbid.
And some Hispanic groups-none of which have bothered to look at the funds` handsome earning reports-are touting her as the greatest warrior since Pancho Villa.
I think that maybe Santos has been looking at Jane Byrne`s old press clippings.
As some may recall, Byrne made her first big splash when she tossed wild charges at Mayor Michael Bilandic. Byrne`s closest adviser was newsman-husband Jay McMullen.
Now we have Santos tossing her charges at Mayor Daley. And her close adviser was a newsman-boyfriend at the Chicago Sun-Times.
As Yogi Berra used to say: ”It`s deja vu all over again.”
