Thursday, September 13, 2007
Chicago Sun-Times
by Chris Fusco

Orlando Jones' sweet government deal just got sweeter -- by about $75,000 a year.

Jones is a godson and former top aide to former Cook County Board President John Stroger. He also once worked for politically connected developer Tony Rezko, who is under indictment on corruption charges.

These days, Jones is a consultant and lobbyist whose clients include William Blair & Co., a Chicago financial firm that pays him a six-figure "referral fee" every year -- for a job he did in 2004.

Now, Jones stands to grow even richer from the deal. Here's how:

The Illinois State Board of Investment oversees retirement funds for state employees, lawmakers and judges. In 2004, the state agency invested $280 million with the William Blair firm.

Orlando Jones & Associates is making money off that arrangement because Jones told state pension officials about William Blair's services. He made the introduction.

For that, Jones got 20 percent of the management fees the state paid William Blair in the first year of the deal. Jones' cut: $221,852, records show.

In year 2, Jones was to get 15 percent of William Blair's fees. That came to $219,668.

Year 3, Jones got 10 percent -- $149,609.

Year 4 is off to an even better start. Jones is to get 10 percent of William Blair's fees every year the firm continues to do business with the pension board. This summer, the state board gave William Blair more money to invest, bringing the total to $505 million.

When William Blair gets more money, so does Jones. His referral fee stands to net him about $224,000 this year, his biggest payday yet.

A William Blair spokesman didn't want to comment. Jones didn't return telephone calls over the past few weeks, either.

But he defended the arrangement in an interview in 2005, saying he's worked with William Blair on pension deals across the country and is paid only when the firm gets business.

And what exactly does he do for his six-figure annuity?

"I help them in terms of how we're going to make presentations to various pension boards and executive directors -- how we lay out our performance and experience," Jones said.