DeKalb County Board Member Misty Haji-Sheikh is suing Northern Illinois University over outgoing-President Doug Baker's severance package.
Haji-Sheikh alleges that university trustees violated the state's Open Meetings Act by not revealing the details of Baker's severance package until the end of their meeting making the announcement.
The lawsuit also alleges that trustees immediately went into a seven-hour closed session and did not allow public comment on the severance package itself. The suit wants Baker's severance package voided and the appointment of a new president to be put on hold.
Baker resigned from office in the wake of an OEIG report that found Baker's administration engaged in illegal hiring practices by classifying several full-time employees as part-time, temporary workers. His severance package is worth about $617,000.
Haji-Sheikh is a graduate student at NIU. Her husband, Michael Haji-Sheikh, is an NIU Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and vocal opponent of outgoing President Baker.
