State has tentative deal over college fund losses

Illinois has a tentative agreement with a fund management company to recover millions of dollars lost in a college savings program.

In a statement Monday, state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias confirmed that his office, along with Attorney General Lisa Madigan's staff, is working on an agreement with Oppenheimer Funds.

News of the deal was first reported in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Under the agreement, Oppenheimer would return $77 million of the $85 million lost last year by the Core Plus fund. Officials plan to use a formula to determine how much each investor would get back.

Giannoulias has said the fund "severely underperformed" last year and some account holders experienced "significant losses." The fund's value plummeted 38 percent.