ANATOMY OF A $54 MILLION PENSION DEBACLE

» In 2005, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew Robert G. Vanecko went into the real estate business with developer Allison S. Davis, who once headed the Chicago law firm that gave President Barack Obama his first job out of Harvard Law.

» They formed DV Urban Realty Partners to buy and develop real estate in neglected neighborhoods — for instance, near Washington Park, where the mayor was hoping to bring the Olympics.

» It was a high-risk proposition, and they had a hard time getting investors — until they approached city employee pension funds. The Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund agreed to give $25 million to Davis and Vanecko to invest. Four other municipal pension funds — representing police officers, City Hall office workers and laborers and CTA employees — agreed to kick in another $43 million.

» Three of those pension boards included top officials in Daley's administration.

» Though no one ended up being charged, a federal grand jury began investigating in May 2009. Vanecko then left DV Urban, and Daley told the Sun-Times he urged his nephew to get out of the pension deal because it was creating friction in the Daley family.

» In 2012, the pension funds ousted Davis. That led to lawsuits that cost the city workers’ pension funds $2.6 million in legal fees.

» Not only did the pension funds end up making no profit, they lost a combined $54 million. Davis and Vanecko ended up making millions in management and development fees.