program, 2.5% of investors had invested their entire portfolios in Core Plus and suffered a 38% loss; others experienced smaller losses. As the Associated Press reported, "It turns out the Oppenheimer team handling Core Plus — a team the company has now fired — was putting money into risky, complicated investments that tanked in 2008 amid the general financial meltdown." In 2009, Oregon, Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas, Maine and Illinois all investigated OppenheimerFunds' handling of their college savings programs for impermissible investments and misconduct. Oppenheimer was selected to lead the program by Giannoulias' predecessor, former Illinois Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, in December 2006, a month before Giannoulias took office. After the credit markets collapsed in the fall, new contributions into the fund were halted on December 4, 2008. In January 2009, the treasurer's office announced that no further contributions would be made to the Core Plus fund and that the state would be investigating the losses. According to the Associated Press, Illinois was the first state to take action. In January 2009, at the request of Giannoulias, the Illinois Attorney General initiated its own probe of OppenheimerFunds, issuing subpoenas on the company. At the time, the losses attributable to OppenheimerFunds' impermissible investments were estimated to be "in excess of $85 million." Despite the problem associated with OppenheimerFunds' handling of Core Plus, Bright Start remains a highly regarded 529 college savings program. In April 2009, Consumer Reports studied college savings programs across the country "to see how well they performed during last year's stock-market plunge." Consumer Reports "found five that are worthy of an A," and ranked Bright Start as one of the top five college savings programs in the nation. In April 2009, Money Magazine selected Bright Start as one of the "best low-risk 529 plans." In December 2009, Kiplingers selected Bright Start as one of the best state 529 plans in the country, choosing it as the best plan for "low fees." Morningstar, Inc., which had previously ranked Bright Start in its top 5 in 2008, has acknowledged the issues relating to Core Plus but, citing Illinois' swift action in dealing with the issue, reported in 2009 that "the plan still holds plenty of appeal." In December 2009, the Illinois Attorney General's Office and the Office of the State Treasurer announced that Illinois had reached a settlement with OppenheimerFunds. Eligible accountholders who lost money in Core Plus would receive