Stilwell Launches Fourth Proxy Battle Against Harvard Illinois

Joseph Stilwell hopes a fourth challenge against Harvard Illinois Bancorp is successful.

The activist investor, whose firm owns nearly 10% of Harvard Illinois' stock, has nominated two individuals — Mark Saladin and Maide Corte — to join the $171 million-asset company's board. Saladin, a lawyer, unsuccessfully ran as one of Stilwell's nominees last year. Corte runs Designs by Maida, a design firm that specializes in remodeling and renovation projects, Stilwell said in a regulatory filing.

Saladin and Corte were largely selected because the nominees asserted that they live within 15 miles of Harvard Illinois' headquarters, satisfying a section of the company's bylaws.

Stilwell has complained in previous years about poor financial performance at Harvard Illinois, while pushing for the company to sell itself. Last year's contest was particularly contentious, with Stilwell sending fellow shareholders a photograph of William Schack, the company's former chairman, sleeping during the 2013 annual meeting. Harvard Illinois responded by calling the tactic "an affront" to Schack's character.

Harvard Illinois' financial prospects have soured since last year's challenge, with the company disclosing in October that it had been exposed to a fraud scheme tied to certain investments. The company hired an investment bank a month later to evaluate strategic options; it later reported a $10.6 million loss for 2014.