The $38.7 billion Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois will make commitments of between $800 million and $1.2 billion to private equity investments during the fiscal year that begins July 1, under a tactical plan approved by its board of trustees yesterday.

The system’s p.e. plan will help it reach its long-term asset allocation goal of 8% as soon as next year, according to TRS. The fund has invested $2.2 billion in p.e., or 5.8% of the total portfolio, as of the end of March.

The tactical plan maintains existing exposure ranges to the buy-out (60% to 80%), venture capital (10% to 25%), and special situations (5% to 20%) sub-sectors of p.e.

Private equity remains one of TRS’s top performing asset classes, producing 23% returns over the one-year and three-year reporting periods ending March 31 and yielding a nearly 20% return over the past 10 years.