Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Rm. 178 Human Resources Building
President Joe Vaughn called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
Members in Attendance: John Engstrom, Gary Gresholdt, Jerry Meyer, Marge Rey, Joe Vaughn, Chris Welch and Bob Wheeler
Committee Chairs in Attendance: Alan Voelker
University Liaison: Absent
Approval of Agenda: Joe Vaughn submitted the agenda for approval. A motion was made by Bob Wheeler and seconded by Marge Rey to approve the agenda. The motion carried.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the October 15, 2008 meeting were presented for approval. Spelling errors of Jerry Meyer’s name were noted. A motion was made by Bob Wheeler and seconded by Marge Rey to approve the corrected minutes. The motion carried.
announcements: Joe Vaughn reported that the February newsletter is on track to make the deadline. The deadline for the May issue material to Joe is March 20, 2009.
Joe reported that the NIU Wellness Fair is March 25, 2009 at the Holmes Student Center and will start about 9 a.m. The responsibility for staffing the NIUAA booth has been moved to the membership committee. Steven Johnson will start out as contact person. Marge has the table cover and other items. Lee Ann will give Gary membership forms.
Joe said that a letter soliciting funds for local SUAAction is in the planning stages and will be mailed early in February. Irene Rubin will write the letter, which will be sent to the state organization for distribution. We don’t collect money. Projection for this year averages $12.50/each. Donation thank you letters are sent by SUAAction for donations over $50.00.
Treasurer's Report: Schedule of Cash Receipts and Disbursements was passed out. John Engstrom reported that there was an error under receipts – remove the Holiday Party (Net) from the receipts. He said that we have taken in more than we have paid out, and that the checking account balance is $5,198.22. He said that there was a net profit of $127.40 for the Holiday Party. Gary Gresholdt moved and Bob Wheeler seconded a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report. The motion carried.
Membership Committee: Gary Gresholdt said that there was nothing to report. He said that they continue to mail membership invitations to retirees who are not members.
Holiday Party Report: Marge Rey reported that information will be in the February newsletter and that pictures may be included. No feedback was received on VAC bus riders, if any. Joe Vaughn said that he received no negative comments.
Public Relations Report: No report. Steven Johnson was absent.
Benefits Report: Bob Wheeler reported that at the October meeting of the University Benefits Committee they were told by Dennis Davito that beginning on January 1, 2009 an annual deductible of $50.00 is required for prescriptions. The deductible requires that you must pay the first $50.00 of any drug prescription charges that occur from January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2009 before the prescription co-payment applies. During the next benefit period beginning July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010 the deductible must again be met. Joe Vaughn will ask Dennis to write up something about this for the next newsletter. The University Benefits Committee will meet January 26, 2009.
Legislative Report: Linda Schwarz was absent. No report given.
NIUPAC Report: Irene Rubin was absent. Joe Vaughn had talked to Irene and she reported to him that Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois Treasurer, proposed to consolidate all of the state pension plans into one group. She said that Giannoulias predicts that merging could save up to $80,000,000. Irene told Joe she didn’t think the savings were there. Irene wrote to Giannoulias and he called her at home to discuss some of this and he said that he would get back to her. It isn’t clear if he has done so. Irene and SURS are opposed to this. Joe said that some ethics legislation is tied into this. Irene feels the ethics legislation doesn’t go far enough. Joe said that Irene has written an article for the February newsletter on this topic.
SUAA Executive Committee Report: Alan Voelker reported that the SUAA Executive Committee met January 26, 2009 in Bloomington. He said that from an Executive Committee standpoint, a more substantial allotment toward insurance coverage is now given to state office employees. The Executive Committee is reviewing the nature of the office and how that leads to staff positions. The Executive Committee will construct a finance committee to help to frame budgets. There is some discussion on forming a Communications Committee to discuss how information gets out - print versus electronic communication, and there are a whole host of issues. There are those who would advocate for more print, but the executive director says it is too costly. Allan said that only about 25% of members provide an email address.
Alan said that chapter development is the main focus revolving around political action in the regions. Some of the grass roots things discussed in the past may be revisited. This includes the idea of chapters being more involved in political action in their regions in a more focused way. Along with that are the regional meetings. North Central College, Joliet Community College, Elgin Community College and Kishwaukee College are all running regional programs around insurance for community college people. Membership is another piece of chapter development. Alan expects a meeting in the region probably in April.
SUAAction Report: Alan Voelker reported that $145,000 was raised last year. He reported that $80,000 was contributed to political campaigns and officials and $10,000 was spent to send people to fundraisers. The proposed goal for next year’s fund raising increased from $150,000 to $175,000. The committee is working on fund raising procedures that make it clear and easy for chapters to follow.
Alan has contribution data - Community Colleges contributed $35,000 from 30 chapters, with an average of $925 per community college; Universities donated $95,000 – average about $7,000 per university. He’ll get data to the chapter. Gary Gresholdt asked if there would be a published list of where contributions were distributed; people might want to know where their support was going. He said that there might be interest in how decisions are made. Alan Voelker said that some want full or a lot of information to go out and some don’t. Clear procedures are needed. He will pursue that.
Old Business: Joe Vaughn reported that photos appear in the newsletter periodically from coffee hours and things like that. He asked if we want informal photos of board members in the newsletter? The Board is comfortable with that. Lee Ann may be at the next board meeting with a camera.
New Business:
Nominating Committee: Joe suggested the following: Jerry Meyer, chair; Joe Koch and Irene Rubin, members, Linda Schwartz as incoming President. Motion: Marge Rey moved and Bob Wheeler seconded a motion to approve the nominating committee. The motion carried.
NIUAA Awards Committee: Joe Vaughn suggested the following: Bob Wheeler, chair, Bob Rosemier and Marge Rey members, and Lee Ann Henry as resource person. Jerry Meyer moved and Gary Gresholdt seconded a motion to approve the awards committee. The motion carried.
Joe Vaughn asked for the committees to submit a slate of candidates at the next meeting on April 22, 2009.
The board is made up of the elected officers, plus 8 elected members and the past president. The eight positions include four faculty and four staff members and can serve for 2 two-year terms. Linda Schwartz is up for President; Joe Vaughn as Past President; John Engstrom is eligible for one more year as Treasurer; and Chris Welch is eligible for the Secretary position. Directors up for reelection are Bob Wheeler and Pam Ferris. Irene Rubin and Marge Rey are coming off the board. Nominations should be solicited.
Committee Chairs: Steve Johnson, can continue at the board and president’s discretion, and attend meetings ex officio. In theory the representative on SUAAction shouldn’t have board membership. Irene is going off of the board but could continue to be our local SUAAction person. Irene is willing to continue as far as Joe knows.
A motion was made by Bob Wheeler and seconded by Marge Rey to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried.
Next meeting - April 22, 2009, HRS Building 178.
The meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Christine Welch
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 10:00 a.m.
Rm. 178 Human Resources Building
President Joe Vaughn called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
Members in Attendance: John Engstrom, Gary Gresholdt, Joe Koch, Jerry Meyer, Marge Rey, Bob Rosemier, Irene Rubin, Linda Schwarz, Bennetta Stearnes, Joe Vaughn, Chris Welch, Bob Wheeler
Committee Chairs in Attendance: Steven Johnson
University Liaison: Lee Ann Henry
Approval of Agenda: Joe Vaughn submitted the agenda for approval. Marge Rey requested an additional item under New Business (or announcements) regarding the May 2, 2009 event at Kishwaukee College. A motion was made by Marge Rey and seconded by Linda Schwarz to approve the agenda. The motion carried.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the January 7, 2009 meeting were presented for approval. A motion was made by Bob Wheeler and seconded by Jerry Meyer to approve the minutes. The motion carried.
Announcements: Joe Vaughn announced that the Benefits Choice Fair will be held in the Regency Room in the Holmes Student Center from 10 until 2 on April 30, 2009 and requested volunteers to participate in this event, which is a great recruiting opportunity. John Engstrom, Linda Schwarz, Gary Gresholdt volunteered to help.
Joe Vaughn announced that the NIUAA annual meeting is June 3, 2009 in the Sandberg Auditorium from 3 until 4:30. Representative Bob Pritchard and Senator Brad Burzynski are scheduled to speak if they are not in session in Springfield. President Peters is invited to speak and others that normally speak are invited.
Joe announced that there will be a SUAA regional meeting Friday, April 24, 2009 at the College of DuPage. NIUAA will donate $250 to underwrite the cost of this meeting.
Joe reported that the NIU Wellness Fair, March 25, 2009 at the Holmes Student Center, went really well and thanked Joe Koch, Gary Gresholdt, and Steven Johnson for helping. There were many applications handed out and nine applications returned. Joe said that he will be making a presentation at a service recognition luncheon on behalf the NIUAA and also at a May retirement recognition dinner.
Joe announced that the newsletter would be mailed by the first of May. Sherrie Taylor, from the Center for Governmental Studies, is the new editor.
Steven Johnson said that he had a request to use our email list for an event but our policy is not to give out our mailing list. Bob Rosemier asked if they could put an ad in the newsletter and Joe said that the policy is not to allow advertisements. Lee Ann Henry had a privacy issue question and asked if we want to continue to include the names and addresses of annuitants in the NIU phone directory next year. Gary Gresholdt said that he received two complaints this year after the list came out. Jerry Meyer said he finds it helpful, but we might announce that if you don’t want your name or address listed you could contact the NIU Annuitants Association. Lee Ann said that she has flagged members who specifically request not to be included in the published list. After discussion it was decided that there be a timely annual announcement that if you don’t want to appear in the Annuitant section of the NIU phone book you need to contact someone and indicate that. It is too late for this year but can be done next year. It can also be announced in the NIU Annuitants fall newsletter. Gary Gresholdt said we should have a spot on the application form to check if you do not want your name and address listed.
Report of the Nominating Committee: Jerry Meyer reported that on the board there are 3 faculty positions and 1 staff position to be filled. Nominations for the vacant positions are: Ralph Wallis for the staff position, and Richard Dowen, Kay Forest and James Lockard for the faculty positions. These are two-year terms. Jerry Meyer is nominated for the Vice President position. This is a one-year term subject to reelection. A motion to accept the Nominating Committee report was made by Bob Wheeler and seconded by Marge Rey. The motion carried.
Report of the Awards Committee: The awards committee consists of Bob Wheeler, Marge Rey, Bob Rosemier and Lee Ann Henry. Bob Wheeler reported that they are recommending three awards this year: The Helping Hands Award to Cindy Wallin, Holmes Student Center, for her help with the holiday luncheon; Certificate of Appreciation for Steven Johnson for his dedicated service as public relations and events chair, bringing us to a new level of social and recreation awareness; and Irene Rubin for her significant contributions to our political awareness. A motion was made by Bob Wheeler and seconded by Marge Ray to except the Awards Committee report. The motion carried. A special invitation will be sent to Cindy Wallin to attend the annual meeting. Gary Gresholdt suggested that Cindy be given a one-year membership to NIUAA. John Engstrom said that we will need to send a check to SUAA for their portion.
Treasurer's Report: John Engstrom passed out the Schedule of Cash Receipts and Disbursements. John reported that we haven’t spent a lot of money this year. He said that the dues collections are up to date and that we’re not earning much interest. The meeting expenses were low, but there is a regional meeting coming up with expenses of $250 and newsletter expenses of $100. The checking account balance is $6,525; and there are 2 CDs, one earning 4% and the other earning 3.8%. There is one mistake noted on CD to change 1254/365 to 254/365. The back page lists all the transactions that have taken place over the year. Gary Gresholdt moved and Joe Koch seconded a motion to accept the corrected Treasurer’s Report. The motion carried.
Membership Committee: Gary Gresholdt reported that we currently have 1,795 members; we picked up 22 current employees since January 1 plus 9 individuals from the Wellness Fair. Typically we lose about 30 members per year. Lee Ann suggested that we have a coffee hour for current employees after work between 4:30 and 6:00 pm at the Barsema Alumni and Visiting Center; the Alumni association would be willing to partner with us on this event and pay for expenses. She said that it would be used as a membership recruiting tool – bring a friend to it. There will be no cost to NIUAA. Lee Ann and Gary will work out the details.
Public Relations/Events: Steven Johnson reported that we had a successful coffee hour on April 17; about 30 people attended with many familiar faces and some new faces who have never come before. He said that there are pictures on the web site taken from the Miss Saigon trip. He said that we found a new editor for the newsletter from the trip to see Miss Saigon. He distributed handouts for the upcoming functions and trips and said that the Botanical Gardens trip is full. August 16 and 17 is the trip to the Illinois State Fair and the Presidential Museum; there is no admission charge to the fair because it is senior day.
Benefits Report: Joe Koch reported that at the March 19 meeting Dennis Davito said that there are laws pending to keep dependent children on your insurance to a more advanced age. He said that there is a lag time for paying insurance bills. For those who have Medicare, CIGNA is looking at their part of the bill as out of network and has delayed payment for a long time. He said that many providers are requiring a credit card before service is rendered. Dental payments are up to a year in arrears. There was some discussion on combining the investment functions for various retirement systems. Dennis said that the administrative part of the systems would remain independent but the investment areas would be combined. He said there may be cap on COLAS and we may have to make larger contributions to our insurance. He said there was some discussion of deferred contributions. ISU dropped VALIC and AIG from their available vendors because of the financial difficulties AIG is having. He said that the Benefits Choice Fair will be April 30. He said that prescription deductibles will rise to $75 July 1, 2009. Most information for benefits choices will be on the HR website by June 1. The next meeting of the University Benefits Committee will be 4/23/09 with guests Steven Cunningham and Irene Rubin, and talk about SURS pension issues.
Legislative Report: Linda Schwarz reported that there would most likely be an increase in health insurance costs but no details were yet available. She said that new hires might be affected in Governor’s budget.
NIPAC Report: Irene Rubin reported that there are 3 initiatives that we need to pay attention to and only 1 has turned into law so far. Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ proposal combines ethics reforms and the merging of investment functions of three of the five state pension systems; two have already merged into one. SERS (State employees retirement system) already incorporates for the investment function of the judges and the legislators. That leaves the Teachers’ retirement system (TRS), SURS and SERS. The Treasurer’s proposal was focused on economies of scale; and he was claiming that there would be an $80 million savings if more dollars are invested and then fees would be less. However, the data he used was from 1998; fees have gone up since then. The savings he has claimed for the merger aren’t real. They are based on old data and the assumption that the funds are not getting the most favored treatment already when, by and large, each one of them is already large enough since they have merged and there are only the three of them. The amount to be saved is minimal. The only small amounts of money that are going out are going to handicapped, women and minority owned businesses, which are strongly supported by the state legislature.
Giannoulias’ proposal incorporated ethics reforms that were much better received. The legislature didn’t mind this happening and SURS is already in compliance. SURS suggested considering the proposals separately but Giannoulias said no. However, they did get separated – the ethics portion was broken off separately while Giannoulias’ combined proposal was still going through the legislature. His proposal stopped in Executive session while the ethics portion has been passed and signed by the governor in record speed with incredible detail. Irene thinks the merger issue is dead. There will be a temporary committee constructed; its mission is to advise the 3 pensions funds of ways to lay out all the fees and compare them against some standard for the industry. SURS is very close to the industry standard now. This will primarily be applied to the Teachers retirement fund and SERS. The Committee will make recommendation to the pension funds for how they can assure that they’re paying the lowest fees. She said that handles Giannoulias’ proposal without merger. There’s a detailed list of state education requirements and conflict of industry requirements of which SURS already complies. Board members will have to attend training sessions. All of the current boards are eliminated as of 7/1/09; the notion was that these were boards appointed by Governor Blagojavich and so were corrupt. Irene said that our board was fine but it also was wiped out. The Governor will have 4 direct appointments plus the Chair of the IBHE will chair the SURS Board. John Engstrom will be one of the candidates for the annuitant’s position and Steve Cunningham for the active members. In order to run John will need at least 100 annuitant signatures and Steve will need at least 400 current employee signatures.
The Governor’s budget proposal is pending and he is slashing the pensions, primarily addressed to new employee benefits. Also there are major impacts on current employees who would be required to pay 2% more of their salaries into the pension fund. In addition he has said that he will not pay back the amount of money owed this year to the Pension Fund. Irene said that his budget would make it much more difficult to recruit new employees in a competitive market. For current annuitants so far the only thing being proposed is a health insurance increase, but we don’t yet know what that will be or if it can be done. We are currently in the first year of a 4-year contract.
The SURS Board of Trustees election must be done by July 1, 2009.
SUAA Executive Committee Report: Alan Voelker was absent.
SUAAction Report:In the absence of Alan Voelker, Joe Vaughn reported that 391 members of NIUAA had contributed to SUAAction approximately $14,000 and the goal was $17,500. SUAAction will be sending out follow up letters to members who have not yet contributed. This is more than we raised last year. We were able to send two nearly identical letters – one to last year’s contributors thanking them for last year’s contribution and one to new contributors.
Old Business: None.
New Business:
Invitations to buffet dinner following the annual meeting: Lee Ann reported that in previous years Ellen Anderson sent out invitations because the event is co-hosted by the president. It was decided that Lee Ann would take over this task. She said that the invitations to the buffet dinner will be going out May 1, 2009. Joe said that he saw the invitations and they are very nice and thanked Lee Ann.
Scholarship/February 14 Memorial Donation: Joe Vaughn asked if NIUAA would like to make an additional contribution to the scholarship fund or a donation to the February 14 memorial when our CD comes due. Lee Ann checked and found out that the memorial is now fully funded and is no longer in need of contributions. Gary Gresholdt asked about funding our own scholarship. Bob Wheeler said that $25,000 is needed to set up an endowment fund. Bob Rosemier said that historically NIUAA made a commitment to NIU Foundation to participate in the scholarship program. We made one payment ($300) and then didn’t have funds to continue the commitment. He said that 4 years ago the Foundation contacted us and said we were in arrears for the last two years – for an amount of $600. But we only agreed to do it for one year so we are not in arrears. Bob Rosemier said that we contributed $5,000 for a bench for Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center. We also contributed $5,000 last year for the February 14 Scholarship Fund. John Engstrom said that this year we have $3,800 more than last year. Gary said that giving to an NIUAA scholarship would give the association more recognition. It was decided to postpone making a donation until the July 15, 2009 meeting.
Steven Johnson thanked the NIUAA for the sympathy card that was sent.
Bennetta Stearnes announced that there will be an event on May 2 from 8-5 at Kishwaukee College titled “One DeKalb: Achieving a more diverse future." TransVac will arrange with individuals needing rides.
A motion was made by John Engstrom and seconded by Marge Rey to adjourn the meeting.
The motion carried.
Next meeting July 15, 2009, HRS Building 178.
The meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Christine Welch
June 4, 2008 at 3 p.m.
Carl Sandburg Auditorium
Welcome and General Remarks: President Joe Vaughn called the meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. and welcomed all those present. Approximately 250 members were in attendance for the meeting and the buffet dinner following that was hosted by President and Mrs. Peters in the Duke Ellington Ballroom. In his opening remarks, President Vaughn stated that SUAAAction, a Political Action Committee of SUAA funded by voluntary contributions--not from dues money-- is up and running. Vaughn thanked contributors and advised those who contributed $50 or more to see Lee Ann Henry after the meeting for a special “thank you” letter. In other developments, NIUAA has a newly designed website, which contains information about NIUAA activities, provides meeting minutes and offers a Volunteerism link. Joe Vaughn thanked the membership for its prompt and overwhelming response, following the February 14 tragedy, to the NIUAA email call for volunteers for the Family Assistance Center. NIUAA is discussing a Survivors’ Assistance program; additional information will appear in the NIUAA Newsletter. NIUAA cosponsored with the Alumni Association NIU Day trip, May 7, to Springfield and hosted a reception in the Governor’s Mansion for the dozen state legislators who are NIU alumni. We used the opportunity to make the legislators aware of our problems. He thanked the Alumni Association for running a very smooth event. President Vaughn noted we’ll hear more about SUAAAction from Irene Rubin, a SURS update from Steve Cunningham, and legislative update from Senator Brad Burzynski and Representative Bob Pritchard. Unfortunately, the General Assembly adjourned without acting on the pension bond issue.
Approval of the Agenda: President Joe Vaughn submitted the agenda to the membership for their approval. Motion was made by Gary Gresholdt to approve the agenda as submitted and was seconded by Pat Vary.
Approval of Minutes: President Joe Vaughn requested that if there were no objections to the minutes of the Annual Meeting held June 6, 2007, a motion to approve the minutes be made. A motion to approve the minutes as presented was made by Bill Monat and seconded by Lou Deprin.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer John Engstrom provided a written report for the membership. He reported that we had had a good year financially. We had $16,903.34 in our checking account and in our two CD’s. The audit will be done after the June 30 closeout and a report will be presented at that time. A motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report was made by Marjorie Rey and seconded by Gary Gresholdt.
Membership Report: Chair Gary Gresholdt reported that we have continued to recruit new members by writing to new retirees, contacting individuals attending events and by talking to friends and neighbors, which is the most effective. We have 1772 members, an increase of 32 over last year. Two thirds of our members elect dues deduction, which we encourage for seamless membership. Gresholdt encouraged individuals to join the Annuitants Association directly through the NIUAA rather than through the state office, he praised Lee Ann Henry as an invaluable asset, and he thanked all members.
Public Relations/Events Report: Chair Steven Johnson noted various upcoming events, including the Chicago Printers Row Book Fair and a fall cruise. He made special mention of the “No Book” Book Club, which has had good attendance. Linda Peterson facilitates these meetings at which members bring their own books to discuss. These events are listed on our web page and in the Newsletters. He solicited ideas for other events from the membership.
SUAA Action Committee Report: Chair Irene Rubin reported the Political Action Committee is up and running. SUAA is our political lobbying group in Springfield, but it cannot donate money on behalf of the association to candidates. We need the legislators and the governor to support our pensions, and one way to get their attention is to support their campaigns and attend their fund raisers. We need to inform them of our issues and to let them know that we are organized and that we vote. To date at NIU we have collected over $17,000 from approximately 500 of our members. This is an appropriate amount to contribute to local races, but the leadership expect larger contributions, and they have more expensive fund raisers. We also need to write letters to the editor, we need to organize coffees, and we need to explain our case to our friends and neighbors who are not necessarily members of the Annuitants Association. We need the voters on our side. We have used funds so far for mailings and surveys to our members, to send members to fund raisers, and, in the past, to attend Lobby Day in Springfield. Our local legislators know the issues about which we’re concerned, but members in other districts should contact their legislators. We can coordinate their attendance at fund raisers and get their fees paid. For the state to live up to its obligations is not a partisan issue. We must take actions to protect our pensions. The state is running a deficit this year. Next year’s budget is unbalanced. The House refused to pass any of the revenue measures that the Governor proposed and did not even vote on the pension bond issue. This highlights the need to have the legislators on our side. The Constitutional Convention vote is coming up this fall as a statewide referendum. There is much more support now for a Constitutional Convention than the last time it was on the ballot, 20 years ago. There is an increase of anger at state government. This is a less than ideal time to revise the constitution, and protections may be removed from our pensions.
This issue could result in three separate elections. If it does, we need to participate. First, in November, there will be a vote to hold the Constitutional Convention. If it passes, we would need to run for and win seats as delegates to the Convention. There will be two delegates elected from each senatorial district. Then there will be third election in which voters will need to approve recommendations from the Constitutional Convention. It seems unlikely that voters will vote against reducing pension benefits for state employees, so we need to make sure this doesn’t come to a vote phrased in that fashion. For all these reasons, we need your continuing support and participation. If you want to know what you can say or do or want to be kept informed of developments, please contact me at irubin@niu.edu.
Change to NIUAA By-Laws: President Joe Vaughn presented an amendment proposed by the Board to the NIUAA By-Laws to make official the policy we will maintain the integrity of member email and mailing addresses and that we will use these to inform members of only issues directly of interest to them as NIU annuitants. Vaughn called for a motion to accept the proposed amendment to the By-Laws. A motion to approve the amendment was made by Arra Garab and seconded by Bill Monat. During discussion, Marjorie Rey noted a typographical error and asked that “fron” be corrected to “from” in the last sentence of the amendment. The question was called and the amendment was approved.
Presentation of Appreciation Award: Gary Gresholdt stated that the Board had unanimously accepted his Committee’s recommendation of the individual to receive this year’s award for significant contributions of leadership or service to the Association. Gresholdt presented this award to Jay Monteiro, for his invaluable assistance in arranging for the production and distribution of our new brochure. Joe Vaughn noted his appreciation for Jay Monteiro’s unfailing flexibility and good will in assisting the Association.
Recognition of Outgoing Officers and Directors: President Joe Vaughn recognized the following Officers for all their hard work during the year: Vice President, Linda Schwarz; Treasurer, John Engstrom and Past President, Bob Rosemier (unable to attend). Pat Sauter who was Secretary at the start of the year, suffered an in-home accident and was unable to continue her duties. Lee Ann Henry and Linda Schwarz filled in for her the rest of the year.
He recognized the Directors: Scott Banish, who is leaving the Board this year at the completion of his term, was one of the co-signers of the SUAA Action letter; Jerry Halvorson, who chaired the Nominating Committee and is completing his term on the Board and will be leaving; Joe Koch; Gary Gresholdt, who is Membership Chair; Bob Wheeler, who chairs the Benefits Committee; Marjorie Rey, who did yeoman duty, along with Benetta Stearnes in organizing and running our Holiday Party; and Pamela Farris.
He also recognized the chairs of the individual committees: Steven Johnson, who runs the Events Committee; Irene Rubin, one of the co-signers of the SUAA Action letter you received; Benetta Stearnes, who operates our Intergenerational Program; and Charlie Larson, Communications Chair. In addition, Alan Voelker, who is a member of the statewide Board of SUAAction. He also praised NIUAA’s university liaison, Lee Ann Henry.
Election of Officers and Board: President Joe Vaughn explained that the President and Vice President serve two consecutive one-year terms, Board members serve two consecutive two-year terms, and the Secretary and Treasurer serve four consecutive one-year terms. Vaughn introduced Jerry Halvorson, chair of the Nominating Committee.
Report of the Nominating Committee: All Officers are elected for one-year terms. For President, Joe Vaughn; Vice President, Linda Schwarz; Treasurer, John Engstrom; Secretary, Chris Welch. Board members: Gary Gresholdt, second two-year term; Joe Koch, second two-year term; Jerry Meyer, first two-year term; Benetta Stearnes, first two-year term. President Vaughn asked for a motion to approve the slate of the Nominating Committee. Larry Sill moved and Lynne Waldeland seconded acceptance of the Nominating Committee’s Report. President Vaughn announced that persons wishing to nominate a person from the floor must have the approval of the person they wish to nominate; and he called for nominations from the floor. There being none, Mark Thackaberry moved the nominations be closed. Joe Vaughn asked for a request for a unanimous ballot. Pat Vary so requested; Marjorie Rey seconded. President Vaughn once again thanked outgoing Directors, Scott Banish and Jerry Halvorson.
Comments from the Floor: Stacey Dolby asked to be recognized to state his concerns that although NIU has a substantial number of minority active employees and retirees, only a relatively small number of minorities participate in the Board and in the NIUAA activities. President Vaughn noted Mr. Dolby’s concerns and will consider them.
Special NIUAA Presentation to President John G. Peters: On behalf of the NIUAA Board and membership, President Joe Vaughn read a Resolution adopted by the Northern Illinois University Annuitants Association regarding the leadership and support provided by Northern Illinois University in response to the tragic events of February 14, 2008. Joe Vaughn then presented President John Peters with a check in the amount of $5,000 for the February 14 Student Scholarship Fund.
A Reflection of the Past Year at NIU – President John G. Peters. President Peters thanked the Annuitants Association for their contribution to the Scholarship Fund. He stated that he and his wife, Barbara, are extremely proud to be members of the Annuitants Association. He appreciates our contributions to NIU. He recognized the presence of former President and Chancellor Bill Monat and commended Professor Irene Rubin for her talk on the situation in state government.
As of today, we have more than 1400 individuals and groups who have contributed to the February 14 Scholarship Fund, which is a General Scholarship Fund, and a few named memorial scholarship funds that families have started. With this NIUAA contribution, we have $468,000 in contributions to this fund, although this hasn’t been a focus for fund raising. An additional $40,000 has been received for named scholarships. We’re getting ready to award those scholarships soon and to package those monies with other monies to give each student a more significant award.
President Peters emphasized that the awarding of undergraduate and graduate degrees is a major mission of NIU. He praised this generation for their social conscience and, as demonstrated by their response to the February 14 tragic events, for their tremendous compassion and resiliency in dealing with an unimaginable crisis.
Thanks to our well trained professionals, NIU responded excellently to the tragic events of February 14. The world found out about Northern Illinois University, and we discovered things about ourselves. We are known now as an institution that is caring and takes care of its own. President Peters saw heartrending acts of kindness, and he saw people roll up their sleeves and cooperate with each other at unusual levels. He is determined to make this feeling of giving and compassion and cooperation last. He cited the tremendous response of the greater DeKalb-Sycamore area, from the First Responders to citizens baking cookies. He has received many requests to speak nationally and internationally. Officials at other institutions want to know what it was like. What do you say? What it comes down to is training and good people and an institution that knows itself.
President Peters thanked State Senator Burzynski and Representative Pritchard for their support generally and in response to the February 14 events. Serious issues must still be resolved in state government, including the lack of a capital bill, and there is a nervousness and anger among the public throughout the state. The price of gasoline, for instance, affects NIU in an indirect way, because so many of our students come from long distances to attend classes, and it adds significantly to the cost of their education.
He is concerned that the cost of education will put higher education out of the reach of some of our students. The pension issue concerns us, of course, but we have to recognize the public does not have much sympathy for government-backed pensions. We must continue to educate our legislators in this issue.
This year has been a very difficult year, starting with the great August flood right after Move-In Day. With this beginning, we have used creativity and innovation to overcome physical plant problems as well as the particular problems following the February 14 tragedy. This summer, we’re moving a lot of dirt on campus. We’re working with an aging physical plant. Among other things, we’re putting in a new Chiller in the East Campus, and we’re completing our Title IX requirements with new physical plant. We have had a myriad of unforeseen costs this year and have used funds for triage. We are in the midst of recovery efforts that will cost $8 – 9 M and will ask the legislature for assistance. In sum, the year has been characterized by triumph and tragedy, success and challenge and growth and limitations.
Going forward, I think the future is bright for NIU. We are developing a Strategic Plan to improve our success rate, develop clusters of research and to serve the region better. Great teaching and research is taking place here, and we have become involved in exciting, out-of-the -box endeavors, such as our proton research project in the DuPage Tech Park, which is the anchor of that Tech Park. Northwestern University will provide the physicians. We have linked this endeavor with our academic programs, including the physics program and the health programs. Hopefully, we’ll become a national training program for proton therapy.
Barbara sends her apologies for not being here, and I won’t be at dinner with you, either. We are hosting a barbecue cookout at the Residence for the Orientation Leaders. These Orientation Leaders are our front line in trying to convince the parents that NIU is safe.
Again, thank you for your support. “You know where I am if you need me.”
Legislative Recap
Senator Brad Burzynski: It’s a pleasure to be with you. Last year at this time, he and Representative Pritchard were unable to attend this function: we were still in Springfield, in political gridlock. The only difference this year is that we’re here in the midst of gridlock. Much has to be done, and your participation is key in accomplishing what is important to you and to the citizens in the State of Illinois. Senator Burzynski encouraged us to become involved in the political process. He was pleased that NIU had several people in Springfield for NIU Day. They talked to the legislators and made the needs they see in higher education known. He expressed hope that that event grows in the future. It’s vital to know who your legislators are, to contact them, and to make use of the tremendous network available through the University and the Annuitants Association.
State Budget: Passed a budget last week $60 B budget, with a $2.7B shortfall for the coming fiscal year beginning July 1. The Governor is not and he should not be excited about this budget. The $2.7B shortfall is compounded because we still have a shortfall of about $750 M in this Fiscal Year budget, and then we have about $1.2B of Medicaid payments that we haven’t paid. Budget deficit grows quickly from about $2. 7B to about $4.7B.
The formula for pension funding this year $ 2.3B appropriated; but we need $2.8 B to start paying down the pension debt, but we have a continuing appropriation so that will come out of General Revenue funds, perhaps from Education. And our pension debt will increase about $9 B this year. Many issues still to be faced. Some good news: there’s a lot of Excellence on this campus; there’s Resilience; Understanding of the issues and process and of the need for compromise; Participation; and Tenacity. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today.
Representative Bob Pritchard: Thanks to Joe, the Officers and Board members and all members for representing the real spirit of Northern Illinois University. His wife is a new member in the Annuitants Association. We have seen many things change in the past thirty years, when she joined Northern Illinois University. He cited the unwelcome changes in society in the intervening years from a can-do attitude built around family and neighborhoods and responsibility.
In Springfield, we’ve seen unwelcome change, too. We need to return to the days when we were more responsive to the people’s needs. Bob Pritchard looks forward to working with us, as he works to fulfill the moral commitment made to us when we were first employed at NIU. We need to return to the great American spirit we saw on February 14, with people rolling up their sleeves and working together. He encouraged us to talk to our friends in other areas of the state to come up with better ideas, new solutions. He and Brad Burzynski are doing this by brainstorming and reaching across the legislative aisle to solve problems. Perhaps we need to have our own debates about how the government can better serve the people.
A Progress Update of the NIU Foundation: Mallory Simpson, President of the NIU Foundation, thanked the membership for its support and for the collective gift to the February 14 Scholarship Fund. We have raised $120 M toward our True North campaign goal of $150 M. Annuitants have given more than $586,000. We have a $40.3M endowment, and last year we had better than average returns compared to other institutions with similar size endowments. NIU’s True North campaign is about Making a Difference. Our donors are changing lives. Donors are increasingly dedicating their endowment dollars to scholarship support and to faculty support. Since the beginning of the campaign, the amount of money going into scholarships has quadrupled.
SURS Sound; Unfunded Liability Problem Remains: Steve Cunningham, Associate Vice President, Administrative and Human Services, complimented SURS Executive Director, Dan Slack on the sound SURS fundamentals. That is, SURS has the lowest administrative costs and provides among the highest rates-of-return on investment among the Illinois pension systems. Thus, it has the lowest state contribution rate. Moreover, SURS is a relatively efficient and low-cost system compared to the rest of the state retirement systems: Total State Contributions to SURS are currently under 10%, as opposed to nearly 25% for SURS and 14% for TRS. However, SURS performance reflects the general poor economic conditions: its funding ratio, as of April 2008, was more than 5% lower than at the close of the last fiscal year; and the current annual rate-of-return is 0%, as compared to more than 18% last year. The unfunded liability problem remains. It is solely related to the State of Illinois’ historic failure to appropriate the State’s share to pension contributions over many fiscal years. Employee contributions were fully paid. It is important to note that the problem is not an issue of overly generous or exceptional benefits for higher education employees. SURS accounts for only 4.1% of Illinois’ unfunded pension liabilities, yet accounts for 24% of participants. FY 10 will represent the “top of the ramp” with respect to the 50-year funding plan. FY 10 is the 15th year of the 15-year ramp-up. Thereafter, the annual increase in funding requirements will level off at a predictable level for the remaining 35-year period. Cunningham cited the problem of the looming Constitutional Convention, and he complimented Irene Rubin on her thorough report. He emphasized the importance of SURS, which is the only retirement program for public education employees, and, because SURS participants do not participate in Social Security, the State does not also have to pay the employer co-payment. Again, although SURS accounts for a small percentage of unfunded pension liabilities, it accounts for almost a quarter of all participants.
Awaiting Benefit Choice Changes: Human Resources Benefits Manager, Dennis Da Vito, reported that there was still an impasse on negotiations for health care carriers. The first benefits choice period just ended. There will be a second, but we don’t know whether it will occur in August or perhaps in the fall. We will receive another booklet. HRS will make sure everyone is informed. Access www.benefitschoice.il.gov for changes. On the positive side, there will be a slight reduction in life insurance premiums.
Adjournment at 5:05 p.m.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
178 Human Resources Building
President Linda Schwarz called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.
Members Present: John Engstrom, Kay Forest, Gary Gresholdt, Joe Koch, Jim Lockard, Jerry Meyer, Linda Schwarz, Bennetta Stearnes, Joe Vaughn, Ralph Wallis, and Chris Welch
Committee Chairs in Attendance: Steven Johnson, Marge Rey, Irene Rubin and Alan Voelker
University Liaison: Absent
Approval of Agenda: Linda Schwarz submitted the agenda for approval. A motion was made by Gary Gresholdt and seconded by Joe Koch to approve the agenda. The motion carried.
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of the April 22, 2009 meeting were presented for approval. There was a spelling error on Marge Rey’s name. A motion was made by John Engstrom and seconded by Jim Lockard to approve the minutes as corrected. The motion carried.
Introduction of new officers, directors and board members: Linda Schwarz introduced the new board members: Immediate Past President – Joe Vaughn, Vice President – Jerry Meyer; Directors: Dick Dowen, Kay Forest, Jim Lockard, and Ralph Wallis. Linda asked everyone to introduce themselves.
Treasurer’s Report: John Engstrom passed out the Schedule of Cash Receipts and Disbursements. John reported that we hadn’t spent a lot of money last year. He said that the dues collections are sent directly to the state office either by SURS or the NIU payroll office. Out of each $24 in dues, $3 is sent back to us and $21 goes to the state. He said that we don’t make much interest on our checking account. There’s a sheet on the back detailing the income and expenses of the holiday party. He said that we ended up making a little money even though we had more expenses than we had last year. John also reported under receipts, that he received a check from Carder Travel for trips that is then paid out for the bus rental. He reported that in Disbursements, we didn’t make any major awards this year. The meeting expenses were for the annual meeting and also includes expenses for the regional meeting that was held at the College of DuPage, which we helped sponsor with a check for $200.00. We pay $300 per year for the design and layout of the newsletter and advertising expenses for the coffees. We had an excess of receipts over disbursements of $4,058, for a balance of $6,753 in the checking account. John reported that we had two 13 month CD’s, one at 4% the other at 3.8% which we probably won’t be able to match when these run out in September. He will check around for the best rate for reinvestment. All together we have $21,821. He said that the back two pages list all the daily transactions that have taken place over the year. This will all be audited by Doug Moore; and he also has an annual report that he sends to SUAA which they incorporate and add to their numbers, along with all the numbers of the other chapters, to send to the IRS.
Irene Rubin moved and Jim Lockard seconded a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report. The motion carried.
NIUAA Proposed Budget: John Engstrom handed out the proposed budget for 2009-10. John reported that membership dues were a little down, the holiday party receipts were down, but the expenses were also down. John suggested that we don’t include the trips in our budget since they net out. The disbursements include the newsletter preparation; we didn’t spend anything on membership development, and we didn’t have any cash awards handed out. John suggested we discuss anything that we wanted to do this year that ought to be in the budget.
Marge Rey said that the cost for the holiday party will go up from $17.00 to $19.00 per person. John said that he didn’t see a reason why we would have to break even on this event given the amount of money we have; he expected us to break even last year and we ended up making $127. John suggested the following for the budget: Receipts for Holiday Party 150 people @ $20/each = $3,000 and for expenses $3,500. Newsletter Preparation $300; State and regional meeting expenses $1000; No budget amount for social events – that’s included in membership development expenses of $100. Awards expenses $50 (Cindy Wallin received a free membership as her award). Contribution to Scholarship Fund: last year we contributed $500 to the Scholarship fund. Gary Gresholdt moved that we contribute $1000 to the February 14 scholarship fund this year. Irene Rubin seconded. The motion carried. Total budget: Cash receipts $8,205; Cash Disbursements $5,950.
Irene Rubin moved and Jim Lockard seconded a motion to approve the chapter budget. The motion carried.
Alan Voelker commented that the Executive Committee is concerned about the huge amounts of money that the chapters have. He said there is concern that the IRS wants to know why there are such large amounts of money. The State Office thinks it might be advantageous to shift money from the chapters to the state. The State Office wants to shift more costs to the chapters, and that chapters with large amounts of money should contribute to Springfield. Irene didn’t think that the IRS would be concerned with the amount of money our chapter has. She doesn’t think that we need to spend it down, but there might be some expenses that we could cover that the central office has covered, such as the cost of sending out a fund raiser letter. She said that what they really want is to have control over those dollars and spend them on their own determined purposes. She thinks we should be cautious about that. Linda said that Central Office is talking about a dues increase and she views this as a problem for membership development. Gary said that one thing we could consider doing if they do propose a membership dues increase is use some of our money to supplement dues, at least for a period of time, which might be a way of addressing membership development. A question arose about a dues increase and payroll deduction – should people be notified before they change their deduction amount? Since it costs more for self pay as opposed to dues deduction, shouldn’t people who self pay be charged the higher rate of dues? Gary thought that they would have to send out a new form authorizing the dues deduction, and if they do that, there’s a risk of losing membership. Linda said there’s a question on how we would communicate this to all members since there are some who aren’t on e-mail. Membership could be forewarned via the newsletter. John said that some chapters might want to increase their portion of the dues at the same time. Irene suggested that we could use some of our money to subsidize first year members. That would be a way of drawing down our fund balances while using that money for membership development. Joe Vaughn moved and Joe Koch seconded a motion to table this discussion until the October meeting. The motion carried.
President’s Announcements: Linda Schwarz received a request from Jerry Zar pertaining to the minutes of the 2008 Annual meeting. Jerry suggested amending the wording of President Peter’s Reflection of the Past Year at NIU pertaining to the number of undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded. Linda suggested that the first sentence be changed to read: President Peters emphasized that the awarding of undergraduate and graduate degrees is a major mission of NIU. Jerry Meyer moved and Jim Lockard seconded a motion to approve the revision. The motion carried. Linda said that Jerry also suggested sending the annual minutes to the NIUAA members a few days before the annual meeting so that they would have enough time to review the minutes prior to the meeting. Linda said that we could either e-mail the minutes to members or mail copies to members. Gary Gresholdt said that an alternative would be to post the minutes on our web site and we could indicate in the May newsletter that the minutes would be there for review and subject to approval at the annual meeting. Joe suggested that we could also email members that the minutes will be posted on the web site for review. Gary Gresholdt moved and Joe Vaughn seconded a motion to post the annual minutes on the web site prior to the next annual meeting. The motion carried.
Holiday Party: Marge Rey reported on the cost increase from $17.00 to $19.00 per person and that the charge to participants will be $20, the same as last year. She said that she had not had any feedback on the party or on whether anyone had used TransVac. Information will be included in the November newsletter. Deadline to Linda is September 10; deadline to Sherri is September 15. Marge reported that everything is in place, including badges for prior attendees. John Engstrom mentioned that the amount of tips seemed low. Marge said that $5.00 was given to each person who helped. Joe thought that was low. Linda said that she would check with Cindy Wallin to see if the amount of tips should be increased.
Membership Committee: Linda Schwarz reported that NIUAA received an award from SUAA for the largest increase in membership since the last meeting. It also included a $25 comp for the next SUAA meeting. Gary Gresholdt reported that membership is approximately 1,800. He said that we will be doing a summer mailing to new retirees who haven’t yet joined. He thanked Lee Ann for her efforts; she does a lot in maintaining records and processing memberships. Typically we lose about 30 members per year. We gain members from our presence at the Wellness Fair and the coffee hours. Gary said that Lee Ann had suggested that we have a coffee hour for current employees late in the afternoon, 4:30 to 6:30. The date is not yet been decided.
Communications Report: Jerry Meyer has had a lot of experience with communications and has agreed to take a primary responsibility as editor of the newsletter. Linda asked everyone to send their articles to Jerry. Jerry will be working with Sherri. We will have November, February and May issues. Jerry asked for articles to be sent in a Word file.
Public Relations/Events: Steven Johnson reported that on July 1 we had our first annual new year’s coffee. There were some new attendees. Irene Rubin gave a presentation on the current non-state of events in Springfield. Steven said that we’ve had several trips since the last meeting. In May, 54 people went to the Chicago Botanic Gardens; this past Saturday 22 people went to Barrington to the Wurlitzer concert; we went to Ravinia to hear Prairie Home Companion. Steven thought that these three events could be annual events because they are very popular. Our next trip is to Chicago for the August 1 architecture cruise and Gold Coast art show. Steven said that he is planning a coffee in August in honor of John Engstrom’s election to the SURS board where members could come and meet John and enjoy coffee and refreshments thanks to the support of the NIU Credit Union. Steven said to e-mail him with comments or any suggestions for future events. He said he is working on a trip to the Chicago Symphony. Steven said that he sends electronic thank you notes to the credit union for their support. Gary Gresholdt suggested considering the credit union for an award this year.
Benefits Report: Linda Schwarz said per Dennis Devito there was nothing new to report.
Legislative Report: Linda Schwarz said that according to the Springfield State Journal Register, legislators and the Governor are focusing on a plan that involves borrowing more money for pensions - a $3 million bond issue that can then be used for other state expenses. In this plan the Governor would have a lot of freedom to determine what programs are funded and at what level, and the Governor would have to make cuts to the budget rather then the General Assembly. The spending plan covers state grants to local agencies that provide human services on behalf of the state. Legislators will be asked to approve a new spending plan. Linda said that in past reports the Governor is said to be waiting until November for another vote on raising income taxes to balance the budget. The thinking is that the Legislators will return for the veto session in the fall and take care of the next 6 months of the budget, and then there will be a tax increase after the November 2nd deadline for candidates to turn in paper work to get on the February primary ballot. She said we’re following the Pension System Modernization Task Force created by Joint Resolution 65 which met first in June and will meet through October and will report to the Governor in early November. The Task Force has 19 members of which 11 were appointed by the Governor, 2 legislative members appointed by each of the leadership, majority and minority; and other members representing diverse segments of the community. At its first meeting the Task Force created 5 subcommittees: funding, benefits current employees, benefits future employees, investment, and collective bargaining. The chair of the Task Force appointed by the Governor is Donald T. McNeil a partner in the Chicago office of Barnes and Thornburg. McNeil specializes in labor and employment law and litigation. McNeil also served the state as superintendent of the Wage Claims Division of the Illinois Department of Labor. The vice chair is Representative Kevin McCarthy who was appointed to the Task Force by Speaker Madigan. Linda got most of this information from Pat Quinn’s web page.
NIUAA Political Action Committee Report: Irene Rubin said she didn’t know yet whether the Legislature is going to try to pass, over the Governor’s veto, the budget that they have already submitted or whether they were going to try to come up with a new one. The Governor has asked for a new one, and we don’t know exactly what it is going to look like. Irene guessed that it’s going to be a 12 month budget but at a reduced level; it wouldn’t really last the full 12 months. She said that a lot of the non profits have already let go major staff. The borrowing proposals are puzzling. Some of the major characteristics of them are: Whether this will be a pension obligation bond. The minutes from the Pension Reform Committee suggest that it’s going to be a pension obligation bond. That’s not what’s being discussed by the Governor and the Legislature leadership. That means that the payback is not going to be from the pensions. The State’s going to be borrowing from it’s own future payments into the pension system and paying itself back. This was passed by huge majority of the House – major support by the House for doing that. Then the proposal went to the Senate, and the Governor, who had supported that proposal in the House, turned around and discouraged his Senate from passing it. The only thing that anyone could come up with for why the Governor was doing this is that he wanted additional pressure on the Legislature from the retirees to pass the tax increase. But that didn’t happen and it’s not going to happen. Political reality finally sunk in and now reportedly he is supporting the borrowing for the pension funds. Here’s where the two proposals come in. One is for $2.2 billion and one is for $3 billion. The Governor is supporting, supposedly, the $3 billion version. That is for more than the pensions. The $2.2 billion proposal that was supported had a clause in it saying that the money that would be released would be spent for the social services. But since the governor didn’t actually have the money there wasn’t going to be any money to release. From a budgetary perspective they’re talking symbolism here rather than actual dollars. Had the real money been there to fund the pensions, then it could have been released. But the Governor was only talking in his budget about the so called normal costs – that is the state was only going to cover the costs incurred by present employees, not pay any of the amount for under funding for the prior two year, but for the period before that as well. So all the money wasn’t there to start with so it couldn’t all be released. It didn’t make sense from a budgetary perspective, but no one was adding it up except for budgeters. The Governor seems to have figured it out and is therefore adding to the $2.2 billion another $800 million so that there would indeed be money to be released from at least the pension bonds for the social services. So that’s what’s in play now: will there be a bond borrowing issue? Who will be responsible for paying it back? And what will be the level? Will there be enough in the borrowing to cover the ongoing costs? That means we’re borrowing for ongoing expenditures, which is a lousy perspective. That’s how New York City got into trouble in the mid-70’s as a result of that practice. The Pension Modernization Task Force is discussing this as if none of these issues were before it. Irene added that SURS supports the borrowing under the more contemporary proposals, but SURS doesn’t think that the Pension Modernization Task Force is going to come up with anything useful, or that that will be the guidance for policy. Her concern was the timing of it because the budget decisions are going to have to be made now and the Pension Modernization Committee was going to report on November 1st. A lot of the budget decisions are going to be delayed until November after the Pension Modernization Committee reports. Prior commission reports have not been paid attention to and, given the composition of this board, how they will ever come together on anything that they agree on she can’t envision.
Irene reported that the second meeting was not about the bond. It wasn’t even on the agenda. What was on the agenda was Quinn’s original proposal for a two tiered pension system, leaving alone us current retirees; the question was what are they going to do for future retirees? They put up on the website an outline that discusses all of the information. It extremely useful for including the Governor’s rationale for some of the elements of his proposal, and there is a little more information of what other states are doing or have done which puts us in a very different light. It outlines what the benefits are for each of the systems. Remember the Governor said that he wants all systems to be uniform. It’s all outlined so you can see what the Legislators and the Judges get and what it’s proposing for new members. The ordinary members of the system are getting far less than the Legislators are. This is all on the Governor’s web site under the Pension Modernization Task Force Illinois. The Governor’s arguing that one of the reasons he thinks it’s okay to reduce the cpi, the annual increment from 3% to a half of the cpi, basically to have people lose half the inflation every year, he says that’s okay because elderly people don’t have to pay more for their housing. When you add real data and say that our benefits are much too generous, that’s not the case. We don’t compare generously or favorably with the other states that were picked. Info from power point presentation of the July meeting of the pension modernization task force.
SUAAction Report: Alan Voelker reported that Northern is getting kudos from other SUAAction chapters for raising money – more than $19,000 whereas the entire state has raised a little over $150,000. We have more contributions than 3 years ago; we went from less than $5,000 to more than $19,000 in a two year span. The quota for the year was $175,000, but some chapters didn’t send out their letter until April. Most chapters are using a generic letter. The 33 chapters that used a generic letter raised less than $20,000 and two chapters accounted for half of that. Those that are using a personally written letter are raising more money. Ten chapters accounted for more than 70% of the total; 15 chapters accounted for 85% of the total and contributors from the top 10 chapters accounted for 70% of all contributors. The increase in contributions over the last year was more than 40%. Another thing that shows up is that having board members on SUAAction produces results; we’re trying to get more board members. For raising money a bigger board is better; but the bigger the board the more expenses for having meetings. The generic letter vs. personal letter introduces the problem of thank you letters. The State is shifting this off to chapters. Last year a lot of chapters sent two letters, one to those who have contributed last year thanking them. So the two letters seem to have worked for those chapters. One chapter is sending out thank you letters and publishing the names of the contributors. Alan said he doesn’t know if this produces a problem or not. Some of the things they’re working on are schedules so that things get out earlier. The office where we have our contract seems to want to do everything after the first of the year and yet most of the chapters do generic letters and there’s no reason they can’t go out earlier, in particular this go around with the primary election in February 2010. Still an issue is what reports we release and in what manner. We don’t want too much information distributed too broadly because people might start using the information and infuriate legislators. There’s a lot of issues between SUAA and SUAAction and we keep working on policies and procedures. Alan is the co-chair for SUAAction for next year. One of his concerns is what people in the field think about what’s going on; what their concerns are and what their recommendations are. So if you have concerns about how we conduct our business or how we can make it better contact Alan.
Joe Vaughn said that the number one legislative priority for SUAA this year was a push for uniform health coverage for the Community Colleges. This was put in place primarily at the insistence of City Colleges of Chicago. He asked, if the City Colleges of Chicago stepped up to the plate and contribute to SUAAction. Alan said that they have been kind of slow to respond. Addison Woodward and the co chair of SUAAction took them to task in a nice sort of way. While the amount of money raised was not great, they increased their contributions by nearly 100% of last year. The message is going out that if you want us to support what’s of interest to you, you need to put some money in. They did increase the number of contributors by 70%.
Intergenerational Project: Bennetta Stearnes reported that a volunteer network is newly formed at NIU reaching throughout the community and trying to connect with students who are interested in opportunities for volunteering. That doesn’t impact the Intergenerational Reach Project because it’s just another avenue for getting volunteers. She is going to continue to have something in the newsletter asking for retirees to participate in District 428 volunteer opportunities. They do have some regular volunteers who are much appreciated. There are programs in all the schools but mostly elementary to middle schools, things that don’t require a lot of skills but mean a lot to the students.
Old Business: Covered under other agenda items.
New Business:
SUAA Meeting recaps and future: Linda Schwarz said that the SUAA regional meeting was held last April at College of DuPage. NIU contributed money. It was a day long leadership meeting. Among the guests were Mitch Vogel and a SUAA lobbyist Dick Lockheart. Much of the morning discussion centered on advocacy. The afternoon session featured Alan Voelker and Joe Vaughn regarding chapter activities and the assistance we receive from NIU and the NIU Foundation. At that meeting Tom Youngren of Elgin Community College asked if we would be open to helping with an information meeting, perhaps at NIU. At the annual meeting in June, Linda spoke with Tom and Pat Smith of Kishwaukee Community College and she offered Kishwaukee as a site for a meeting, perhaps in late April. Kishwaukee has free parking. There are no plans for a regional meeting as of now. At the annual meeting there was much talk about advocacy and the new Pension System Modernization Task Force. SUAA does not have a representative on the task force but it went to the June meeting and made SUAA’s presence known and we may have a representative at some future date. There was also talk about the dues increase.
SUAA Foundation: John Engstrom said the SUAA Foundation receives contributions from members and sometimes from chapters. The money from the Foundation sometimes helps SUAA but also provides money to individual members of the chapter who may have a financial crisis facing them. He said that in the three years he’s been involved there has only been one person, who was from Northern requesting funds. This year the Foundation is going to help fund computer upgrades for SUAA.
SURS election and June Board meeting: John Engstrom said that the new board is made up of 11 members, 6 elected and 5 appointed by the Governor. Of the six, two are retirees (Mitch Vogel and John Engstrom) and four are contributing members. The Unions got involved in this election to a fairly big extent and of the 6 members, 5 were backed by the unions and one was not. The six are Mitch Vogel from Northeastern and is involved in the University Professionals of Illinois, Jeffrey Beaulieu, from Southern, Fred Giertz who is not the union person but who was on the board from 1995 to 2005. Dorinda Miller from the University of Illinois who is a civil service person and Antonio Vasquez from the City Colleges is continuing as a member. The appointed members are Carrie Hightman who is the Chair of the Board of Higher Education and is the chair or our board, and four new members, 3 of them were not at the meeting because they had just been notified. Two of those were returning members, Christine Boreland who’s a union president and Marva Williams who was on the board and is involved in non profit organization work; Patricia Cassidy, who’s involved in health care, and Steven Rogers from Northwestern. John said they had a meeting a week ago Thursday and Friday, most of which was orientation. The first part of that had to do with their legal exposure as trustees. SURS has a legal staff and a board legal person as well and they both made presentations. As a result of that session they all took out liability insurance. The other part of the meeting focused on investments. About half of each board meeting will deal with investments because the board votes for every investment that is made. The next day they talked about By-laws, audit accounting and other things. There’s a committee structure at SURS but they decided not to appoint the committees. He said his guess is that he’ll be involved in the audit committee and maybe some others as well. There’s an executive committee that has the power to act if the board as a whole can’t deal with something, and that includes the chair of the board as the chair of the executive committee, a vice chair, and a treasurer. The treasurer doesn’t do anything except be on the executive committee. John said he is on the executive committee for about two months until they meet again and a permanent executive committee will be appointed. The appointments to all the committees are for one year.
John said that the SURS staff is very professional, Judy Parker is the executive officer. She is not interested in the permanent position. There are also attorneys and investment people. Dan Allen is the chief investment officer of SURS . There’s an investment firm that manages the investment process for SURS. They are not actively involved in the investments. They get no percentage of that. Investments go through investment managers who are approved by the board. That’s one of the major things that the board does. Another major thing the board does is approve an asset allocation policy. In addition there’s an actuary that works for the board. The next meeting is September 10 & 11.
Irene asked for information on the process for selecting a permanent executive director for SURS. John said they will continue to use the same search firm. The good thing about these changes is we do have an elected set of members which we did not have before. Our main job is to protect the interest of the members.
A motion was made Jim Lockard and seconded by Ralph Wallis to adjourn the meeting.
The motion carried.
The next meeting will be October 21, 2009, HRS building 178.
The meeting adjourned at 11:55 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Christine Welch