The UIC Chapter of SUAA Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting June 30, 2010

Members Present: Marsha Borders, Judy Curry, Merrill Gassman, Michael Harms, James Jones, Rose Kirk, Donna Knutson, Irv Miller, Leonard Ramirez, Sue Sindelar, Chuck Stanislao, William Troyer

Members Absent: Gloria Henderson, Richard Johnson, Lawrence Poston,

The meeting was called to order by President Merrill Gassman at 10:00am in room B16, Physical Plant Building, 1140 S. Morgan.

1. Approval of Minutes: The Minutes of the May 21, 2010 Board meeting were approved.

2. President's Report: Merrill distributed several documents: a questionnaire re: political preferences, Dick Johnson's email re: Speaker Madigan's political positions, and a letter from SUAA to Chapter Presidents re: SUAA website improvements. He noted that a July 21 meeting of the Northern Illinois SUAA caucus will be held at the College of DuPage. He spoke with Mary Beastall, UIUC Chapter President, who indicated a willingness to cooperate with our chapter in the pursuit of obtaining employee dues deduction.

3. Treasurer's Report: The 05/20/10 cash balance stands at $24,611. Chuck Stanislao reported that this amount did not include some dues received in June.

4. SUAA Annual Meeting Report: Merrill and others reported on the major events of the meeting. A panel of professional lobbyists discussed the political process in Springfield and the issues that will likely be important in the next legislative session. They noted that written letters to legislators have more impact than e-mails or form letters. They said that financial support is important in gaining access to legislators. The SUAA central office has developed a new information packet to be distributed to prospective members, and it is available to all chapters. Green Party candidate for Governor, Rich Whitney, made a presentation at the meeting. William Mabe, the new SURS Executive Director, made a presentation on State pension issues.

5. Membership Report: Sue Sindelar reported that current membership stands at 1664. The new brochure will be ready soon. Sue is developing an open letter to be run in UIC News to encourage new membership. Potential legislation threatening pension benefits will be a theme.

6. Legislation/SUAAction: Bill Troyer spent time with political action counterparts from other chapters at the annual meeting. They reviewed the legislative races around the State.

7. Program Report (Donna Knutson): October 12, 13, and 14 are possible dates for the Fall Membership meeting. Donna is checking with the President's Office to see if President Hogan would be available. If not, she plans to ask William Mabe, the new SURS Executive Director, to speak. The Fall brown bag meeting will be Nov. 9 or 11; Dick Simpson will discuss the Fall election results. Possible dates for the Fall Forum are Sept. 14-16. The event would be held from 11:30am to 2:00pm. "Politics, Policy, and People - Addressing the Illinois Fiscal Crisis" is the working title for the Forum. The consensus was to have a small panel, no more than four, plus a moderator. Several possible names were discussed for panelists. Irv Miller agreed to serve as moderator. Donna will follow up with Dick Johnson and others to complete the panel. Sue suggested, and the Board agreed, that we seek a campus partner for the event. This would help with publicity and potential attendance.

8. Old Business: none

9. New Business: Merrill asked for Board members to provide responses to the SUAA letter he distributed. It was also agreed that putting Speaker Madigan's political positions on the UIC UNITED website would not be appropriate.

10. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 11:35am.

Respectfully submitted by Michael Harms, Secretary

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