UIC Chapter of SUAA Minutes of the Spring Meeting Thursday, April 21, 2005

Frank Tachau called the meeting to order at 10:10am.

1. Minutes of the Fall 2004 meeting were presented and accepted by the membership.

2. Wally Wadycki presented the treasurer's report. The treasury is in good condition with a balance before current expenses of $33,168. Last year at this time we had $31,341.

3. The membership report was presented by Gerry Piorkowski. Our membership is the highest ever for our chapter and stands at 1214, a 165-member increase over last year. The strategies of direct mailing to all UIC retirees from the last 5 years and a mass e-mailing to all current UIC employees have worked. A new idea to increase membership was put forward: create a family membership. A family membership would likely increase the number of individuals connected to SUAA through the offering of a reduced membership rate for any two people, retired or active, living at the same address, of $50 a year. A motion was made, seconded, and carried unanimously by the membership. Special thanks were given by Gerry to Bernie Greski for her many recruitment efforts, Earl Puls for his advertising drafts, and Kevin Navratil for his work in coordinating the recruitment mailings.

4. Dick Johnson provided the legislative report.

• He noted that there is very strong protection for our current pension benefits within the Illinois Constitution.
• While the Governor has been trying to balance the State's budget without a tax increase, he views the State pension plans as a possible source of more money through:
  1. possible elimination or reduction of the 3% COLA for new employees
  2. capping the annual interest rate imputed by SURS for benefits under the money purchase formula at 6% (currently at 8.5%).
  3. increasing the age of eligibility for full benefits to 65, from 60 with 30 years.
  4. eliminating the money purchase formula for new employees.
• The Governor is also concerned about how SURS calculates the money purchase formula. His proposed change would "no cap" benefits. It would lower the rate upon which annuities are calculated to no more than 6%, down from 8.5%. This would effectively destroy the money purchase formula.
• All of the above are proposals, and the reactions of SURS and SUAA have been strong and swift. Jim Hacking, Executive Director of SURS, has indicated that a reduction in the money purchase formula would be considered a diminution of benefits, illegal under the Illinois Constitution. A diminishment of benefits for new hires would create a two-tier system of retirees and impair the competitive edge for the University in hiring new faculty and staff . It was stated forcefully that monetary conditions of SURS and other pension systems is not the result of excessive benefits, but of the State not meeting its funding obligations over the years.
• Illinois House Bill 750, which would increase the State income tax to 5% from 3% and offer property tax relief, is still under consideration, but if it is revenue neutral, it will benefit no one. The Governor has promised to veto any bill containing a tax increase.
• UIC SUAA will monitor all legislative issues and contact its membership for possible legislative action through information on its website. A link on the website provides members with easy access to their legislators for legislative educational campaigns.
• UIC SUAA will be more of a legislative presence the greater our membership becomes. Current employees are an important addition. It is now the 4th largest chapter in the State and could easily move up. The Chapter may also form a political information committee (PIC) to assist in political action.
• Statewide SUAA goals for 2005 include:
  a. Push for full State funding of SURS
  b. Push for repeal of the Social Security offsets for public pensions (NEA is leading this movement)
  c. Raise the SURS death benefit from $1,000 to $5,000

5. Wally Wadycki has drafted some necessary changes to the UIC SUAA Constitution that will be reviewed next year. Several are the result of the centralization of dues collection in Springfield.

6. Irv Miller presented the Program report. There have been five luncheon brown-bag seminars attended by members, averaging 15-20 folks. It has been well received and will continue next year.

7. A big "thank-you" from the Board and membership is extended to Merrill Gassman for his webmaster role in UIC SUAA. Please update any new information and send it on to Merrill.

8. The Nominating committee presented their slate for new officers of UIC SUAA for the next 2 years:

• President- Irv Miller
• 1st Vice President - Merrill Gassman
• 2nd Vice President - Richard Johnson
• Secretary- Marsha Borders
• Treasurer- Wally Wadycki
• Directors at Large - Kathleen Crittenden, William Jones, and Jacob Starks

No more nominations were received from the floor. The new slate was accepted by vote of the membership. New members of the Board will be:

• Program Chair - Nancy Hirsch
• Social Chair - Mary Bartucci
• Newsletter Editor - Larry Poston

Congratulations was extended to all.

9. Irv Miller spoke and thanked outgoing President Frank Tachau for his work, and Frank also thanked Ralph Westfall, Joan Hladek, Judy Curry, and Roz Hoffman for their help on the Board during the past two years, and Mark Donovan for helping to secure us new office space.

10. Thanks was given to Irv Miller for donating a new computer for our office.

Meeting adjourned at 11:00 am for University President B. Joseph White's presentation.

Respectfully submitted,

Susan R. Levy, Secretary

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Last modified: Oct. 17, 2005

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