www.winnebagocountyrta.org AUGUST 2018 Edition
OFFICERS
Co-Presidents.………….… Norm Alpers & Fred Kunz MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Vice-President & Program…….…,Jacqueline Bolger
Secretary ……….………………….Dr. Laura Jernigan SEPTEMBER 20, 2018
Treasurer ……………..…....……Dorothy Schoonover
Welcome to our newest Winnebago County Retirees, Class of 2018! To introduce you to our local unit, the Winnebago County Retired Teachers Association (WCRTA) hosts an annual breakfast in September at which several of the officers of our state organization, the Illinois Retired Teachers Association, will present an update of issues of particular interest to all retired teachers.
This year’s breakfast will be held on Thursday, September 20, at the Stockholm Inn, 2420 Charles Street, Rockford, IL. Registration begins at8:30 a.m. 2018 Retirees will be our guests for breakfast; we will pay for your meal! Norm Alpers and Fred Kunz, co-Presidents of WCRTA, will make a few short remarks before all attendees will order off the menu.
Following breakfast, we will hear from the following IRTA officers: Jim Bachman, Executive Director; Roger Hampton, President; John Flaherty, Vice-President; and a representative from AMBA-- the Association Member Benefits Advisors.
Even though we are not pre-ordering our meals, we need to give the restaurant a count of how many people plan on attending. Please call or email Gayle Haab if you are planning on attending. Gayle’s phone number is 815-742-1331,and heremail is ghaab74@gmail.com. Reservation deadline is Saturday, September 15.
The September breakfast meeting is both informative and social; it’s a great time to see old friends as well as make some new ones!
Message from Fred Kunz, Co-President, djfk7@aol.com
It’s hard to believe the new school year is here so quickly. About 650 students will be going to the new Cherry Valley School in District 205. Your WCRTA has been active awarding Blanche Martin Scholarships, a total of $10,000, interviewing legislative candidates, going on a great field trip to Milwaukee and sightseeing, exploring a local winery with tasting and a hayrack ride, continuing as boosters of the Stateline Quiz Bowl (WTVO) state tournament and planning our 2018 retiree breakfast on Sept 20 at the Stockholm Inn.
Special thanks to Mike Cannariato and the committee for selecting the scholarship winners, to Dr. John Carleton for planning meetings with the legislative candidates, to George Whinna for planning the Milwaukee trip, and to Gayle Haab for planning the winery event and chairing the sheet sales (over $2,500 profit to fund as boosters of the Quiz Bowl).
My activities with the IRTA Foundation began in early June awarding the Area I scholarship in Carroll County and giving a presentation on the Foundation activities. In July, JoAnn Nelson and I selected the Area I Grant winners for Phase One. In Aug, I will assist in selecting the winners for Phase 2. Winners will be presented the grants in October.
The IRTA Foundation’s only fundraiser is the donations for labels. If you have not made your donation, there is still time.
TRS meetings for 2019 retirees are planned for October 30 at 4:00 pm at Harlem High School and an October date and location TBA in Rockford.
Message from Norm Alpers, WCRTA Co-President, n_alpers@yahoo.com
Another school year is beginning and another group of teachers is starting their last year of teaching before they retire. My daughter will be one of those retiring after this school year. That does not seem possible.
WCRTA will again be honoring the current year retirees by holding a breakfast in their honor. Please attend that breakfast to help us welcome those retirees to our ranks. There are over 60 retirees in Winnebago County for 2018, but we will be able to invite only about half of them since we do not have contact information for all of them. We are continuing to attempt to get that contact information. Hopefully, we will have a good number of them in attendance. The breakfast, which is detailed in this newsletter, is on September 20 at the Stockholm Inn Please plan on attending.
Several IRTA leaders will be in attendance at that breakfast, including Jim Bachman the Executive Director of IRTA and Roger Hampton the President of IRTA. They will be giving us an update on issues involving our pensions and insurance as well as TRS and some ideas about what will happen in the new session of the state government. A member of the IRTA Benefits group will also be there to update us on the many benefits, discounts, and offers available to members.
Also, in this issue of the newsletter, there are some pictures and an article on our scholarship presentations back in June. That is such a great part of WCRTA’s program.
Dr. John Carleton has also written an article about the coming November election. It will give you some idea of what the candidates are saying about the issues that we are concerned with. The article is worth your time and effort to read. John has spent a lot of time and effort along with some colleagues interviewing them and summarizing their ideas and concerns.
George Whinna is making plans for another December/Christmastime bus trip for WCRTA members and guests. Last year he planned and carried off a remarkable trip to the San Filippo Estate in Barrington. Folks are still talking about that one. So, have another great year of retirement, and I hope to see you in September at the Stockholm Inn.
Blanche Martin Scholarship Winnersby Mike Cannariato
Scholarship Recipients: Brianna Tresemer, Maria Cirone, Chloe Baxter, and Gracie Caltagerone
From this year’s annual allotment of $10,000, the Blanche Martin Scholarship Committee is pleased to recognize the six future elementary teachers who will each be awarded a 2018 scholarship to assist them with their educational expenses.
From a record number of very qualified applicants, the committee chose: Sophie Riley, who will attend Asbury University; Maria Cirone, headed to the University of Alabama; Mary Jane Knuth, attending Loyola University, Chicago; Gracie Caltagerone at St. Norbert’s College; Brianna Tresemer, at Illinois State University ;and Chloe Baxter, attending Rock Valley College.
These six outstanding scholarship recipients were honored at a luncheon on Thursday, June 28, at Wesley Willows Town Hall Center. Beyond academic excellence, our honorees were very involved in service to their schools and within their community.
Sophie and Maria just graduated from Rockford Christian High. Mary Jane and Gracie have completed their junior years at Loyola and St. Norbert’s respectively. Brianna has completed her sophomore year at ISU, and Chloe will be starting her second year at Rock Valley College.
Save These Dates!
Thursday, September 20, 2018 - New Retiree Welcome Breakfast
Stockholm Inn, Rockford
Program--IRTA Officers
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.
Order off the menu, starting at 9:00
Call or text Gayle Haab no later than 9/06/18
ghaab74@gmail.com
815-742-1331
Thursday, November 15, 2018 - General Meeting
Presentation by Gary Anderson of Gary W. Anderson Architects
Ethnic Heritage Museum
Registration begins at 11:00
Box lunch served at 11:30
Presentation begins at Noon; Q & A will follow Gary’s program
Reservation form and details will be in next newsletter
Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - Bus Trip to Chicago
Please read the flyer in this newsletter for details and directions
Legislative Reportby Dr. John Carleton
For the first time, the IRTA will consider endorsing candidates for the 2018 fall elections and has a PAC Committee. Local units were asked to provide feedback on their local legislators/challengers and the governor’s race. WCRTA, in cooperation with Boone County RTA, visited each legislator and candidate, generated summaries of those visits, and made it possible for the WCRTA board to consider and produce recommendations that were as apolitical as possible. These were sent to the IRTA PAC. As you might guess, this simple summary leaves out a lot of what was a long and involved process.
The WCRTA board is not making a recommendation as to either Pritzker or Rauner for governor. While JB Pritzker did return his IRTA PAC questionnaire and does seem more supportive of education, as one board member put it, “. . . I just can’t get excited about either one.” Therefore, the board did not feel comfortable recommending either of them for governor based upon IRTA positions.
In Legislative District #67 and Senate District #35, Maurice West and Dave Syverson, respectively, are running unopposed. While he will be new to the legislature, Mr. West is very supportive of IRTA positions and the board is recommending that members in this district vote for Maurice West. Senator Syverson has 25 years in the senate and, while he says he supports retired teachers, he is a fiscal conservative and would like to reduce pension benefits for all state employees. There is no recommendation for Senator Syverson, as the board could not agree.
In District #34, Senator Stadelman’s term is not up until 2020. He seems generally supportive of retired teachers, but WCRTA will need to be vigilant and continue to advocate our positions to him.
There are two contested legislative races - the 68thand 69thdistricts. In the 68th, Jake Castanza is challenging incumbent John Cabello. Mr. Castanza is an up and coming candidate who is supportive of IRTA positions. Mr. Cabello is a Rockford police detective who will someday be getting a pension himself, so he is sympathetic to IRTA positions from a personal standpoint. As both candidates support IRTA positions, the board views this race as a tossup and made no recommendation.
The other contested race is in the 69thdistrict between Angelique Bodine and Joe Sosnowski. Ms. Bodine is also an up and coming candidate, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and supportive of IRTA positions. The incumbent, Joe Sosnowski, on the other hand, is experienced but is very anti-pension and states he will support legislation to eliminate the protection clause from the state constitution. While he will support pensions for now, he feels they are unsustainable and will work to reduce them. Consequently, the WCRTA board advises its members to oppose Joe Sosnowski and, not only recommends, but endorses, the candidacy of Angelique Bodine.
We hope this information is helpful when you go to the polls. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to go to the IRTA website or ask one of your WCRTA board members.
TRS - Good news!
The 30-year rate-of-return for the TRS investment portfolio was 8.3 percent, net of fees, for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, according to a preliminary analysis. This return beats the System's current assumed rate of return for the 30-year period, which is 7 percent.
The TRS portfolio now totals $51.3 billion, a 3.8 percent increase over the $49.4 billion in assets recorded during fiscal year 2017. TRS assets have increased by 80 percent over the last decade.
This good news refutes a recently-published story in Crain's Chicago Business which implied that the TRS portfolio carries a high degree of "risk" that "poses a threat" to member pensions. That is incorrect.
The truth is the portfolio's risk profile is the same as a generic portfolio comprised of 60 percent stocks and 40 percent bonds. The amount of risk carried by the TRS portfolio is monitored closely by the Board of Trustees and investment staff and is lower than comparable public pension systems.
TRS maintains a highly-diversified portfolio – a mix of stocks, bonds, real estate, private equity – as well as investments designed to protect the portfolio in the event that there is a future downturn in the economy.
Sincerely,
Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois Contributed by Barbara Dilling
Member Benefits
Endorsed Benefits Overview. IRTA has two types of member benefits--Endorsed and Informative Benefits. In an effort to improve the quality of benefits available to IRTA members, the IRTA board agreed to endorse products. These products were selected because they provide superior benefits and competitive premium rates. These products have been heavily negotiated on behalf of retired school educators, and the IRTA board believes that they are the finest available anywhere. Informative benefits are products that are available to IRTA members as a service. Join IRTA for Complete Information
Available endorsed benefits include Annuity Policy, Credit Card, Dental and Vision Insurance, Flexible Choice Cancer, Heart Attack & Stroke Policy, Liberty Mutual, Life Line Screening, Life Policy, Long-Term Care, and Medical Air Services Association.
Available Informative Benefits include American Hearing Benefits, Apple Products, Dell Computers, Flower Discounts, Globus Vacations, Hearing Plan Discount Benefit, La Quinta Inn & Suites Discount, MediPendant, myAMBAdining.com, myAMBAdiscounts, Orlando Employee Discounts, Rental Car Discounts, Road Scholar, Term Life Express, Vacations By Rail, and Veterinary Pet Insurance.
Gayle Haab, Member Benefits & Reservations
WINNEBAGO COUNTY Non-Profit Org.
RETIRED TEACHERS ASSOCIATION U.S. POSTAGE
c/o Sharon Vinson, Editor …… P A I D
11966 Tresemer Road Permit #4466
Roscoe, IL 61073-7708 Rockford, IL
ATTENTION: The Address Label on WCRTA newsletters indicates the membership status of the recipient of the newsletter in both the WCRTA and IRTA. The first code on the label above the name, indicates membership status in WCRTA, the second code indicates membership status in IRTA. There are two common types of membership in WCRTAand three in IRTA. Examples of interpretation of coding:
LA2018 Local Annual Membership dues were paid for 2018 in WCRTA
LL Person named on the mailing label is a Life Member of WCRTA
DD State Dues Deducted from pension check of member of IRTA
SA2018 State Annual IRTAdues paid for the year 2018
SL Person named on the mailing label is Life Member of IRTA
WINNEBAGO Local UNIT (WCRTA) NEWSLETTER
WINNEBAGO UNIT #6 OF IRTA
www.winnebagocountyrta.org AUGUST 2018 Edition
OFFICERS
Co-Presidents.………….… Norm Alpers & Fred Kunz MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Vice-President & Program…….…,Jacqueline Bolger
Secretary ……….………………….Dr. Laura Jernigan SEPTEMBER 20, 2018
Treasurer ……………..…....……Dorothy Schoonover
Welcome to our newest Winnebago County Retirees, Class of 2018! To introduce you to our local unit, the Winnebago County Retired Teachers Association (WCRTA) hosts an annual breakfast in September at which several of the officers of our state organization, the Illinois Retired Teachers Association, will present an update of issues of particular interest to all retired teachers.
This year’s breakfast will be held on Thursday, September 20, at the Stockholm Inn, 2420 Charles Street, Rockford, IL. Registration begins at8:30 a.m. 2018 Retirees will be our guests for breakfast; we will pay for your meal! Norm Alpers and Fred Kunz, co-Presidents of WCRTA, will make a few short remarks before all attendees will order off the menu.
Following breakfast, we will hear from the following IRTA officers: Jim Bachman, Executive Director; Roger Hampton, President; John Flaherty, Vice-President; and a representative from AMBA-- the Association Member Benefits Advisors.
Even though we are not pre-ordering our meals, we need to give the restaurant a count of how many people plan on attending. Please call or email Gayle Haab if you are planning on attending. Gayle’s phone number is 815-742-1331,and heremail is ghaab74@gmail.com. Reservation deadline is Saturday, September 15.
The September breakfast meeting is both informative and social; it’s a great time to see old friends as well as make some new ones!
Message from Fred Kunz, Co-President, djfk7@aol.com
It’s hard to believe the new school year is here so quickly. About 650 students will be going to the new Cherry Valley School in District 205. Your WCRTA has been active awarding Blanche Martin Scholarships, a total of $10,000, interviewing legislative candidates, going on a great field trip to Milwaukee and sightseeing, exploring a local winery with tasting and a hayrack ride, continuing as boosters of the Stateline Quiz Bowl (WTVO) state tournament and planning our 2018 retiree breakfast on Sept 20 at the Stockholm Inn.
Special thanks to Mike Cannariato and the committee for selecting the scholarship winners, to Dr. John Carleton for planning meetings with the legislative candidates, to George Whinna for planning the Milwaukee trip, and to Gayle Haab for planning the winery event and chairing the sheet sales (over $2,500 profit to fund as boosters of the Quiz Bowl).
My activities with the IRTA Foundation began in early June awarding the Area I scholarship in Carroll County and giving a presentation on the Foundation activities. In July, JoAnn Nelson and I selected the Area I Grant winners for Phase One. In Aug, I will assist in selecting the winners for Phase 2. Winners will be presented the grants in October.
The IRTA Foundation’s only fundraiser is the donations for labels. If you have not made your donation, there is still time.
TRS meetings for 2019 retirees are planned for October 30 at 4:00 pm at Harlem High School and an October date and location TBA in Rockford.
Message from Norm Alpers, WCRTA Co-President, n_alpers@yahoo.com
Another school year is beginning and another group of teachers is starting their last year of teaching before they retire. My daughter will be one of those retiring after this school year. That does not seem possible.
WCRTA will again be honoring the current year retirees by holding a breakfast in their honor. Please attend that breakfast to help us welcome those retirees to our ranks. There are over 60 retirees in Winnebago County for 2018, but we will be able to invite only about half of them since we do not have contact information for all of them. We are continuing to attempt to get that contact information. Hopefully, we will have a good number of them in attendance. The breakfast, which is detailed in this newsletter, is on September 20 at the Stockholm Inn Please plan on attending.
Several IRTA leaders will be in attendance at that breakfast, including Jim Bachman the Executive Director of IRTA and Roger Hampton the President of IRTA. They will be giving us an update on issues involving our pensions and insurance as well as TRS and some ideas about what will happen in the new session of the state government. A member of the IRTA Benefits group will also be there to update us on the many benefits, discounts, and offers available to members.
Also, in this issue of the newsletter, there are some pictures and an article on our scholarship presentations back in June. That is such a great part of WCRTA’s program.
Dr. John Carleton has also written an article about the coming November election. It will give you some idea of what the candidates are saying about the issues that we are concerned with. The article is worth your time and effort to read. John has spent a lot of time and effort along with some colleagues interviewing them and summarizing their ideas and concerns.
George Whinna is making plans for another December/Christmastime bus trip for WCRTA members and guests. Last year he planned and carried off a remarkable trip to the San Filippo Estate in Barrington. Folks are still talking about that one. So, have another great year of retirement, and I hope to see you in September at the Stockholm Inn.
Blanche Martin Scholarship Winnersby Mike Cannariato
Scholarship Recipients: Brianna Tresemer, Maria Cirone, Chloe Baxter, and Gracie Caltagerone
From this year’s annual allotment of $10,000, the Blanche Martin Scholarship Committee is pleased to recognize the six future elementary teachers who will each be awarded a 2018 scholarship to assist them with their educational expenses.
From a record number of very qualified applicants, the committee chose: Sophie Riley, who will attend Asbury University; Maria Cirone, headed to the University of Alabama; Mary Jane Knuth, attending Loyola University, Chicago; Gracie Caltagerone at St. Norbert’s College; Brianna Tresemer, at Illinois State University ;and Chloe Baxter, attending Rock Valley College.
These six outstanding scholarship recipients were honored at a luncheon on Thursday, June 28, at Wesley Willows Town Hall Center. Beyond academic excellence, our honorees were very involved in service to their schools and within their community.
Sophie and Maria just graduated from Rockford Christian High. Mary Jane and Gracie have completed their junior years at Loyola and St. Norbert’s respectively. Brianna has completed her sophomore year at ISU, and Chloe will be starting her second year at Rock Valley College.
Save These Dates!
Thursday, September 20, 2018 - New Retiree Welcome Breakfast
Stockholm Inn, Rockford
Program--IRTA Officers
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.
Order off the menu, starting at 9:00
Call or text Gayle Haab no later than 9/06/18
ghaab74@gmail.com
815-742-1331
Thursday, November 15, 2018 - General Meeting
Presentation by Gary Anderson of Gary W. Anderson Architects
Ethnic Heritage Museum
Registration begins at 11:00
Box lunch served at 11:30
Presentation begins at Noon; Q & A will follow Gary’s program
Reservation form and details will be in next newsletter
Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - Bus Trip to Chicago
Please read the flyer in this newsletter for details and directions
Legislative Reportby Dr. John Carleton
For the first time, the IRTA will consider endorsing candidates for the 2018 fall elections and has a PAC Committee. Local units were asked to provide feedback on their local legislators/challengers and the governor’s race. WCRTA, in cooperation with Boone County RTA, visited each legislator and candidate, generated summaries of those visits, and made it possible for the WCRTA board to consider and produce recommendations that were as apolitical as possible. These were sent to the IRTA PAC. As you might guess, this simple summary leaves out a lot of what was a long and involved process.
The WCRTA board is not making a recommendation as to either Pritzker or Rauner for governor. While JB Pritzker did return his IRTA PAC questionnaire and does seem more supportive of education, as one board member put it, “. . . I just can’t get excited about either one.” Therefore, the board did not feel comfortable recommending either of them for governor based upon IRTA positions.
In Legislative District #67 and Senate District #35, Maurice West and Dave Syverson, respectively, are running unopposed. While he will be new to the legislature, Mr. West is very supportive of IRTA positions and the board is recommending that members in this district vote for Maurice West. Senator Syverson has 25 years in the senate and, while he says he supports retired teachers, he is a fiscal conservative and would like to reduce pension benefits for all state employees. There is no recommendation for Senator Syverson, as the board could not agree.
In District #34, Senator Stadelman’s term is not up until 2020. He seems generally supportive of retired teachers, but WCRTA will need to be vigilant and continue to advocate our positions to him.
There are two contested legislative races - the 68thand 69thdistricts. In the 68th, Jake Castanza is challenging incumbent John Cabello. Mr. Castanza is an up and coming candidate who is supportive of IRTA positions. Mr. Cabello is a Rockford police detective who will someday be getting a pension himself, so he is sympathetic to IRTA positions from a personal standpoint. As both candidates support IRTA positions, the board views this race as a tossup and made no recommendation.
The other contested race is in the 69thdistrict between Angelique Bodine and Joe Sosnowski. Ms. Bodine is also an up and coming candidate, enthusiastic, knowledgeable and supportive of IRTA positions. The incumbent, Joe Sosnowski, on the other hand, is experienced but is very anti-pension and states he will support legislation to eliminate the protection clause from the state constitution. While he will support pensions for now, he feels they are unsustainable and will work to reduce them. Consequently, the WCRTA board advises its members to oppose Joe Sosnowski and, not only recommends, but endorses, the candidacy of Angelique Bodine.
We hope this information is helpful when you go to the polls. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to go to the IRTA website or ask one of your WCRTA board members.
TRS - Good news!
The 30-year rate-of-return for the TRS investment portfolio was 8.3 percent, net of fees, for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, according to a preliminary analysis. This return beats the System's current assumed rate of return for the 30-year period, which is 7 percent.
The TRS portfolio now totals $51.3 billion, a 3.8 percent increase over the $49.4 billion in assets recorded during fiscal year 2017. TRS assets have increased by 80 percent over the last decade.
This good news refutes a recently-published story in Crain's Chicago Business which implied that the TRS portfolio carries a high degree of "risk" that "poses a threat" to member pensions. That is incorrect.
The truth is the portfolio's risk profile is the same as a generic portfolio comprised of 60 percent stocks and 40 percent bonds. The amount of risk carried by the TRS portfolio is monitored closely by the Board of Trustees and investment staff and is lower than comparable public pension systems.
TRS maintains a highly-diversified portfolio – a mix of stocks, bonds, real estate, private equity – as well as investments designed to protect the portfolio in the event that there is a future downturn in the economy.
Sincerely,
Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois Contributed by Barbara Dilling
Member Benefits
Endorsed Benefits Overview. IRTA has two types of member benefits--Endorsed and Informative Benefits. In an effort to improve the quality of benefits available to IRTA members, the IRTA board agreed to endorse products. These products were selected because they provide superior benefits and competitive premium rates. These products have been heavily negotiated on behalf of retired school educators, and the IRTA board believes that they are the finest available anywhere. Informative benefits are products that are available to IRTA members as a service. Join IRTA for Complete Information
Available endorsed benefits include Annuity Policy, Credit Card, Dental and Vision Insurance, Flexible Choice Cancer, Heart Attack & Stroke Policy, Liberty Mutual, Life Line Screening, Life Policy, Long-Term Care, and Medical Air Services Association.
Available Informative Benefits include American Hearing Benefits, Apple Products, Dell Computers, Flower Discounts, Globus Vacations, Hearing Plan Discount Benefit, La Quinta Inn & Suites Discount, MediPendant, myAMBAdining.com, myAMBAdiscounts, Orlando Employee Discounts, Rental Car Discounts, Road Scholar, Term Life Express, Vacations By Rail, and Veterinary Pet Insurance.
Gayle Haab, Member Benefits & Reservations
WINNEBAGO COUNTY Non-Profit Org.
RETIRED TEACHERS ASSOCIATION U.S. POSTAGE
c/o Sharon Vinson, Editor …… P A I D
11966 Tresemer Road Permit #4466
Roscoe, IL 61073-7708 Rockford, IL
ATTENTION: The Address Label on WCRTA newsletters indicates the membership status of the recipient of the newsletter in both the WCRTA and IRTA. The first code on the label above the name, indicates membership status in WCRTA, the second code indicates membership status in IRTA. There are two common types of membership in WCRTAand three in IRTA. Examples of interpretation of coding:
LA2018 Local Annual Membership dues were paid for 2018 in WCRTA
LL Person named on the mailing label is a Life Member of WCRTA
DD State Dues Deducted from pension check of member of IRTA
SA2018 State Annual IRTAdues paid for the year 2018
SL Person named on the mailing label is Life Member of IRTA
WINNEBAGO Local UNIT (WCRTA) NEWSLETTER
WINNEBAGO UNIT #6 OF IRTA
