October 1, 2024
“Ask the Past President”-Q & A with IRTA Past President, Bill Funkhouser
Shortly after I retired, I received a call from the gentleman who was the cooperating teacher for my student teaching and the gentleman who was my fourth, fifth and sixth grade PE teacher asking me to join the Madison 1 RTA and the IRTA which I did. They also encouraged me not to just be a member but to get involved in leadership. Less than a year later we learned that we would lose our health insurance from TRS because of underfunding by the state of Illinois. They asked me to join them in going to Springfield to lobby for health insurance and because of that effort the TRIP plan was created. I saw the need to take an active part in the efforts to protect our pensions and health insurance benefits. I volunteered and became a member of the Legislative Committee. Later, I was asked by the Area Representative who was planning to run for Treasurer if I would consider running for the Area Representative position. I became the Area Representative, then Vice President and President.
One of the things I found to be enjoyable was meeting and getting to know dedicated IRTA members from all over the state. I would encourage everyone to get involved whether it be in your local unit, as a state committee member or even as a state officer. What were some of the most significant challenges you faced as President? • When my term as President began, we were just coming out of the restrictions of the pandemic. During that time, we learned that the business of the Association could be carried out without requiring people to travel to Springfield. We also saw that there were several parts of our Constitution that needed to be updated to allow us to continue to carry out the business of the Association in these kinds of situations and to remain relevant in the future. • Our Executive Director had announced that he would be retiring at the end of 2023. This meant that during my term of office we would need to find a new Executive Director. • The need to find new members to take leadership positions. When I became President, three of the Regional Directors were former IRTA Presidents. When two of the three died, their replacements were people who had previously held the position. While these were all people who had faithfully and honorably served IRTA, they should have been finding and mentoring new people to move into leadership positions. What accomplishments during your presidency are you most proud of?
• I appointed a search committee to find a new Executive Director. With the help of a consultant, I feel that we found the right person to lead our Association into the future.
• I appointed a Constitution Committee to review the entire Constitution and come up with proposals for changes needed to ensure our Association would be able to function effectively and remain relevant in the future. Under the leadership of Vice President Roger Hampton, this was one of the hardest working committees I have seen during my time with IRTA. They came up with what I thought were excellent proposals, most of which were approved by the Delegate Assembly in October 2023. • We established a Leadership Development Committee to work on finding and mentoring new leaders for IRTA. What advice would you give to future leaders of the organization?
• Getting more people involved in committee work and leadership positions both at the local and state levels is essential to ensuring that our Association continues to grow and remain relevant. • We need to work to show TRS Tier 2 members that our Association will have their backs and work to change the inequities in the Tier 2 system.
• Our basic mission of protecting the pension and health insurance benefits of retired educators should always be our primary goal. • As our members are living longer active lives, providing a variety of life experiences should also become one of the primary goals. We have been doing this through a variety of activities, but we should continue to add different activities that will not only serve our current members but also attract new members.
May 3, 2024
List of those registered for Annual MCRTA meeting on May 14, 2024 @ 12 noon @ Legion Smokehouse
BH-SW: Darrell Molen Bill Funkhouser Phylis Cox Mike Cox Louann Brown Carolyn Kelly Linda Atwood
CARLINVILLE: David Jokisch Pete Genta Char Genta Ann Rolando Leetha Brown Chris Powell, Nancy Duckels
GILLESPIE: Margaret Reeves Cyrelda Dobrino Suzanne Stewart Ed Saracco Cindy Saracco Joyce Staggs Theresa Duncan Sidney Stauffer Kathy Stauffer Nancy Hubert Denise Worth, John Burns
NORTH MAC: Kathy Malone Mary Ann Pollitt Steve Furman Carolyn Furman Ken Hochmuth Darlene Hochmuth Jeanette Earley Doug Broadhead Sue Kime
April 30, 2024
MCRTA NEWSLETTER MAY/2024 Agenda for 5/2024 MCRTA Meeting(starting at 12 noon at Legion Smokehouse Grill-554 Ramey St., Carlinville):
May 16, 2023
MINUTES OF MCRTA SPRING MEETING
Carlinville Federated Church May 16, 2023 at noon
The gathering of the Macoupin County Retired Teachers Association was called to order by President Dave Jokisch at noon. After he asked a blessing, he called for the local units to go through the buffet line based on various criteria. The meal was provided by FEMA from Benld. The menu consisted of fried chicken, hot ham, loaded mashed potatoes, tortellini in creamy garlic and cheese sauce, peas and carrots mixed, green beans, Vienna bread and butter, pudding, coffee and tea. Attendees paid $10 per meal while the Association picked up the additional $6.25 to cover the cost of the meal. Following the lunch, Larry Pfeiffer. TRS Trustee, was introduced by Dave to give an update on the Teachers’ Retirement System. Prior to his talk, Larry had distributed a Statistical Report from 2017 to 2022. During his speech. He referred to material on the handout. To lighten the load of the heavy topic, he shared appropriate anecdotal stories to illustrate his point and get a laugh from the audience of 39 members in attendance. IRTA President Bill Funkhouse was unable to be present so he submitted a written report which was included in a handout that Dave had distributed before the meeting started. Bill reported on a meeting he attended and learned all groups involved had trouble recreating new members. He mentioned the speaker they heard, Tom Morris will be the keynote speaker at our convention which will be October 16 and 17 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. Dave continued with the meeting by asking for volunteers to attend the convention in the fall all expenses will be paid by the Association. So far he knows of two who will attend. He also announced that next year the Spring Meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 with the board meeting to be on April 14, 2024. At the general meeting a discussion will be held to determine if this organization will continue or disband. Dave said he simply cannot continue to serve as president, treasurer, webmaster, arranger and host of the yearly meeting. He has stepped up to serve in these positions when no one else did. He announced there is as of now $3540.23 in the treasury; it will need to be decided what to do with that money. Dave reminded everyone we now have a website where he includes much information and announcements and urged people to watch. The website’s address is mcrtainfo.com. The meeting was adjourned at 2:06,Carolyn Broadhead, Recording Secretary
April 19, 2023
Tuesday, May 16th, MCRTA Spring Meeting, Noon What a deal! Only $10 for a full meal catered by FEMAs of Benld (the MCRTA treasury is picking up the rest of the tab per meal). The Macoupin Retired Teachers Spring meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 16th, at 12 noon at the Carlinville Federated Church at 122 E 2nd South in Carlinville. The menu catered by FEMAS will include Fried Chicken, Ham, Loaded Mashed Potatoes, Tortellini in Creamy Garlic and Cheese Sauce, Peas and Carrots Mix, Green Beans, Apple Sauce, and Pudding for dessert. All Checks are due in the mail by May 1. Members from the Bunker Hill – Southwestern Unit will send their check(payable to BH-SW) for $10 to Linda Atwood at 154 E Myrtle St, Palmyra, IL 62674. Members of the North Mac unit will send their check for $10 (payable to N Mac) to Jeanette Earley at 16100 Aspen Lane, Girard, IL 62640. Members of the Carlinville, Gillespie, and Staunton units will send their $10 payable to MCRTA to David Jokisch, 19357 Sycamore Lane, Carlinville, IL 62626.
April 18, 2023
MCRTA BOARD MEETINGROE Building Carlinville April 18, 2023
Those in attendance: Dave Jokisch, Bill Funkhouser, Phyllis Cox, Carolyn Broadhead, and guest, Doug Broadhead. President Dave Jokisch called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. After the Pledge of Allegiance, he distributed the report of the fall meeting which was held on October 19,2022 which he discussed. There were no corrections. He also handed out copies of the treasurer’s report which was a listing of entries from the MCRTA checkbook. Both reports were accepted as printed. Dave asked Bill Funkhouser who is the current IRTA president to discuss the problems facing the state organization. The major problem is the dwindling interest in joining IRTA. Recently retired teachers are not joining. Leadership within the local units in the state is difficult to find. The potential solution to the problems facing local units has been for units to combine with another one. The problems of location, distance of travel, and willingness of members to change were some of the negative factors making this solution not viable for many. There was discussion on Bill’s report since everything he mentioned applies to our unit. It was suggested we go to one unit meeting a year, but would it be in the spring or the fall? Other solutions were suggested: join other units as a whole local or as individuals, the entire county unit join with another unit. Or the unit as a whole disband. How this is to be done was a question raised These problems will be part of the discussion at the spring meeting of MCRTA. Carolyn was asked to research the rules for us to disband. That meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 16 at the Federated Church at noon. Local unit treasurers will be responsible for notifying their members of the meeting through emails and collecting payment for the meal. Those payment should be combined into one check to be given to President Dave either mailed to him or given to him on the day of the meeting. He will need a count of the number and names of those who will attend (for preparation of name tags) by May 10.Fema Catering Service of Benld will be providing the food with the following items chosen by Dave (selection required by Fema to be done when arranged):
Fried chicken, Hot ham, Loaded mashed potatoes, Tortellini in creamy garlic and cheese sauce, Peas and carrots mixed, Green beans, Apple sauce, Vienna bread & butter Pudding, Coffee & tea. After some discussion, Bill moved and Phyllis seconded that the member pay $10 and the unit pick up the rest of the charge $16.25 for the meal. (by the unit $6.25 for at least thirty meals). The motion passed. At the meeting there will be collections for IRTA PAC as well as books for children. Volunteers to be delegates to the IRTA Convention October 16 & 17 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. The program will be reports by Larry Pfeiffer on the Teachers Retirement System and by Bill Funkhouser through a written report on the IRTA read by Dave. The meeting was adjourned at 2:05 p.m.
Carolyn Broadhead Recording Secretary
February 21, 2023
Please print or make aware to potential members of the following letter composed by Ed Saracco:
Dear Retired Teacher
We hope this letter finds you in good health and enjoying your retirement. Please look over the enclosed materials before you throw them away. With COVID and all the other issues going on in the state the last few years you may not have been asked or given a choice to join IRTA. IRTA is the Illinois Retired Teachers Association and MCRTA is the Macoupin County Retired Teachers Association. The Macoupin County chapter is made of all retired teachers who taught in Macoupin County schools. Some schools have local chapters and they meet throughout the year on their own. However, in the last few years, some of the local chapters have fallen by the wayside. Dave Jokisch from Carlinville, the president of MCRTA, talked about trying to do a county-wide recruitment drive in an effort to increase our numbers by enrolling those who were never contacted. We collected a copy from IRTA of what is supposed to be the most up-to-date list of teachers who belong, and a copy of teachers who have retired in the last 15 years from each of the county school districts. If you are currently a member, we apologize for bothering you; if not, we would like you to consider joining IRTA and MCRTA. We ask you to please read the pamphlets and see how easy and cheap it is to join and protect your retirement, which is one of the main goals of the organizations .
MCRTA has 2 dinner/business meetings a year: one in May and one in October. Meeting attendance is not mandatory, but is a good chance to meet with your fellow retirees and to catch up on the latest news. MCRTA dues are currently $7.00 a year if you follow the news online (MCRTAinfo.com) and an additional $7.00 to have 2 semi-annual news mailed to you. IRTA costs $2.00 a month, and it is taken directly from you state pension. MCRTA meetings last about1½ hours and the dinner costs between $15-$20.00. Normally the meetings discuss what is going on with our retirement, with our insurance, and with anything that may be of importance to us in the state legislature. In the last few years IRTA hired lawyers to fight the state when they tried to say that our insurance (TRAIL) was not covered by the Constitution. The IRTA attorneys fought the state and won, proving that it was covered. If you’ve looked at insurance costs lately you know this was no small victory. A second battle that is still in the courts, involves the state changing our insurance from United Healthcare to AETNA this year. Another item oneveryone’s radar is that of the state trying to open the Constitution in an effort to drop our 3% cost-of-livingraise. In short, IRTA continually watches over all bills focused on retirees and education in general.
I know you might be asking why should I join if those, who already belong, are taking care of any problems? The answer is simple. Without every retired teacher’s help the state might win some day. In examining the lists I referred to in the first paragraph, I found that of retired Gillespie teachers in the last 15 years there are at least20 retirees that don’t belong to IRTA. Given that there are 8 county schools, if you do the math (8 x 20 = 160)and multiply that by 102 counties, there could be well over 16,000 retirees that do not belong. You can’t expect everyone else to protect your retirement. We are lucky that MCRTA has had 2 local representatives on the board as of late.
We urge you please join us in protecting our retirements. We look forward to seeing you at the May meeting. Once you join, you can follow the MCRTA online as I mentioned above. Still not sure? Contact a current member and ask them how important it is to join. Thank you for your time, stay safe, and God Bless.
Ed Saracco
217-835-2623
217-556-1856
esaracco4@gmail .com
Report of Breakfast Meeting with Jim Bachman on line
Our lawsuit challenging the underfunding of the Teacher Health Insurance Security Fund is proceeding in the Circuit Court for Sangamon County. The defendants, who include the TRS Board of Trustees, the Director of the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, State Comptroller Susana Mendoza and State Treasurer Michael Frerichs, have answered our complaint, and they responded to our requests for discovery shortly before the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Our attorneys and expert witness will carefully analyze the data they have produced about the current fiscal status of the Fund. The answer and discovery responses have pointed to one key legal dispute in this case. The defendants acknowledge that “retired teachers have a constitutionally protected right to the benefits specified in sections 6.5 and 6.6 of the State Employees Group Insurance Act of 1971 (5 ILCS 275/6.5, 6.6),” but they disagree that retired teachers have a constitutionally protected right “to a particular program of benefits that CMS has established under that authority at any given time.” This appears to mean that the defendants believe you have a constitutionally protected right to participate in some type of health insurance program, but not to any particular level of benefits. We strongly disagree with that argument and will continue to advocate for the full extent of your constitutional rights in this litigation.
Every 10 years, the IRTA has to renegotiate the Health Insurance program. The current Health Program (United) along with AETNA were the 2 finalists for the New Health Program with IRTA. After close scores in the evaluation process, AETNA came out slightly ahead and will be the new carrier, subject to the settlement in the above mentioned paragraph.
11/17/22 IRTA MEMBER BENEFITS
You can find information on all of IRTA’s member benefits by visiting www.irtaonline. org, logging into the Members-Only section, and clicking on the Member Benefits tab. Some of IRTA’s other benefits include Liberty Mutual, Lifeline Screening, and Hear in America. You can also contact the IRTA Office at 1.800.728.4782 for additional information. * IRTA benefit codes must be mentioned to receive discounts.