2020 Executive Trustee Election

Board Room

In November, IMRF employers will elect one Executive Trustee for a five-year term. The five-year term of office will run from January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2025.


Download all the materials you need to run for Employee Trustee in the right sidebar.

Responsibilities of a Trustee

Each Trustee is a fiduciary responsible for the governance and oversight of IMRF. Trustees are required to act solely for the benefit of IMRF members and beneficiaries. Trustees delegate duties to other professionals such as investment managers but retain oversight responsibilities.


Although all Board members must fulfill their fiduciary duties as stewards of IMRF assets, committee chairs and members are expected to develop a greater in-depth knowledge of the Committee they serve.

Commitment of IMRF Trustees

Board meetings are held at least quarterly, usually on the fourth Friday of the month. Some Board committees meet every month in which there is a Board meeting; others meet less frequently or as needed. Trustees serve without compensation but are reimbursed for expenses incurred while attending meetings.

Nominating Procedures—Petitions

The petitions explain the nominating procedures for Executive Trustee. Nominating petitions for Executive Trustee candidates can be submitted either by Authorized Agents or by governing bodies of IMRF employers. Regardless of who submits the nominating petitions, at least three petitions must be submitted.


If an Authorized Agent submits a nominating petition, his or her notice of appointment must be on file with IMRF, and the notice of appointment must indicate that the governing body has delegated the power to make such nomination to the Authorized Agent. IMRF will only accept the petition if it has been signed and submitted by the Authorized Agent herself/himself. This authority cannot be delegated to anyone else.


If a governing body files a petition, the petition must be adopted by the governing body and certified by the clerk or other proper official.


Petitions for Executive Trustee candidates will be accepted in the IMRF Oak Brook and Springfield offices between August 1, 2020, and the close of business at 4:30 PM CST, September 15, 2020.


Mail, hand deliver, scan and email (IMRFTrusteeElection@imrf.org), or fax (630-706-4656) the completed petitions to IMRF, ATTN: IMRF Trustee Petitions.


If you email your petitions, IMRF will send confirmation of receipt to the same email address. On the cover sheet of faxed petitions, please include the email address to which a confirmation of receipt should be sent. Confirmation of receipt does not mean that IMRF has authenticated the signatures.


Petitions postmarked on or before September 15, 2020, but received after that date will not be accepted. On September 17, 2020, formal notice will be sent to all candidates who submitted nominating petitions informing them whether they will be on the ballot. Executive Trustee candidates will also be provided the names of the other candidates at that time.

Qualifications

A nominee for Executive Trustee must be employed by an IMRF employer as a chief executive officer, chief finance officer, or other officer, executive, or department head. The nominee must also participate in IMRF and be vested in IMRF (Tier 1 members should have at least eight years of IMRF service credit; Tier 2 members should have at least 10 years of IMRF service credit. Only service credit in IMRF counts toward this.) as of December 31, 2020.

Executive Trustee Ballots

Ballots, along with candidates’ biographies, will be mailed to Authorized Agents or governing bodies as appropriate on October 14, 2020, and must be returned by the close of business at 4:30 PM CST, December 10, 2020.


Authorized Agents may only vote if their Notice of Appointment filed with IMRF indicates they have been given such authority. Otherwise, the governing body would cast the ballot, and the clerk or other proper official would certify the ballot.

New Trustee Orientation

It is critical for the sound governance of IMRF that Trustees be fully informed with regard to IMRF’s nature, purposes, structure, operational systems, and processes. To that end, the newly elected Trustee will participate in an in-depth New Trustee Orientation Program designed to fully inform them of IMRF’s key functions and their responsibilities as Trustee. The Program is more fully described in the IMRF Board Candidate Packet.


The Illinois Governmental Ethics Act requires individuals serving as IMRF Trustees to file a written statement of economic interest annually.