Topics & Report

              Executive Director’s Message
Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois
Summer 2007
topics &
report
Retirement Security for Illinois Educators
Highlights
Page 2
• Staff Promotions
• Legislative Update
• Annuitants Retire in Illinois
Page 3
• Board Appointments
Page 4
• Post-Retirement Limitations
• Approval Required before
Disability Recipients Teach
• Online Benefit Estimates
Page 5
• Retiring Teacher Leaves Legacy
Page 6
• Counseling at Your Service
• New Online Videos
• Pipeline ERO Expires
Page 7
• Member Meeting Schedule
Page 8
• Board Schedule
It is the height
of the ret i re-ment
season,
and for us, it is
the busiest time
of the year. For
schools across
t h e s t a t e ,
though, it is a
time to find individuals to fill
the very big shoes of teachers
who completed their careers this
spring.
Newspapers across the state have
recognized a number of retiring
teachers with stories that cel-ebrate
successful careers. I hope
you enjoy these thoughts from
the retirees’ own words. Their
remarks are universal and rep-resent
the heart and soul of the
teaching profession.
• “My proudest accomplishment
has been and will continue
to be realized anytime the
students I have worked with
become productive, mature,
responsible adults.”
• “I had been surprised by
how much I missed teach-ing…
Sixth, seventh and
eighth graders were the per-fect
age for me… I found their
enthusiasm and excitement
infectious. They brought out
the playful part in me and
I’ve never looked back... The
two years that I spent in the
private sector were a blessing
because it helped me appreci-ate
how lucky I was to get to
work with kids.”
• “I just feel that building foun-dations
is a very important job
a kindergarten teacher has.”
• “Over the years I have had
many students who have gone
on to successful careers in the
visual arts. It is a terrific feel-ing
when I get to see them and
they have these great memo-ries
from high school that they
will tell me about, and they
say ‘thanks for everything.’ It
makes a teacher feel proud.”
• “When you’re directing a play
or speech and you finally
watch a student get it... It
makes what you are doing
worthwhile.”
• “I encourage students to find
a job they love — so it is a
pleasure to go to work. It has
been a pleasure to work with
so many great staff members
throughout the years.”
• “I guess what I’m really proud
of is that when I look at my
budget and the facilities and
how we treat our programs,
I don’t think anyone here
thinks, ‘Oh, that’s the girls
and that’s the boys.’ We don’t
have that mind set. All of
our programs are important.
They’re all our kids.”
• “Every year you’re blessed
with a promising group of
young people. You just hope
you... help them along the
way.”
• “I have loved getting to see lots
of our kids graduate. I always
wanted to end each day know-ing
that I had done what was
best for each child.”
To each of our new retirees, best
wishes for a happy, rewarding
retirement. As always, we stand
ready to be of assistance. Have an
excellent summer.
Jon Bauman
Executive Director