IMRF is now accepting nominating petitions for the 2022 Executive Trustee election.

Petitions will be accepted through Wednesday, September 15, at 4:30 PM CST. Completed petitions may be scanned and emailed to IMRFTrusteeElection@imrf.org, mailed or hand delivered to IMRF's Oak Brook or Springfield offices, or faxed to 630-706-4656, ATTN: IMRF Trustee Petitions.

One Executive Trustee position

IMRF employers will elect one Executive Trustee to the Board of Trustees this fall to a five-year term that will run from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2027.

Executive Trustee qualifications

To qualify for the position, a candidate for Executive Trustee must:

• Be employed by a participating governmental unit as chief executive officer, chief finance officer, or other officer, executive, or department head.
• Be an active and vested IMRF member (not including reciprocal service) as of December 31, 2022.
• Gain the nomination of at least three IMRF employers, each of whom must submit a nominating petition to IMRF.

For more information

More information about the 2022 Executive Trustee election, including nominating procedures, qualifications, sample petitions, and a biographical questionnaire, can be found here.

Unlike regular employees, IMRF participation for elected officials is optional when the position meets the applicable hourly standard.* When a person is elected or appointed to a qualifying elected position, they must submit an "Election to Participate for Qualifying Position" form to participate in IMRF. The Election to Participate form is similarly required when someone goes from a non-elected qualifying position to an elected qualifying position. Failure to properly notify IMRF of the move to a qualifying elected position may result in the loss of service credit.

Employers with Internet access must enroll new members using Employer Access. If an elected official decides to participate in IMRF, IMRF requires the official’s signature on the "Election to Participate for Qualifying Position" form. The online enrollment process creates a pre-populated form. The Authorized Agent downloads the form, signs it, has the elected official sign it, and submits it to IMRF along with the signed enrollment form.

Elected officials are specifically excluded from IMRF participation unless IMRF receives a written notice of election to participate in that elected office. 40 ILCS 5/7-137(b)(2). 

*Elected governing body positions must have a resolution on file with IMRF evidencing that the position meets the hourly standard.

For more information

To learn more about IMRF participation, retroactive service, eligibility verification, and more, see Section 3.65E of the Authorized Agent manual.

A significant percentage of IMRF employer contributions are reinvested in Illinois, spurring economic activity in our local communities, according to the organization’s recently released Economic Impact Study.

As you may know, IMRF serves approximately 457,000 members in over 3,000 units of government, including counties, cities, towns, villages, libraries, park districts, and non-teaching personnel in local school districts.

“Eighty-five percent of IMRF’s public service employees retire and stay in the Land of Lincoln,” Executive Director Brian Collins said. “They have a positive impact on the Illinois economy because every single day, they are shopping, eating, traveling, and paying sales taxes, thanks to their pension benefit payments.

Learn more about the IMRF's impact on the economy here: 2021 Economic Impact Study