Democrat Micheal Vijuk Running for District 1 McHenry County Board Seat

Michael Vijuk

Attending the Algonquin Township Board meeting Tuesday night was Michael Vijuk.

He was wearing a badge that indicated he was running for the McHenry County Board.

Sitting next to a local Democrat, I guessed that was his party.

Afterwards he told me he had an MBA and had taught management and leadership at Harper College for thirty years.

For twenty-four years he has lived in McHenry County.


Comments

Democrat Micheal Vijuk Running for District 1 McHenry County Board Seat — 6 Comments

  1. Thank you goes out to those Republican voters who supported (and many still do) the “round mound”!

    A special ‘thank you!’ to Pam Althoff who is apparently running to rejoin the “round mound” on the County Board.

  2. Better Government Association

    Pension Database

    Michael Vijuk

    State University Retirement Systems (SURS) pension fund

    (This is one of the five “state” pension funds).

    31 years of service.

    Benefit start date: August 1, 2010.

    BGA Data Year – Pension

    2017 – $102,522

    2016 – $99,471

    2015 – $96,510

    2014 – $93,635

    2013 – $90,844

    2012 – $88,134

    http://www.bettergov.org/pension-database

    ++++++++++++++++

    The pension increases 3% annually due to the annual 3% cost of living allowance (COLA).

    The SURS COLA has not always been 3%.

    The COLA hikes are one of many legislative benefit hikes over the years, enacted when the pensions were already underfunded.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++

    Here, from the November 2016 Special Pension Briefing issued by the Commission of Government Forecasting Accountability (COGFA), are statistics about the fiscal condition of the SURS pension fund:

    Accrued Liability (amount that should be in the pension fund): $40.923 billion

    Actuarial Assets (amount that is in the pension fund): $17.698 billion

    Unfunded Liability (amount that should be in the pension fund, but is not): $23.225 billion

    Funded Ratio (actuarial assets / accrued liability): 43.2%

    +++++++++++++++++++++

    The 7% annual interest on the unfunded liability is as follows:

    $23,225,000,000 x .07 = $1,265,750,000 ($1.265 billion).

    That is a ballpark, as the interest goes into the equation to determine the unfunded liability.

    An important takeaway is that state taxpayers finance the unfunded liability.

    Interest on the unfunded liability results in the pensions being more costly to taxpayers.

    ++++++++++++++++++

    Rather than freezing pension benefit levels in 1970 when the pension sentence was added to the state constitution, pension benefits were hiked over the ensuing decades, even though with few exceptions the pension systems were already underfunded.

    Less money to fund employer or state pension contributions, resulted in more money for salary hikes, which in turn hiked the pension payout.

    These pension benefit and salary hikes, at a time when in most case the pensions were already underfunded, was the primary cause in creating the mess.

    The pension benefit and salary hikes, resulted in hiked employer and state contributions, even though there was an existing unfunded liability (taxpayer iou to the pension fund) in most cases.

    That was stupid.

    The narrative that the problem with pensions is the employer and state did not live up to their end of the bargain by making the required contributions is garbage.

    The required contribution was hiked as a result of the benefit and salary hikes.

  3. SURS History and Membership:

    In 1941, a four-year study concluded with the formation of the University Retirement System.

    The act provided “for the creation, maintenance, and administration of a Retirement System for the benefit of the staff members and employees of the University of Illinois and certain other state educational and scientific agencies.”

    Ruth Ellen Kunkel was the System’s first employee and administrator.

    In 1942, the System had 3,760 participants and added two additional staff members.

    In the following years, the University Retirement System grew to include other universities, colleges, and affiliated agencies throughout the state.

    In 1963, the System adopted its current name, State Universities Retirement System (SURS).

    Today SURS serves 61 employers* in Illinois including state universities, community colleges, and state agencies.

    It employs approximately 132 full-time employees in offices in Champaign and Naperville and provides benefit services to over 220,000 members throughout the world.

    SURS has a total operating budget of $19,520,474 for FY 2016.

    *This number denotes combining of several campuses.

    SURS Governance

    SURS is governed by an eleven-member Board of Trustees.

    Four trustees are elected by active SURS members, two trustees are elected by retired SURS members, and four trustees are appointed by the Governor.

    The Chairperson of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, who is appointed by the Governor, also serves as the Chairperson for the SURS Board of Trustees.

    The board meets at minimum seven times per year – Schedule.

    Agendas are posted 48 hours prior to each meeting.

    The SURS Board of Trustees has a fiduciary duty to administer the System in compliance with the requirements of Articles 1 and 15 of the Illinois Pension Code.

    In the name of transparency, accountability, and the sunshine holy spirit, amen. Let us pray. Tic, tock, tick, tock…

  4. Harper College:

    The College was established by referendum in 1965 and opened September 1967.

    It is named for Dr. William Rainey Harper, a pioneer in the junior college movement in the United States and the first president of the University of Chicago.

    Harper College is now one of the nation’s premier community colleges and one of the largest, serving more than 40,000 students annually in Chicago’s northwest suburbs.

    The College’s academic programs prepare students for rewarding careers and for transfer to four-year universities.

    Harper offers associate degree and certification programs, advanced career programs, workforce training, professional development, continuing education classes, accelerated degree options for adults and developmental education programs.

    Harper College enriches its diverse communities by providing quality, affordable, and accessible education.

    Harper College, in collaboration with its partners, inspires the transformation of individual lives, the workforce, and society.

    The Harper College community believes that their charge is to facilitate active learning and foster the knowledge, critical thinking and life/work skills required for participation in our global society.

    They work with community partners to enrich the intellectual, cultural and economic fabric of its district.

    They believe that excellence in education must occur in an ethical climate of integrity and respect.

    They believe that the strength of our society is rooted in our diversity and that it is through synergy that we achieve excellence.

    Harper College Core Values are INTEGRITY, RESPECT, EXCELLENCE, and COLLABORATION

    Jack D. Franks is a Democrat, which leaves little or no room for him to be a Republican.

    Tic, tock, tic, tock…

  5. Wow

    A democrat who is running as a Democrat…

    How odd is that in Our County?….

    Normally they would disguise themselves as a Republican….

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *