Meeting of the Board of Trustees

Meeting: April 16, 2026 | Posted: June 9, 2026 | SURS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

The meeting of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) convened on Thursday, April 16, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. 

This meeting was held in person at Northern Trust in Chicago, IL.

The following trustees were present: Dr. Andry Bodnaruk (Zoom); Dr. Fred Giertz; Mr. Scott Hendrie; Mr. Pranav Kothari; Mr. John Lyons (chair); Mr. Herbert Pitman; Dr. Steven Rock; Mr. Collin Van Meter; and Mr. Antonio Vasquez.

Others present: Ms. Suzanne Mayer, Executive Director; Ms. Bianca Green, General Counsel; Ms. Kristen Houch, Director of Legislative and Stakeholder Relations; Mr. Michael Schlachter, Chief Investment Officer; Ms. Kelly Carson, and Ms. Annette Ackerman, Executive Assistants; and Mr. Michael Calabrese of Foley & Lardner LLP.

Board of Trustees roll call attendance was taken: Trustee Bodnaruk, present; Trustee Figueroa, absent; Trustee Giertz, present; Trustee Hendrie, present; Trustee Jiganti, absent; Trustee Kothari, absent; Trustee Lyons, present; Trustee Pitman, present; Trustee Rock, present; Trustee Van Meter, present; and Trustee Vazquez, present.

Approval of Minutes

Trustee Lyons presented the minutes from the Board of Trustees meeting on March 6, 2026.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the minutes from the March 6, 2026, Board of Trustees meeting be approved as presented.

Trustee Van Meter seconded the motion, which passed via all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.

Approval of Closed Minutes

Trustee Lyons presented the minutes from the Board of Trustees meeting on March 6, 2026.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the closed minutes from the March 6, 2026, Board of Trustees meeting be approved as presented and remain closed.

Trustee Vasquez seconded the motion, which passed via all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.

Chairperson’s Report

Trustee Lyons did not have a chairperson’s report.

Executive Director’s Report

Ms. Suzanne Mayer did not have an executive director report.

Board Travel

Ms. Suzanne Mayer presented the “April 2026 Travel Memo” and the “April 2026 Upcoming Training Opportunity List” that contains information relating to upcoming travel and training opportunities available to the trustees.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the Board of Trustees travel to attend conferences or trainings listed on the April 2026 list of upcoming training opportunities be approved and that all resulting expenses as defined in the SURS travel policy be reimbursed.

Trustee Vasquez seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – absent
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter -aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Legislative Update

Ms. Bianca Green discussed a recent development regarding House Bill 5134, including House Amendment 1 to that bill. This original bill would amend the SURS article of the Illinois Pension Code (Article 15) to require the Board of Trustees to make an annual report available to loosely defined “stakeholders” that would include a list of the names of each SURS annuitant and active participant, their last employer, and the zip codes associated with their home addresses on file with SURS. Ms. Green reminded trustees that SURS is not required to provide any personal information for our members including home address information, which includes their zip codes. Amendment 1 to this bill did not include the disclosure of member information but was instead written to increase the SURS Board composition from 11 to 17 trustees. The governor’s office informed Ms. Kristen Houch that they wanted to know if the SURS board was consenting to the proposed increase in the size of the board. Ms. Green suggested that trustees discuss the proposed legislation and make formal motions regarding their position on the bills.

Trustee Vasquez made the following motion:

• To formally oppose House Bill 5134.

Trustee Hendrie seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – absent
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Trustee Vasquez made the following motion:

• To formally oppose House Amendment 1 to House Bill 5134.

Trustee Van Meter seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – absent
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Trustee Lyons made the following motion:

• To inform the Governor’s Office that the SURS board does not consent to its expansion in size.

Trustee Van Meter seconded the motion, which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – absent
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Next, Ms. Kristen Houch provided a brief update on the buyouts and other legislation currently pending on second hearing and other legislative updates within her presentation titled, “SURS Legislative Update.”

Report of Investment Committee Actions

Trustee Hendrie reported on the specific action items taken by the Investment Committee during the April 16, 2026, Investment Committee meeting. These items are referenced in greater detail in the Investment Committee meeting minutes of April 16, 2026.

Personnel Items

There were no personnel items brought before the Board of Trustees.

Public Comment

There were no public comments presented to the SURS Board of Trustees.

Trustee Comment

There were no Trustee comments.

Adjourn

There was no further business brought before the Board and Trustee Rock moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Giertz, and it passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – absent
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Ms. Suzanne M. Mayer
Executive Director and Secretary, Board of Trustees