On May 1, 2024, SURS members will elect three active-member trustees and one annuitant trustee.

The voting period for the election will take place April 1 – May 1, 2024. The election will be conducted by the independent election firm YesElections. SURS encourages all eligible members to consider running for a seat on the board.

Two of the active-member trustee seats are for six-year terms, and one is for a three-year term. The three-year term was created by an appointment that occurred during an unexpired six-year term. The annuitant trustee seat is for a six-year term. Active members must declare the seat they are seeking when they request a candidate packet, and they can only circulate petitions for the seat they choose.

The application period ended Dec. 31, 2023. Candidates who have applied may circulate petitions through Jan. 31, 2024.

Candidates may utilize electronic petitions for members to sign online via YesElections, they may circulate hard copy petitions, or they can use a combination of both.

All eligible SURS members will receive voting instructions and candidate information on or before April 1, 2024. Members will be able to vote online, by phone or by returning a paper ballot in a postage- paid envelope. Voting will be handled directly through YES Elections.

The SURS board is made up of 11 trustees. Four trustees are elected by active SURS members, two are elected by retired SURS members and five are appointed by the governor of Illinois (one of whom is the chairperson of the Illinois Board of Higher Education). The governor designates the board chairperson from the 11 trustees.

Election Timeline

State Law Limits Number of Trustees with Ties to U of I

According to state law, the SURS board can have a maximum of two active-member trustees and one annuitant trustee who are employed by or retired from the University of Illinois (all campuses.) The current board includes one active-member trustee – Andriy Bodnaruk – from the University of Illinois Chicago and one annuitant trustee – Fred Giertz – retired from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign whose terms do not expire until 2027.

Therefore, a maximum of one active-member trustee from any of the University of Illinois campuses may be elected in this election. No annuitants can be elected from the U of I campuses in this election.

To be included on the ballot, annuitants will need to:

• Be retired from a SURS-covered employer that is not the University of Illinois (see above).
• Be retired from a SURS-covered employer for at least one full year prior to the election.
• Fill out an application and provide biographic information to SURS by Dec. 29, 2023.
• Collect at least 100 signatures from annuitant SURS members and return the completed hard copy or electronic petitions to SURS by Jan. 31, 2024, for validation.