Events

Join us for the annual MTA Township Symposium, scheduled for Thursday, September 28 at 5:00 PM at Hanover Township’s Senior Center. You can purchase tickets at this link.

Thank you to Township Officials of Cook County and Township Officials of DuPage County for again co-sponsoring this event.

RSVPs are due by Friday, September 22. The evening will progress as follows:

4:30-5:00 PM Registration
5:00-5:50 PM Legislative Forum
Senator Donald DeWitte (R), 33rd District
Senator Ram Villivalam (D), 8th District
Representative Brad Stephens, (R), 20th District, Assistant Republican Leader
Representative Suzanne Ness (D), 66th District
6:00-6:50 PM Breakout Sessions:
Social Media: Legal Concepts & Best Practices
Township Finances: Maximizing Revenues and Projecting Expenditures
Advanced Topics in Township Foundations
6:50-7:15 PM Social Hour. Hors d’oeuvres with cash bar
7:15-8:30 PM Dinner & Program
• Remarks from State Treasurer Michael Frerichs
• “First Amendment Audits: What Are They? Who Are They? How to Respond When They Show Up” presented by Matthew Walters, Senior Counsel, Airdo Werwas LLC
• Legislator of the Year award

Join us at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, August 16 for our virtual training: Best Practices of Bidding, Purchasing, and Contracting. Email Nick Allen for the Zoom link.

Due to their unique features, townships in Illinois must comply with a myriad of complex, sometimes conflicting competitive procurement requirements. This comprehensive training seminar, led by expert township attorneys, will provide an understanding of the relevant statutes, and explore key legal issues, such as: applicability and exceptions, solicitations and awards, and contract formation and risk-shifting. The session will focus on practical considerations and best practices for townships to diminish legal risks and protect their operations.

Michael Airdo is a founding Member of Airdo Werwas, LLC. His practice focuses on the handling of complex civil litigation matters, including those involving local governments, not-for-profit entities, educational facilities, and trade associations. He is a frequent lecturer on topics related to his legal practice. Michael proudly serves as legal counsel to Hanover Township, Palatine Township, Dundee Township, Shields Township, and the Fox River Water Reclamation District. He served on the Village of Bartlett Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2011 and as Mayor of Bartlett from 2011 to 2013.

Mark Kimzey is a Senior Associate at Airdo Werwas, LLC. He focuses his practice on the representation of public sector clients in a broad range of litigated matters and has successfully litigated cases in both state and federal courts, as well as administrative agencies, throughout the state. He frequently advises public officials and employees on matters affecting their organizations and is also a regular speaker and author on topics related to his practice. Mark holds both a law degree and an M.P.A., which he earned through a joint degree program at IIT’s Chicago-Kent College of Law.

In today’s labor market, recruitment can be daunting if not exhausting. After the great resignation, it may also feel to some organizations like you are losing more employees than you can hire. Participants in this workshop will learn:

· How to evaluate their current recruitment and sourcing processes.
· Find gaps in their current recruitment process.
· Learn low cost/no cost ways to increase their visibility to applicants.
· How to source candidates faster.

Recruitment is the first step of the process; retention is the second. Retaining employees to be long-term valuable assets of your team is equally as important as recruiting. The second part of this training will focus on helping participants:

· Evaluate their current retention practices.
· Develop ways to enhance the employee experience.
· Track and develop programs to measure and promote employee retention

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About the presenter:
John Acardo currently serves as the Chief Human Resources Officer at Northern Illinois University. He has worked in both public and private sector industries, is recognized as a senior level professional within the discipline and serves on the Society for Human Resource Management’s Executive Network. Over the past 15 years, John has built and rebranded HR departments to enhance the employee experience and address organizational challenges.

Join us for our quarterly membership meeting on July 12 at 6:00 PM, hosted by Elk Grove Township, 600 Landmeier Rd, Elk Grove Village. Our guest speaker will be State Senator Laura Murphy who will be providing a recap of the recently concluded legislative session and the FY2024 state budget.

RSVP to Nick Allen (nallen@metrotownships.org) to attend so there is an accurate count for dinner.

Jeff Reiter, CEO/Security Officer for RWK IT Services, will present “Hackers don’t hack in, they log in. Can you keep them out?”

A Zoom link will be sent a few days before the event.

Registration and a light breakfast will begin at 8:00 AM. Julie Villarreal, a 25-year veteran of General and Emergency Assistance, will lead the training and her biography is below. The cost to attend is $45 for MTA members and $55 for non-members. You can register using this link. The tentative description of this full-day training is as follows:

Application & Eligibility Determination
General Assistance Budgets
GA Re-Determinations
Emergency Assistance
Emergency Assistance Budgets
Q & A

Julie Villarreal is the Director of General Assistance for Wheeling Township. She holds a Master’s Degree in Human Services and Bachelor Degrees in Psychology and Spanish. Julie has over 25 years of experience working in General Assistance, including 4 years as a GATI instructor and past President of both TOI and TOCC associations. In addition to GA and EA, Wheeling Township offers a myriad of other services to help low-income residents.

Join us for a virtual training on volunteer recruitment and retention. From Application to Action: Effective Volunteer Program Management

From getting the word out about your volunteer needs, to vetting, training and management, and engagement and retention, every facet of a solid volunteer program matters. A good, well structured program can set an organization up for success. Equally, a program lacking proper structure and effective retention practices can leave volunteers struggling and frustrated, and leave you floundering without the help you need. This training will visit all aspects of creating/managing a solid volunteer program structure that addresses organizational needs, implements proper vetting and training methods, and puts forth practical ideas for attracting and keeping a happy, successful, and growing volunteer team.

Becky Wilder, CVA, is a Certified Volunteer Administrator through the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration. She has managed one-time volunteers for events and special programs, as well as managing hundreds of volunteers and the programs/organizations they support on an ongoing basis. Most recently, Wilder spent eight years managing volunteers in the hospice industry. Currently she is the Volunteer Director for the Illinois Veterans Home at Manteno.

Join us for our quarterly in-person meeting, hosted by Milton Township, 1492 N. Main Street, Wheaton, IL. Arachas Insurance will be presenting information on Liability Insurance.

Join us in Springfield as we advocate for issues important to urban townships. Members will meet at Marquardt & Company’s office (600 S. Second Street, Suite 400) at 11AM for lunch where we will receive a legislative update and review the day’s itinerary. Attendees will also receive a briefing packet and lanyard ID. Following lunch, we will walk over to the capitol for meetings.

MTA will host a dinner for members in the evening, inviting a few legislators to join us.

A limited block of hotel rooms has been secured at the Wyndham Springfield City Centre (700 E. Adams Street) for March 29 at a discounted rate of $119. Members can call 217-789-1530 and mention “MTA” or “Metropolitan Township Association” when making a reservation. Reservations can also be completed online. Rooms must be reserved by March 8 to receive the discounted rate.

The registration fee for Lobby Day is $45 per person. Please let me know by Friday, March 17 with the names and titles of those from your Township who will be attending. Checks can be mailed to:

Metropolitan Township Association
ATT: Tom Kuttenberg
250 S. IL Route 59
Bartlett, Illinois 60103

We will share a draft schedule of meetings next month. Due to the fluid session schedule, please be flexible as to changes in our meeting times.

In this three-hour seminar attendees will explore five areas of public sector management including personnel management, financial administration, service delivery, goal attainment, and internal and external relations. Additionally, professional growth opportunities will be discussed through networking, conferences, and ongoing learning.

Registration and a light breakfast begin at 8:30 AM and the seminar is hosted by Hanover Township, 240 Illinois Route 59, Bartlett, IL. Cost to attend is $25 for members and $35 for non-members, register by clicking here.