Treasurer’s Note Newsletter

Green corn leaves in a field with an overcast sky above. Photo is titled Corn Rows.

When Farmers Need Help Weathering the Storm

This summer, I was awakened by a tremendous storm in the middle of the night. My first thought was how much I don’t like the rain. I didn’t always feel this way. As a kid, I loved playing in the rain. I think my attitude started to change when baseball games were rained out. I also distinctly remember my first job detasseling corn really turned me against the rain. By the time I got through the field, my shoes were covered in 5 to 10 pounds of mud, my clothes…

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Treasurer Frerichs and a construction worker, both wearing hard hats and yellow vests, looking at the Chicago skyline. Overlaying text says: Investing in Illinois workers. A map of Illinois also is visible.

A Lifetime of Work Deserves a Better Retirement

Last weekend, I marched in a couple of Labor Day parades. It’s important to celebrate the accomplishments of working people. Maybe you gathered with friends and family to grill and eat outdoors. Maybe you took the chance to get on the water one last time this summer. Or maybe you watched your favorite team play a game. Those are also worthwhile ways to mark the holiday. Not everyone should live to work. We work so that we can live better. And we have those options because people fought for things like…

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Two men walk along a dirt lot where wood framing for a house is being built

Investing in the Place We Call Home

It can be hard to leave a house you’ve lived in for more than a quarter century. We make a lot of memories in our homes, but I think it’s even more difficult when you built the house yourself. I can’t say for certain because I don’t have the skills to build a house, unlike my older brother, James. Last spring, he sold the house that he built nearly 30 years ago. James has gone through two union apprenticeship programs. He has been trained as an operating engineer and as…

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Treasurer Frerichs facing the camera as a blurred image of cash is visible behind him. Overlaying text reads: Making Saving for College Simple

Relieving the Pains of College Planning

My daughter will be a high school senior, which means we have been visiting a lot of colleges this summer as she prepares to apply to universities in the fall. This has given us a lot of quality, dad-daughter time together. It’s sad to think about the day I will drop her off at college, but I prefer to focus on and enjoy the time I have with her now. I have really enjoyed our campus visits because of great conversations about what she is looking for in a college…

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Treasurer Frerichs marches down a street at the Illinois State Fairgrounds during the twilight parade as crowds line the street.

A Few of My Favorite Fair Memories

As a kid, I always looked forward to the Champaign County Fair in late July. I loved the rides: the bumper cars, the tilt-a-whirl, and the potato sack slide. I loved the food: the corn dogs, the elephant ears, and all things fried. I loved the grandstand shows: the tractor pulls where my family would sometimes compete, the motorcycle races, and the demolition derby. And I also loved the games where you could win a prize: the ring toss, shooting baskets, and knocking down milk bottles with a baseball. I…

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