Information about the 2010 Joint Annual Conference was mailed to district superintendents on June 11, and included conference housing and registration forms.

It also included promotional brochures for paid workshops and events at the annual conference, including the Chicago schools tour, pre-conference workshops, and the administrative professionals’ workshop designed for those who perform the duties of the board secretary.

Information and updates about these events and others will be posted as they become available.

This year’s event will be the 96th annual conference of IASB and the 78th Joint Annual Conference with IASA and Illinois ASBO.

The conference will again be headquartered at the Hyatt Regency Chicago and Sheraton Chicago hotels, with housing available at 10 downtown hotels. This year, IASB has negotiated with all participating hotels to keep housing at 2009 conference rate. See list of participating hotels.

This rollback will not only produce a lower room rate for 2010 than previously negotiated, but it will reduce all future room rates to be negotiated on the 2010 base rate.

Conference Housing

Housing is assigned daily on a first received, first assigned basis to the hotel indicated on the housing form as the hotel of choice until the room block at the hotel is filled. Note: because some district registrants will be participating in early Friday pre-conference events, districts should consider an additional Thursday night stay.

To obtain housing, both the completed registration and housing form with a check or credit card to cover the registration fee ($350 per registrant) and the nonrefundable $150 per room hotel deposit fee for each individual listed on each of these forms must be forwarded to IASB Meetings Management, 2921 Baker Drive, Springfield, Illinois 62703. Housing will not be processed without the required fees/deposits and conference registration, which is also a requirement for housing placement.

Checks should be made payable to the Illinois Association of School Boards. Note: If paying by check, two separate checks should be submitted; one for registration fees and a second check for housing deposits. If preferred payment is by credit card, the complete credit card information, including type of card, number, expiration date and cardholder’s name, is needed.

When the housing is assigned, a copy of the housing form with the hotel assignment circled and the assignment date indicated, along with the district registration receipt, is mailed to the district superintendent.

When the 1st choice hotel is no longer available, a copy of the housing form, listing the alternate choice hotel which has been assigned for placement and the assignment date, is faxed to the district superintendent.

If the assigned hotel is not acceptable, a fax, stating rejection of the hotel, must be received by IASB no later than five working days from the assignment date. That fax number is 217/241-2144. If the hotel is rejected, within the allotted five working days, IASB will return the housing deposit and the district must secure its own housing. If the alternate hotel is not rejected within the five working day timeline, the housing and nonrefundable deposit will be forwarded to the alternate hotel for entry and email confirmation directly to the district superintendent.

Once the housing form is forwarded to the assigned hotel for placement, there is no refund of the housing deposit by the hotel for cancelled rooms.

Most hotels require a fee when a guestroom is vacated prior to the originally-scheduled departure date. To avoid this fee, all departure date changes must be made with the placement hotel prior to the arrival date. Note: All stays at the Hyatt and Sheraton require a Friday/Saturday night stay.

Once IASB has forwarded the housing form to the placement hotel all further communication regarding the placed guestrooms should be directed to the placement hotel. Most hotels now utilize email confirmations, and these should be issued by mid-September.

Registration Deadlines

The pre-conference registration fee is $350 and must be received in the IASB Springfield office by 4 p.m., Sep. 17. Beginning Sep. 18, the registration fee will be $375. Complimentary registration is provided for family members accompanying paid registrants who are listed on the official registration form.

District badges and information packets for registrations received by Sep. 17 will be mailed to the district superintendent on Nov. 5. Registrations received after Sep. 17 will be processed onsite at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, Grand Ballroom Foyer conference registration desk. That includes badge pickups.

Onsite registrations must be paid onsite, by check, cash, Visa, MasterCard or Discover. A receipt for local district reimbursement will be provided.

Oct. 15 is the deadline for written (fax/email/letter) registration refund requests. Refunds, less a $75 per person processing fee, will be issued following the conference. No refunds will be granted for requests received after Oct. 15.

Eligible individuals may also replace a paid, non-attending conference registrant onsite without incurring additional registration fee. They are required to present the badge of the non-attending registrant at the conference registration desk.

Questions concerning registration procedures for this year’s conference should be directed to IASB Meetings Management at 217/528-9688, ext. 1115 or 1102.

2010 Conference Menu