The Adler Planetarium

“An "executive committee" consisting of the chair, vice chairs, treasurer, secretary, president and ceo, and six (6) additional trustees (one of which may be the immediate past chair) elected by the board of trustees at the regular annual meeting of the board of trustees shall, when the board of trustees is not in session, have and exercise all of the authority of the board of trustees in the management of the corporation except as provided in the illinois not for profit corporation act. The executive committee shall report on its activities to the board of trustees at the board's legally convened meetings. The president and ceo shall serve as executive secretary to the executive committee.”

“Board members james j. O'connor, sr. And james j. O'connor, jr. Have a family relationship.”

“The form 990 is reviewed by management of the organization and if any questions arise during their review, they are addressed with their paid tax preparer. A presentation of the form 990 is presented to the finance committee who has been delegated the review responsibility. All board members receive a copy of the final form 990, including all applicable schedules, prior to filing the form with the irs.”

“It is the policy of the adler planetarium, its board of trustees and committees to ensure that board members and employees in all of their activities avoid conflicts of interest-actual, potential or perceived-while performing their museum-related duties. In particular, no persons should obtain or appear to obtain special advantages for themselves, their relatives, or their close associates as a result of their affiliation as a board member or employee. All officers, directors and key employees are requested to complete a conflict of interest disclosure annually. The disclosures are reviewed by executive staff and if a conflict is determined to exist, the matter is brought to the executive committee for further review. The implications in practice for this policy vary from activity to activity and this general policy should not limit the cooperation and mutual assistance that is necessary for the effective functioning of the organization. In addition, the adler is a member of the american association of museums and subscribes to the code of ethics for museums. In subscribing to this code, the adler assumes responsibility for the actions of employees of their governing authority and volunteers in the performance of museum-related duties. A copy of the code of ethics for museums is given to all new employees. If a conflict is determined between a board member and the organization, the conflict is noted and the board member is asked to abstain from any discussion of or voting on issues related to that conflict.”

“In fall 2011, the compensation committee of the board (comprised of independent board members and the adler president and ceo) initiated a comprehensive review of salaries and benefits for all staff positions, including top management, that was concluded in spring 2012 and further updated in late 2012. Data from local and national museums, science centers, universities and other educational institutions, and chicago-based professional service firms and other employers was considered. The executive committee has assumed the responsibilities of the compensation committee. In addition, the executive committee surveys, on a periodic basis, similar sized and located not-for-profit organizations to attract, retain, and reward high-performing individuals. The executive committee annually reviews the compensation of the president and ceo using comparability data. The president and ceo does not take part in any decisions regarding her own compensation. Contemporaneous documentation of the deliberations and decisions are kept.”

“Governing documents and conflict of interest policies are not required disclosures pursuant to internal revenue code (irc) section 6104. These documents are not available to the public at this time. The adler makes its audited financial statements available on its website.”

“Due to the covid-19 pandemic, adler was required to close the building to guest-facing activities in march of 2020. However, the staff continued to expand adler's digital offerings to continue fulfilling adler's mission.”

“Change in value of defined benefit pension plan -2,340,784. Unrealized loss on interest rate swap -1,506,399.”