Mark Your Calendars!

The Central Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) invites you to join us for a lunch meeting and exclusive factory tour at Caterpillar Building SS in East Peoria, Illinois. This is the final assembly location of Caterpillar’s largest Track Type Tractor models!

Date: October 30, 2026
Location: Caterpillar Building SS, East Peoria, IL

Schedule

• 11:15 AM – 12:15 PM: Lunch & Chapter Meeting (Lunch Provided)
• 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM: Guided Tour of the Caterpillar Track Type Tractor Final Assembly Facility

This is a great opportunity to network with fellow safety professionals and experience a behind-the-scenes look at Caterpillar’s bulldozer final assembly operations.

Important Registration Information

• Attendance is limited to 30 participants, so be on the lookout for RSVP and registration details. Registration will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration will be required for attendance and the registration will likely close approximately two weeks before the event.
• As part of the preregistration process, attendees will be required to provide their first and last name and current employer/company. This information will be submitted to the Caterpillar Corporate Tours Group for a conflict-of-interest review prior to tour approval.

Additional details and registration information will be shared soon.

We look forward to seeing you on October 30. Mark your calendars today!

It is with great sadness to report that Patrick Costello, a current Member at Large Officer of the Chapter passed away on April 25, 2026. Patrick was a 16 year member of ASSP and served in several different leadership roles for the Central Illinois Chapter and ASSP Region V. Patrick’s many volunteer service commitments included Chapter President for two terms from 2018-2020, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Nominations Committee, Region V Nominations Committee and most recently Member at Large Officer 2020-2024 and 2025-2027. Patrick’s obituary can be found at: https://www.paynicfh.com/obituary/patrick-costello

Patrick will be missed, he always provided positive and engaging encouragement to our chapter and chapter leaders. His passing leaves a current vacancy in the Executive Committee, which will need to be filled with a Special Election.

In following our bylaws, the Chapter Nominations Committee has presented Dr. Chris Grieshaber as a candidate for this open Executive Committee position. Chris has held numerous leadership positions over the years with our Chapter. A Special Election will be held starting 30 days after this notice, which will open in electronic form on October 19, 2026. Chapter Members may submit a signed petition nominating one or more individuals for elective office. The petition will require 10 signatures to be valid. The petition shall be accompanied by a written acceptance by the nominee(s) and shall be submitted to the Chairperson of the Nominations and Elections Committee 15 days in advance of the election. The names and qualifications of such nominees shall be published and distributed to the membership at least 7 days prior to the election. Petition information and inquiries to the Nominations and Elections Committee can be submitted through our Contact Us page on cil.assp.org at https://cil.assp.org/contact-us/. The Special Election will be open for a minimum of 15 days and we must receive at least 40 returned ballots for the election to be validated.

Please watch your email inbox for the Special Election information on October 19, 2026.

Our first chapter meeting of the 2026-2027 chapter year is scheduled for Friday, September 11, 2026 in Normal, IL at 301 Felmley Hall on the ISU – Illinois State University Campus.  This is the ISU Safety Program Lab.  Lunch will be provided for this meeting, please bring a soft drink of your choice, if you prefer to have something other than water.  Registration is required so we can have an accurate headcount for our food order.

When:
Friday September 11, 2026 at 11:00am
Lunch will be provided, please bring a soft drink of your choice, if you prefer to have something other than water

11:00am Arrivals
11:00am-11:15am Social and Networking Time
11:15am-12:00pm Lunch (Provided by the Chapter to all Attendees)
12:00pm-1:00pm Presentation

Registration is required so we can have an accurate headcount for our food order. 
Visit the Events page to register now! https://cil.assp.org/event/
Registration closes at 4pm on September 9, 2026

Where:
ISU Felmley Hall Room 301 (ISU Safety Program Lab Room)

Who:
Dan Heinen, ASP
Industrial Hygienist
Illinois Department of Labor – On-Site Consultation Program

Dan began his working career as a Union Ironworker in 1986. Due to injury, after a sixteen-year career he was forced to find a different line of work. Dan went back to school earning his Bachelor of Science from Illinois State University in 2006 with a major in occupational safety and a minor in environmental health. He did his internship with the Peoria, IL OSHA office, and then worked one year with a local electrical contractor before spending the next seven with the Illinois On-site Safety & Health Consultation Program as a safety consultant.

After seven years with the program Dan left to go into the insurance field focusing on loss control and risk management for Insurance Company of the West (ICW,) at one time covering seven states throughout the Midwest. This gave Dan a tremendous amount of exposure to multiple industries such as various manufacturing, warehousing, construction, refuse, trucking and agriculture. Dan left ICW in 2024 and returned to the Illinois On-site Consultation Program in an industrial hygienist role where he performs health visits including air sampling, noise monitoring, health program reviews and is active in the Safety and Health Achievement and Recognition Program (SHARP) for the On-Site Program.

Dan holds certificates in: OSHA 10-, & 30-hour construction safety & health, scaffold erector/assembler and user lead abatement specialist, hazmat worker and ASP designation.

Outside work Dan enjoys the outdoors with activities such as boating, hunting and fishing and is a hobbyist woodworker.

What:
Dan will present very valuable information about the Illinois Department of Labor On-Site safety & health Consultation program. How the program works and what an employer can expect during a visit.  The responsibilities of the IL On-Site program and the employer participating in a visit will be discussed.  Dan will also provide information on the (SHARP) (safety and health recognition program) criteria.

Registration is required so we can have an accurate headcount for our food order.  If you do not register, we may not have a lunch item for you! 

Visit the Events page to register now! https://cil.assp.org/event/

Registration closes at 4pm on September 9, 2026

Congratulations to our incoming Chapter Officers! We are looking forward to a great chapter year starting on July 1!

2026-2027 Chapter Officers
President – Ryan Crossland
President Elect – Justin Bay
Treasurer – Steve Meyer
Secretary – Rob Irwin
Student Affairs – Amy Timmerman
Member at Large – Jim McNiff
Member at Large – Patrick Costello
Member at Large – Audra Sargeant
Advisory Group Member – Mark Briggs

Immediate Past President – Stig Ruxlow 

Mark your calendars, our first chapter meeting of the chapter year is a lunch meeting scheduled for Friday September 11, 2026 in the Bloomington/Normal area (location TBD). Our speaker will be Dan Heinen with the IL On-Site Consultation program. 

Electronic Ballot Election is Open!!

CIL ASSP 2026-2027 Chapter Elections Notice!!

You should be receiving email communications from the chapter communications system to provide you with the link to vote. Check your email inbox for these communications.

Please take the time to vote!  Unfortunately, we did not have a quorum of members present (20) to vote at the PDC on April 14th or during the May 15th virtual chapter meeting.  We must have at least 40 electronic votes in order for the chapter election to be valid and to sustain the viability of YOUR chapter.  VOTE NOW!!

The following slate of officers has been presented and approved by the nominating committee for the 2026-2027 Elections. The election was planned to be held at our PDC Event on April 14, 2026 at the ISU Alumni Center in Normal, IL. We did not have a quorum of members present at the PDC so we planned to hold the elections during the May 15, 2026 virtual chapter meeting.  We did not have a quorum of members present for the May 15th virtual chapter meeting.  We need your electronic vote now.  This election closes at 00:01 on May 29, 2026.   

This slate of officers has been presented to the membership as required by our Bylaws.

2026-2027 Nominations
President – Ryan Crossland
President Elect – Justin Bay
Treasurer – Steve Meyer
Secretary – Rob Irwin
Student Affairs – Amy Timmerman
Member at Large – Jim McNiff
Member at Large – Patrick Costello
Member at Large – Audra Sargeant
Advisory Group Member – Mark Briggs

Check your inbox for communications from the chapter communications system. Use the contact us page if you are a member and do not see an email from the chapter with the link for voting.