Jane A. Hays
For over thirty years, JANE A. HAYS, Managing Director, has helped clients make successful business transition, retirement, wealth transfer, charitable, and executive benefit plans. She is a former practicing attorney, as well as an expert life insurance advisor. Working with clients and their other advisors, Ms. Hays’ involvement helps ensure that clients’ policies are well-priced, flexible, high quality, designed specifically for their individual situations, and managed consistent with relevant tax, legal, and fiduciary considerations.
Ms. Hays is a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), a member of the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU), and the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT).
Ms. Hays joined The Downey Group, Inc. in 1994. From 1979-1993 she practiced law at Thomas, Mamer & Haughey, Champaign, IL (Partner, 1983-1993). Her legal experience includes estate planning, private securities offerings, general corporate, contract, and transactional representation, commercial real estate development and law, insurance defense litigation, and public pension matters. Ms. Hays represented the State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) as their principal outside counsel for several years. SURS is the public pension system for all university and community college employees in the State of Illinois, and is one of the nation’s largest public pension systems. After joining The Downey Group, Ms. Hays served for a decade on the SURS Board of Trustees, including tenure on the Executive, Investment, Audit, and Legislative Committees, and Treasurer.
A native of Champaign, IL, Ms. Hays is a graduate of the University of Illinois (AB 1976, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and the University of Illinois College of Law (JD 1979, magna cum laude, Order of the Coif).
Ms. Hays is a member of the Board of The Carle Foundation (a charitable hospital corporation), of the University of Illinois College of Law Board of Visitors (former President, BOV), and is a member of the Board of Directors of Leadership Illinois, and of the Champaign County Boys & Girls Club Foundation.
Ms. Hays was the 2008 recipient of the ATHENA Award, sponsored locally by the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce and Worden-Martin GM dealership. The ATHENA Award annually recognizes an individual for professional excellence, service to the community, and for actively assisting women in their attainment of professional goals and leadership skills. In 2007, Ms. Hays received the Constituent Leadership Award from the University of Illinois Alumni Association for her service to the College of Law. Ms. Hays taught as an adjunct professor at the College from 1986-1996.
Ms. Hays is a continuing author for the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education. She is a past President of the Executive Club of Champaign County, and has been active on numerous other boards and civic organizations, such as past Chair of the Board of the United Way of Champaign County (Campaign Chair in 2006), the University of Illinois Alumni Association Finance and Investment Committee (former Board member), the Board of the Champaign Public Library, and the Champaign County Freedom Celebration Association. She is a member of many professional associations, such as the American Bar Association (Insurance and Financial Planning Committee, Real Property, Probate and Trust Section), Illinois State Bar Association, Champaign County Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA).
