Gov. Pritzker Appoints Experienced Leaders to Key State Agencies

Springfield, Ill. — Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker announced the following personnel appointments:
 
Paula Basta will serve as Director of the Illinois Department of Aging (IDOA).* Basta has dedicated her career to improving the lives of senior citizens and promoting women's and LGBT rights. She currently serves at the director of senior services and health initiatives at the Chicago Housing Authority and teaches at the Loyola University School of Social Work. Basta came to the CHA after over 18 years at the Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, where she served as regional director of the Northeast (Levy) Senior Center from 2004 to 2018 and as the director of information and assistance from 2000 to 2004. Prior, Basta spent over four years as the executive director of H.O.M.E., Housing Opportunities & Maintenance for the Elderly, and nine as a social worker and the director of religious education at St. Clement Roman Catholic Church. She received her Master of Divinity from the McCormick Theological Seminary and her Bachelor of Science in social work from the University of Dayton. Basta was inducted to the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2009.
 
Ron Guerrier will serve as Chief Information Officer of the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT).* Guerrier has more than 20 years of experience managing IT in the private sector and has served as chief information officer for multi-billion dollar companies since 2012. He last served as the CIO of Express Scripts, the nation's largest pharmacy benefit manager, and also served the same role at Farmers Insurance Group from 2015 to 2018. Prior, Guerrier spent 17 years at Toyota North America, rising from an IT manager to division director to chief technology officer to vice president and chief information officer. He received his Master of Science in management from North Park University, his Bachelor of Science in finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and executive education certificates in information technology from the University of Chicago, University of California Berkeley, Boston University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
 
Robert Muriel will serve as Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI).* Muriel is a civil and commercial lawyer with more than 20 years of experience representing small businesses and professionals in trials, appeals and arbitrations in state and federal courts. His core practice is civil and commercial litigation, including insurance coverage and bad faith claims, financial fraud claims, legal malpractice cases and consumer class action cases, including actions brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Muriel was formerly President of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and President of the Alumni Board of Governors for Loyola University Chicago School of Law. He also has served on numerous civic boards, including serving on the Board of Directors for the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, Almost Home Kids and the Executive Committee for the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening. He received his Juris Doctor from the Loyola University School of Law and bachelor's degrees in accounting and finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
 
*All appointments are pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.
 
Click here to view previous appointments to the Pritzker administration.