Press Release - Monday, March 13, 2023
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Gov. Pritzker Announces Eighteen Appointments to Boards and Commissions
Illinois Commerce Commission
Conrad Reddick will serve as a Member of the Illinois Commerce Commission.* Conrad Reddick has a legal career that spans over forty years, and he currently runs his own private practice. His expertise includes electric, gas, and telecommunications utilities. He has successfully litigated and defended distinctive street lighting rates for Chicago's unique infrastructure and utility system characteristics and has represented the City of Chicago as a Special Assistant Corporation Counsel. While in this position, he provided advice and guidance to the City's Law Department and Environmental Department. Prior to opening his own practice, Reddick worked for the City of Chicago as a Special Deputy Corporation Counsel. He led a team of staff attorneys on utility regulation and provided strategic guidance on energy and regulatory matters. Reddick received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan.
Stacey Paradis will serve as a Member of the Illinois Commerce Commission.* Stacey Paradis has over twenty years of experience as an account executive. She currently serves as the Executive Director for Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, where she is responsible for the $5 million organizational budget and the organization's strategic action plan, mission, and vision. Prior to becoming Executive Director, she was the Deputy Director of External Relations, managing policy initiatives that impacted thirteen states within her region at the regional, state, and local level. She developed a process to better manage stakeholders in Kentucky through a grant provided by the Department of Education. Paradis is a leader in her field, serving as President of the Illinois Environmental Council Education fund and a member of the Finance Committee. She is also President of the Women in Energy's Chicago Chapter and served as Director of Development. Paradis received her bachelor's in political science from Loyola University of Chicago and her Master of Public Administration with a concentration on State and Local Government from the George Washington University.
Illinois Gaming Board
Jim Kolar will serve as a Member of the Illinois Gaming Board.* Jim Kolar has a thirty year career as an accountant. He recently retired from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) after 37 years. Kolar has a broad range of experience with corporation partnerships and joint ventures in a variety of sectors. Prior to his retirement, Kolar served as the Senior Relationships Partner on many large audit and non-audit clients in the pharma, consumer products, financial services, and construction and engineering service sectors. He has spent time on several boards as a member and chairperson for World Business Chicago, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, and the PwC Charitable Foundation Board. Kolar graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of St. Thomas.
Public Administrator and Public Guardian in Tazewell and Mason County
Debbie Harper will serve as the Public Administrator and Public Guardian for Tazewell and Mason County.* Debbie Harper currently serves as an attorney for Harper Law Offices and is a Tazewell County Public Defender. As a private attorney, she generally focuses on family, estate matters, and serves as a Guardian ad Litem. As a Public Defender, she is primarily assigned juvenile abuse and juvenile delinquency cases. Since her time as a public defender, she was recognized by the Tazewell County Pro Bono Committee as the pro bono attorney of the year for Tazewell County. Harper received her Bachelor of Arts from Western Illinois University and her Juris Doctorate from John Marshall Law School.
State Police Merit Board
William Stiehl will serve as a Member of the State Police Merit Board.* William Stiehl has a thirty plus legal career serving the residents of Illinois, and has been appointed the 20th Circuit Court Judge since 2018. Prior to sitting on the bench, Stiehl held his own practice where he managed the daily operations and focused on general law. Stiehl is associated with several local and national organizations including the Illinois State Bar Association, the St. Clair County Bar Association, and the National Council of School Attorneys. Stiehl received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Vanderbilt University and his Juris Doctorate from Tulane University School of Law.
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Eric Rinehart will serve as a Member of the Executive Board of Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.* Eric Rinehart currently serves the residents of Lake County as the State's Attorney. In this role, Rinehart acts as the Chief Administrator for the prosecutor's office. Prior to this role, Rinehart was the Principal Assistant for the Lake County Public Defender's Office, where he represented approximately 100 defendants in felony cases and served as the lead attorney for 30 jury trials. He also trained assistant public defenders on trial and litigation tactics. Rinehart was the lead appellate counsel in successful oral arguments before the United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals while he was a litigation associate with Schopf & Weiss. He is very active in his community, serving as a member of the Lake County Bar Association & Criminal Law Committee, the Illinois Public Defender Association, the Lake County Coalition to Reduce Recidivism, and the Northern Suburban Legal Aid & Illinois Domestic Violence Coalition. Rinehart received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Knox College and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School.
Illinois Mining Board
Michael Huff will serve on the Illinois Mining Board.* Huff served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1972, including one year in Vietnam. He began working at Peabody Coal after being honorably discharged, and then went on to work at Amax Coal in Keensburg, Illinois. until 2007. Huff served on the Illinois State Miners' Examining Board from 2003 until 2015. He now owns and operates a farm market with his son in Southern Illinois. He attended Maunie and Carmi schools, graduating from Carmi Township High School in 1968.
Raymond Hood will continue to serve as a Member of the Illinois Mining Board.* Raymond Hood has been a miner in Illinois for over thirty-five years. His career began at Exxon Mobile in Albers, Illinois as a laborer. He recently retired as a Compliance Supervisor, where he oversaw projects and facilitated state and federal mine inspections. He also served as the Assistant General Manager of White Oak Resources LLC in Mc Lanesboro, Illinois where he managed the construction of slope and shaft projects, plus mine plans. Hood graduated from Coulterville High School.
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Trustees
Jessica Harris will serve on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Trustees.* Jessica Harris currently serves as the Interim Provost for Inclusive Academic Excellence at Southern Illinois University, where she previously served as Director of the Black Studies Program and Provost Fellow for Diversity and Inclusion. She's also worked as an associate and assistant professor in SIU's Department of Historical Studies. She has worked with students as a lecturer at Cornell University and as an instructor at Ithaca College's Pre-Freshman Summer Program. Harris has earned awards including the Dillard University 40 Under 40, the SIUE Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award, and the SIUE Phenomenal Woman Award. She is a member of the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, and the Association of Black Women Historians. Harris earned both her PhD and Master of Arts in history from Cornell University and her Bachelor of Arts from Dillard University.
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission
Frank Brady will serve as an Arbitrator for the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission.* Frank Brady has dedicated his career to working families in Illinois. He has been practicing law for over forty years, where he focuses on worker's compensation defense. Earlier in his career, Brady represented clients in a variety of areas including civil and criminal matters, personal injury, and employment disputes. He has also tried cases to jury and bench verdicts before the State and Federal Courts. Brady eventually concentrated his practice on the defense of Illinois Business Against Workers' Compensation claims. He has been recognized as the Illinois Leading Lawyers in 2016 and was also chosen as one of the top ten Workers' Compensation Defense Attorneys (WCDA) in Illinois by Leading Lawyers. Brady received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and his Juris Doctorate from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
Kathryn Doerries will serve as Commissioner on the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission.* Kathryn Doerries has been a Commissioner since 2019, and previously served as a Disciplinary Officer for the Cook County Sheriff's Office. Prior to this, she worked for the Illinois Attorney General's Office in the Industrial Commission Bureau, initially as an Assistant Attorney General and rose to the rank of Bureau Chief. In her time at the Attorney General's Office, Doerries defended state agencies before the IWCC and represented them in insurance non-compliance matters before the Circuit Court of Cook County. She is a current member of the Wheaton Group Care Home Commission and the Wheaton Mosquito Abatement Board. Doerries received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and her Juris Doctorate from the UIC John Marshall Law School.
Michael Brennan has been serving the state of Illinois for over forty years. His career started in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, where he was responsible for the prosecution of debt actions and defense of the Department of Revenue. He also served as Assistant and Acting Division Chief, which was responsible for the prosecution of Medicaid Provider Fraud in Illinois. Brennan first joined the Commissioner in 2013, and in 2019, was appointed as the Chairman of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. As Chairman, he completed procedural changes leading to the creating and execution of a paperless filing system for the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. He has been awarded by his peers numerous times, including being named Chicago Magazine's Top Attorneys in Illinois and Chicago Tribune's Chicago's Best Lawyers in 2011. Brennan received his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate degrees from DePaul University.
Marc Parker will continue to serve as a Commissioner of the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission.* Marc Parker has been committed to working families for over thirty years. He has experience handling workers' compensation and personal injury cases at Parker Law P.C. He has also served as Madison County Assistant State's Attorney and was the Township Attorney for Collinsville, Simmons, Hanly, and Conroy Township before being appointed as a Commissioner to the Compensation Board in 2019. Parker has been a youth basketball, baseball, softball, and volleyball coach for the past 25 years. He received his Bachelor of Science from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and his Juris Doctorate from St. Louis University School of Law.
Maria Portela will continue to serve as a Commissioner of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission.* Maria Portela started her career over twenty years ago as an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago. She currently serves as Commissioner for the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. Before this, Portela provided legal counsel at Thomas & Portela as the Senior Trial Attorney and Supervising Attorney, where she successfully litigated all aspects of workers' compensation cases. She is currently a member of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association. As a Cuban refugee, Portela brings a very unique skill and perspective to the Commission. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Northwestern University and her Juris Doctorate from Drake University Law School.
Illinois Prisoner Review Board
Donald Shelton will continue to serve as a Member of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.* Donald Shelton has served in law enforcement for over twenty-five years. He has been a board member since 2012 and has brought a wealth of knowledge to the board. Spending a majority of his career policing the City of Champaign, Shelton has experience as a patrolman, juvenile officer, general crimes investigator, crime scene unit, and retired as a patrol sergeant. As sergeant, he assisted in teaching a Basic Investigative Photography course for many downstate police departments. He has experience teaching crime scene processing and investigative photography as an adjunct professor at Suburban Law Enforcement Academy at the College of DuPage. Shelton received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Parkland College.
Ken Tupy will continue to serve as a Member of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.* Ken Tupy has over twenty years of legal experience. Prior to joining the Prisoner Review Board, Tupy was the Chief Legal Counsel, handling all litigation issues and assisting in the training of board members and parole agents. Tupy has experience as the Staff Attorney on Judiciary II Committee and is active in his community as a member of the Little Flower Men's Club, American Business Club, and the Knights of Columbus. Tupy graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois Champaign and a Juris Doctorate from John Marshall Law School.
Human Rights Commission
Barbara Barreno-Paschall will continue to serve as a Commissioner of the Illinois Human Rights Commission.* Barreno-Paschall is an accomplished, well-respected attorney and policy advocate. She is currently serving as the Vice Chair on the Human Rights commission and has been a member since 2019. She previously served as Senior Staff Attorney with the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights in the Housing Opportunity Project, and previously worked as an Employment and Labor Associate at the law firm Sidley Austin LLP, where she received the firm's highest pro bono honor for her representation of immigrants seeking asylum. Barreno-Paschall serves on the Kenwood Academy High School Local School Council as a Community Representative,is a recipient of the Hispanic National Bar Association's 2019 Top Lawyers Under 40 Award, and has received the Chicago Scholars' 2018 35 Under 35 Young Leaders Making an Impact Award. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies from Harvard College, her Master's in Public Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, and her Juris Doctorate from Vanderbilt Law School.
State Board of Education
Steven Isoye will continue to serve as a Member of the State Board of Election.* Dr. Steven Isoye brings over twenty years of teaching experience to the board, most recently serving as Superintendent of Niles Township High School District 219. Prior to that, he served as Superintendent of Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200, Principal at Maine East and Warren Township High School, and Department Chair at Highland Park High School, where he taught for three years. He also taught chemistry, biology, and physical science across twelve years at Deerfield High School, Warren Township High School, The Latin School of Chicago, and Loyola Academy. In addition to his experience in the classroom and administration, Dr. Isoye served on numerous boards and committees throughout his distinguished career. This includes serving as chair and vice chair of the Board of Trustees at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, and as member of the Illinois State Board of Education's State Assessment Review Committee. He also served with the Illinois Association of School Administrators COVID SWAT Team, and currently serves on the Illinois State Board of Education's Performance Evaluation Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Educational League of Illinois, Illinois Association for School Administrators, American Association of School Administrators, National State Teachers of the Year, and Illinois State Teachers of the year. He has also received numerous honors including Illinois High School Principal of the Year in 2010, Illinois Teacher of the Year in 1998, Jackson Scholar in 2006, Milken Foundation National Educator award in 1997, and Illinois Science Teachers' Association Award of Excellence in Secondary Science Teaching in both 1993 and 1995. Dr. Isoye is a retired educator and administrator who holds degrees in biology, educational administration, and educational leadership from Northern Illinois University and a degree in curriculum from Concordia University.
* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.
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