Gov. Pritzker Announces Sixteen Appointments to Illinois Boards and Commissions

Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker announced the following appointments in his administration:
 

An-Me Chung will serve on the Community College Board.* Since 2018 Chung has worked as a consultant to non-profit organizations such as New America, The Dr. Suess Foundation and the George W. Bush Presidential Center. Prior to this, she served as the Director of Strategic Partnership at the Mozilla Foundation. She also worked as Associate Director of Education at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. She previously served as Program Officer at the C.S. Mott Foundation. Chung received her Bachelor of Science from Washington University in St. Louis and PhD from Yale University. 

 
HEALTH FACILITIES AND SERVICES REVIEW BOARD

 
Debra Savage will continue to serve as the Chair of the Health Facilities and Services Review Board.* Since 1990, Savage has been a Registered Nurse practicing in hospitals and home health agencies in Illinois and various other states as a staff nurse, charge nurse, nurse manager, nurse director and clinical application specialist. Since 2013, she has served as a nursing professor and Assistant Dean at Chamberlain University and as adjunct nursing instructor for Governors State University. Savage is elected as a Will County Regional Office of Education Trustee and is a member of the Exchange Club of Northern Will County, the American Organization of Nursing Leadership and the American Nurses Association as well as the past Section Chair for the Association of Women's Health, Obstetrics & Neonatal Nurses. Savage holds a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Rush University and a Master of Science in nursing administration and education from the University of Phoenix. 

 
WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION

 
Joseph Amarilio will continue to serve as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission.* Amarilio has served as an Arbitrator on the Commission since his original appointment in 2019. Previously, Amarilio was a Partner at Elfenbaum, Evers, Amarilio and Zielinska, representing injured workers and their families. In addition, he worked as an Attorney at Amarilio and Weinstein, Jack Ring and Associates, McKenna, Storer, Rowe, White and Farrug, as well as his own namesake firm. Amarilio also spent time at the Cook County Mandatory Arbitration Program as the Chair Qualified Arbitrator.  He is a member of the Workers' Injury Law and Advocacy Group, Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association and the Illinois Trial Lawyers' Association. Amarilio earned his Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School and Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University. 
 
Crystal Caison will serve as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission.* Caison is a Senior Public Service Administrator with the Illinois Department of Employment Security and a Panel Arbitrator for the State of Illinois. She previously served as a contract Attorney for the Secretary of State, an Inspector General with the State Treasurer, a Law Clerk with the Supreme Court, and as a Community Relations Specialist for the Cook County State Attorney's office. Caison is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the Black Women's Lawyers Association, and is a pro bono Attorney for Chicago Volunteer Legal Services. Caison received her Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School and Bachelor's from Dominican University. 
 
Paul Cellini will continue to serve as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission.* Cellini has served as an Arbitrator on the Commission since his original appointment in 2015. Prior to his tenure as an Arbitrator, Cellini was responsible for supporting the work of commissioners through the summary and analysis of case records, legal research and the drafting of decisions and orders in his position as Staff Attorney to the Workers' Compensation Commission. Cellini has amassed years of private experience as well in his work as Senior Counsel at Holecek & Associates from 2007-2014. Cellini serves his community as the Board Vice President and Attorney on the Thomas Cellini Huntington's Foundation, an organization which raises funds to support individuals in the local community who have been affected by Huntington's Disease. Cellini received his Juris Doctorate from John Marshall Law School and Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 
 
Stephen Friedman will continue to serve as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission.* Friedman has served as an Arbitrator on the Commission since his original appointment in 2014. Prior to his service, Friedman worked for Rusin, Maciorowski & Friedman, beginning as an Attorney and working his way up to become a Managing Partner and CFO. Throughout the course of his leadership, Friedman mentored and trained associate attorneys while handling hundreds of cases pertaining to workers' compensation and employer liability law across the State. Friedman received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Law and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 
 
Gerald Granada will continue to serve as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission.* Granada has served as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission since his original appointment in 2011. Prior to his work as an Arbitrator, Granada had a long career in the area of workers' compensation law. From 2003 to 2011 he worked at Ancel Glink Diamond, Bush, DiCianni & Kraftheffer, P.C., where he represented municipalities in workers' compensation cases. He previously served as Staff Legal Counsel at Liberty Mutual Group and as an Associate at Cullen, Haskins, Nicholson & Menchetti, P.C. Granada has been involved in the Lyons Club, the Asian American Bar Association, and the Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association, He received the 2002 and 2012 DePaul College of Law Outstanding Alumni Award. Granada received his Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law and Bachelor of Arts from DePaul University.
 
Jessica Hegarty willcontinue to serve as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission.* Hegarty has served as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission since her original appointment in 2014. Prior to her work as an Arbitrator, Hegarty was an Associate and then a Partner at Hegarty & Hegarty as a plaintiff's attorney in the areas of personal injury, product liability, and medical malpractice litigation. From 2000 to 2004, she served as an Assistant State's Attorney in the Office of the Cook County State's Attorney. Hegarty received her Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law and Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University.
 
Adam Hinrichs will continue to serve as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission.* Hinrichs has served as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission since his original appointment in 2019. Prior to his appointment, he served as an Equity Partner at Elfenbaum, Evers and Amarilio from 2007 to 2014, where he handled every aspect of case management, including appeals and arbitrations with the Workers' Compensation Commission. He previously worked as a Contract Attorney for Legal People. Hinrichs was a member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and Workers Compensation Lawyers Association from 2008 to 2014. Hinrichs earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois Colle of Law and Bachelor of Arts from Beloit College. 
 
Jeffrey Huebsch willcontinue to serve as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission.* Huebsch has served as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission since his original appointment in 2014. He previously worked at Power & Cronin, Ltd. from 1984 to 2013. He practiced civil litigation, insurance defense, and workers' compensation defense. Huebsch has given lectures and presentations on topics within workers' compensation law. Huebsch received his Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law and Bachelor of Arts from North Central College. 
 
Nina Mariano will serve as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission.* Mariano is a Trial Attorney at Krakar & Olsen, specializing in Workers' Compensation Insurance Defense. She previously served as an Associate Attorney at Evans & Dixon and an Associate Attorney at Boudreau & Nisivaco. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association, Illinois State Bar Association, Hellenic Bar Association, and the Justinian Society of Lawyers. Mariano received her Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University and Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University. 
 
Maureen Pulia will continue to serve as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission.* Pulia has served as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission since her original appointment in 2003. Prior to her appointment, she served the Workers' Compensation Commission as a Staff Attorney for six years where she drafted rules and procedural memoranda in addition to overseeing the supervision of legal staff and reviewing cases for the Commissioners. Pulia has been an active member of her community, serving as the Coordinator of the Evacuation Center during the flood in 2010 alongside her regular involvement in local festivals and community efforts to maintain and beautify the community of Westchester. Pulia received her Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law and Bachelor of Science from DePaul University. 
 

 
Sarah Alter will continue to serve on the Lottery Control Board.* Alter has served the Lottery Control Board since her appointment in 2019. Alter was named President and CEO of the Network of Executive Women in June 2017 and has wide-ranging experience in the retail, financial services and technology markets. As Vice President of Discover Financial Services, Alter led the product strategy for all credit card features, benefits and services. As Vice President for digital sales and marketing at Quill.com, she helped transform the business, increasing its digital sales. In her last job — Chief Marketing Officer for General Growth Properties — Alter developed and executed marketing strategies for 200 shopping mall properties and their top retailers. Alter has served on a number of non-profit boards and is an accomplished fundraiser. She is an organizer of Chicago's annual JDRF Gala, which has raised millions of dollars for Type 1 diabetes. She earned her Master of Business Arts from Harvard Business School and her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Northwestern University. 

 
POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

 
Barbara Flynn Currie will continue to serve as Chair on the Pollution Control Board.* Curries has served the Pollution Control Board since her appointment in 2019. After forty years of service, Currie retired from the Illinois House of Representatives after serving as the first female House Majority Leader in state history. She sponsored the state's first Freedom of Information Act and the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit. Currie was a champion for clean air and water, and she spearheaded reforms in state funding for public education and in the juvenile justice system. She's been honored by many organizations including the Illinois ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Illinois AFL-CIO, Illinois Environmental Council, Friends of the Parks, the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence and the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. Currie earned her Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago.
 
Cynthia Santos will continue to serve on the Pollution Control Board.* Santos has served the Pollution Control Board since her appointment in 2016 determining, defining and implementing environmental control standards for Illinois and adjudicating non-criminal complaints. Prior to her appointment, Santos served twenty years as an elected Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. During her tenure, she was instrumental in the development of the District's Stormwater Management Program. She also served as the District's representative on the City of Chicago's Public Building Commission where she was involved in the construction of numerous schools, libraries, and police and fire stations. Santos earned her Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts from Northeastern Illinois University. 

 
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

 
Nike Vieille will serve on the State Board of Education.* Vieille served as a teacher in CUSD 300 in Algonquin, IL for over forty years and previously taught at Oakton Community College, Holy Trinity High School in Chicago, and Naperville Central High School. She has been a member of the Mid-Western Educational Research Association and has volunteered for the March of Dimes. Vieille received her Doctor of Education from Argosy University, Master of Education from the University of Illinois-Chicago, and Bachelor of Arts from American University. 
 
* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.