Press Release - Monday, August 28, 2023
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Gov. Pritzker Announces Six Appointments to Boards and Commissions
Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker announced the following appointments in his administration
Prisoner Review Board
William Delgado will serve as a Member on the Prisoner Review Board.* Delgado was initially elected to the Illinois House of Representatives to represent the 3rd District and served until 2006 when he was appointed as State Senator to represent the 2nd District. He continued to serve until his retirement from the legislature in 2016. Throughout his tenure in both the House and Senate, Delgado worked on an array of policy areas ranging from the justice system to economic reform. He served on the Special Committee on Prison Reform, served as the House Chair for the Commission on Criminal Law and Human Services, was a Chief Sponsor of the Certificate of Innocence legislation, and cosponsored the repeal of the death penalty. Prior to his elected service, Delgado was a public servant, working in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and the Office of the Attorney General. Delgado has been recognized for his legislative work by the Community Behavioral Health Association, the Raise Illinois Coalition, the Coalition of Illinois Counselor Organizations, and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Delgado earned a Bachelor of Arts from Northeastern Illinois University.
Illinois Finance Authority
James Randal Wexler will continue to serve as a Member on the Illinois Finance Authority.* Wexler brings 25 years of experience as a litigator, business advisor, and FDA regulatory lawyer. He currently serves as Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary for Van Drunen Farms/FutureCeuticals (collectively, "VDF"). Prior to joining VDF in 2015, he spent over 15 years at Sidley Austin, a global law firm where he was an FDA regulatory lawyer and litigator managing complex litigation and counseling companies in the food, supplement, and drug sectors as they managed their interactions with FDA regulators. Wexler has previously served as a long-standing board member of the Chicago Council of Lawyers, an organization focused on pro-bono projects promoting systemic reforms focused on access to justice, including immigration court/criminal justice reform. Wexler earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Yale University and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School.
Susan Abrams will serve as a Member on the Illinois Finance Authority.* Abrams is a recognized business and community leader who is passionate about guiding companies and not-for-profits to capitalize on market opportunities for transformative growth and innovation. As CEO of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center (IHMEC), Abrams guided the museum's application of cutting-edge technology in interactive survivor holograms featured on CBS's 60 Minutes, and in VR products which enabled global scaling and transformed the IHMEC from a regional player to an international leader. Previously, she served as COO of JCC Chicago, President of the award-winning JCA Properties, Consultant at McKinsey & Company, and Analyst at Goldman Sachs. She is the author of The New Success Rules for Women: 10 Surefire Strategies for Reaching Your Career Goals, published by Random House and speaks regularly on leadership, women's business success, and leveraging technology. She has served on the boards of IHMEC, Chicago Children's Museum, and Leadership Illinois. She earned her a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania and her Master of Business Administration from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.
Steven Landek will serve as a Member on the Illinois Finance Authority.* Landek has over 30 years of distinguished public service experience in both the legislative and executive branches of government. Landek's work has been at the intersection of the private and public sectors. He has demonstrated expertise in bond issuances, employee pension management, public budgeting, and rating agency presentations. He currently serves as the Mayor of Bridgeview, a community with 16,000 residents and over 200+ businesses of various sizes. A former State Senator, Landek represented an ethnically and economically diverse district, including ten unique municipalities, multiple school districts, and numerous other governmental entities and businesses. Landek is the Chairman of Southwest Regional Publishing. He received his Bachelor of Arts in public administration from Roosevelt University.
Lottery Control Board
Diana Leza Sheehan will continue to serve as a Member on the Lottery Control Board.* Sheehan is a market research, sales, and business strategy executive with over 20 years of corporate, consulting, and management experience. She is the CEO & Principal of PDG Insights, a retail strategy and consumer insights firm. Prior to the launch of her company, Sheehan was the Global Vice President of Growth and Partner Strategy at InContext Solutions. She previously spent four years at Kantar Group, serving as the Vice President of Client Leadership, Vice President of Retail & Shopper Insights, Director of Retail Insights, and Vice President of Client Development. She's also worked in a variety of roles across the private sector, including time with ConAgra Foods, Ipsos Marketing, Mintel International, Nielsen, Willard Bishop Consulting, and General Mills. Sheehan earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.
Illinois Gaming Board
Anthony Garcia will continue to serve as a Member on the Illinois Gaming Board.* Garcia serves as Senior Counsel for litigation and investigations at the Boeing Company where he supervises internal investigations in areas including the False Claims Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the Anti-Kickback Statute. He previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois where he investigated and prosecuted violations of narcotics and weapons statutes, murder for hire, and fraud and export control statutes. Garcia also spent seven years at the U.S. Department of Justice, five years as a trial attorney for the Office of International Affairs and Counterespionage Section, and two years as an attaché in Mexico City working closely with senior U.S. and Mexican officials to combat transnational crime. Garcia earned both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate from the University of Wyoming.
* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.
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