Commission & Staff

​​​​The EEC is a nine-member commission. Five commissioners are appointed by the Governor, and one commissioner each is appointed from the Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer. No more than five commissioners may be of the same political party. The Commission meets at least once each month to perform its statutory duties. These duties include:

• conducting administrative hearings on alleged violations of the Ethics Act
• preparing public information to facilitate compliance with ethic laws
• providing guidance to Ethics Officers
• receiving reports of activity from Executive Inspectors General
• receiving reports of ex parte communications from Ethics Officers
• overseeing the annual ethics training for all employees of the executive branch of State Government.

Commission

Image	Member
	Walter P. Turner, III Treasurer's appointee from Flossmoor.
	Patty Schuh Attorney General's appointee from Springfield. Patty had a long and distinguished career in state government, including experience in both the legislative and executive branches. She served as a Deputy Chief of Staff in the Governor’s Office, after more than three decades of experience working in the Illinois Senate.
	Amalia Rioja - Chair Comptroller's appointee from River Forest.  Amalia has more than 25 years of professional experience in the law, government, philanthropy, business, and civic affairs.  Amalia is an attorney with Rioja LLC, where her practice focuses on corporate governance, government relations and public-private partnerships. She previously served as a Deputy Chief of Staff in the Governor's Office, Acting Public Access Counselor in the Attorney General's Office and Deputy General Counsel in the Comptroller's Office.
	Maria Kuzas Secretary of State appointee from Chicago.  Maria is a master's prepared nurse with clinical and leadership experience in home health, hospice care, community outreach and business development.  Maria is part of the care management team at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.
	Cara Hendrickson Governor’s appointee from Oak Park. Cara Hendrickson was named the Executive Director of Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI) in January 2020. Previously, she was a partner at Massey & Gail, LLP and prior to that served as the Division Chief of the Public Interest Division of the Illinois Attorney General's Office
	Allison Powers Governor's appointee from Chicago. Allison N. Powers is an experienced litigator with expertise in discrimination and harassment claims in both the private and public sectors. More than a litigator, Allison is a strategic partner to her clients. As such, she devotes a significant portion of her practice to counseling clients facing a variety of workplace challenges. Having served on the #MeToo practice group and Diversity and Inclusion task forces, Allison has, in recent years, expanded her practice to include handling sensitive workplace investigations and projects related to developing diversity strategy. Amidst the current public interest in racial justice and equality issues, Allison has also been involved in diversity and inclusion “crisis” investigations.
	Teresa Bartels - Vice-chair Governor's appointee from Mundelein. Teresa is President of Gateway for Cancer Research, following a career in both the non-profit (United Way International, United Way of America and United Way of Lake County, IL) and business sectors (former Manpower franchises in northern IL and Northern MN.) Teresa has been active in numerous organizations concerned with secondary and higher education, early childhood intervention, sexual abuse prevention and treatment, and patient-centered cancer care.
	Patricia Yadgir Governor's appointee from Woodridge. Patricia Bakalis Yadgir served on the Illinois Human Rights Commission, responsible for investigating charges of discrimination filed in the state of Illinois, for the last eight years.  Her career in the field of education expands over 30 years.  Ms. Yadgir holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling Education from Northern Illinois University.  She had taught at the early childhood level and was a counselor/professor at College of DuPage for over 20 years. She has authored two books on ethics; one for primary-aged children and one for junior high/high school aged youth.  Currently Ms. Yadgir serves as Chief Administrative Officer for American Quality Schools, a not-for-profit educational management organization.
	Cynthia Ervin - Secretary Governor's appointee from Illiopolis. Cynthia Ervin is the Associate General Counsel for Corporate Services and M & A at Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, one of the world's largest agricultural processors and food ingredient providers. Prior to joining ADM in 2006, Ervin served in a number of legal positions in Illinois State government, including as General Counsel for Illinois Department of Agriculture, Attorney to the chairman for the Illinois Pollution Control Board, Assistant Attorney General, and law clerk to Illinois Supreme Court Justice Benjamin K. Miller.

Staff

• Michelle Casey, Executive Director - Michelle Casey was appointed by the Executive Ethics Commission effective December 18, 2019 after serving as Interim Executive Director since October 18, 2019.  Michelle brings several years of consultancy experience from the private sector to State government.  Michelle also has several years of experience in State government, including as an attorney in the executive branch and the legislative branch and as a Senior Policy Advisor and State Purchasing Officer for Chief Procurement Office - General Services.  Michelle earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Organizational Management) from University of Illinois - Urbana/Champaign, a Juris Doctor from The George Washington University School of Law, and a Master of Laws - Taxation from Northwestern University School of Law. Michelle.Casey@Illinois.gov    
  

• Stephen Rotello, General Counsel - Stephen Rotello has had a long career in State government, including time as Deputy Director of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Senior Assistant Attorney General, and most recently as a State Purchasing Officer for Public Institutions of Higher Education. Stephen.Rotello@illinois.gov    
  

• Lisa Nobles SHRM-SCP, Human Resources Director - Lisa has over a decade of human resources experience in both private and public sectors, specializing in process improvement, HRIS management, and employment compliance. She is an experienced negotiator and recruiter, and most recently, Lisa served as Human Resources Manager for a public school district serving over 1,800 employees. Lisa earned her Master of Business Administration – Human Resources Management degree in 2013. Lisa.Nobles@illinois.gov
  
• Barbara Myers, Chief Counsel for Procurement - Barbara joined the Executive Ethics Commission in May of 2017 and has served as the EEC's Chief Counsel for Procurement since October 2020. Immediately prior to joining the EEC, Barbara worked for several years as a litigator in the Springfield office of a national law firm. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism. Barbara.Myers@illinois.gov