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.
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Member |
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James D. Nowlan - Vice Chairman
Treasurer's appointee from Toulon. A former Illinois House member, state agency director and aide to three governors, Jim Nowlan is president of Stark County Communications. |
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Sunny P. Chico
Governor's appointee from Chicago, Sunny Chico is a lifelong educator, parent advocate and President of SPC Educational Solutions. She has also served as Regional Director for the US Department of Education. |
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James Faught - Secretary
Comptroller's appointee from Wilmette. James Faught is the Associate Dean for Administration at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. |
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Shawn W. Denney
Attorney General's appointee from Springfield. Father Shawn Denney is Archdeacon of the Springfield, Illinois Diocese of the Episcopal Church and former Senior Counsel to the Illinois Attorney General. |
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Maria Kuzas
Secretary of State appointee from Chicago. Maria is a registered nurse with a clinical and management background in home health, hospice care, patient satisfaction and community education. Maria works in business development for Midwest Palliative and Hospice Care Center. |
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Gil Soffer - Chairman
Governor's appointee from Evanston. Gil Soffer is the Co-Chair of the National White Collar Practice at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, and a former Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States. |
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Matthew Berns
Governor's appointee from Highland Park. Matthew Berns is General Counsel to Hu-Friedy Mfg. Co., an Illinois-based manufacturer of dental instruments. |
Staff
· Chad Fornoff, Executive Director - Chad Fornoff is a former Illinois Assistant Attorney General and was most recently Chief Legal Counsel to the Illinois Court of Claims. Chad.Fornoff@illinois.gov
· Whitney Wagner Rosen, Deputy Executive Director - Whitney is a graduate of the University of IL at Urbana-Champaign (B.A., 1988) and Washington University in St. Louis School of Law (J.D., 1991). Ms. Rosen most recently served as Chief Legal Counsel to the IL Office of the Comptroller (2002-2010). Whitney.Rosen@illinois.gov
· Timothy R. Burch, CPA, Chief Financial Officer - Graduate of MacMurray College (B.S. Accountancy and Business Administration, 1980), most recently served as a Procurement Compliance Monitor for the EEC. Prior to that was the Manager of Bond and Lease Reporting in the Financial Reporting Division of the Illinois Office of the Comptroller. Tim.Burch@illinois.gov
· Jeris Gordley, Office Manager - Jeris Gordley is a 26-year employee of the Illinois Secretary of State where she worked in the Court of Claims division and directed the Employee of the Month program for the entire agency. Jeris.Gordley@illinois.gov
· Craig P. Williams II, Chief Information & Compliance Officer - Craig is a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (B.S.in Accountancy, 2007). Mr. Williams most recently served as a Procurement Compliance Monitor for the EEC, and previously worked at Sikich LLP as an auditor. Craig.Williams@illinois.gov