Gov. Blagojevich appoints new members to Arts Council and Gaming Board

"Sheila, Joe, and James are dedicated public servants who will bring their integrity and enthusiasm to the make up of their respective groups," said Gov. Blagojevich. "I'm honored that they accepted my invitation to serve the citizens of Illinois, and I look forward to their work."

 

Sheila Simon, daughter of the late U.S. Senator Paul Simon, is a law professor at Southern Illinois University (SIU) where she is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor for Lawyering Skills.  She is also a current member of the Carbondale City Council, and has served on various boards in Southern Illinois, including the Women's Center and League of Women Voters.  Simon was originally one of Gov. Blagojevich's nominees to serve on the Illinois Gaming Board, however she is unable to serve due to existing conflict of interest rules.

 

"As an amateur musician and supporter of the arts, I'm thrilled to be joining the Arts Council," said Simon.

 

As a self-described student of the violin, Simon has been active in coordinating the John Thomas String Program with the Carbondale School District. The program provides second graders in Carbondale with the opportunity to take violin lessons with a master teacher from the SIU School of Music. Students of the School of Music also help with the program.

 

"The state is most fortunate to have a person of the high caliber of Sheila Simon to serve on the IAC. Her extensive knowledge and commitment to the arts and to humanitarian endeavors will bring a unique voice to our mission," said Shirley Madigan, Chair of the Illinois Arts Council. "How appropriate that 40 years after her father, the late Senator Paul Simon, sponsored the legislation creating the Illinois Arts Council, Sheila will join us in carrying forth the legacy her father began."

 

The Illinois Arts Council mission is to cultivate the arts in the lives of all Illinoisans through responsive service to the state's diverse people and communities.  The council is comprised of twenty-one private citizens from throughout Illinois who are appointed by the Governor.  Members serve in a voluntary capacity for four-year terms, developing the state's public arts policy, fostering quality culturally diverse programs and approving grants expenditures.  Simon's term will end on July 1, 2009.

 

The Governor tapped James E. Sullivan, a private practice attorney in Chicago, to serve on the Illinois Gaming Board. Before private practice, Sullivan was Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County.  Before his time on the bench, he was an Assistant State's Attorney of Cook County. Sullivan also teaches at both the Northwestern School of Law and Loyola School of Law.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, and his law degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

"I appreciate being invited by the Governor to serve on the Gaming Board, and I look forward to working with the other members," said Sullivan.

The Governor also appointed Joe Moore, Jr., from Chicago, to the Illinois Gaming Board. A 30-year employee of Shell Oil Company, Moore served as Manager of Community Relations overseeing the company's local education program.  He now operates the Moore Group, a public affairs group specializing in social investment strategy and public policy.  Moore is active on several boards, including the Illinois Service Federal Saving and Loan, Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, and the Cosmopolitan Chamber of Commerce.  He is a graduate of Illinois Institute of Technology.