Blagojevich Unveils List of Chairs, Vice-Chairs of Issues-Based Transition Committees

RELEASE DATE: December 3, 2002

CHICAGO - Governor-elect Rod Blagojevich moved forward today with his transition efforts as he announced his selections of the individuals who will lead sixteen issues-based advisory panels that will present policy options to him and help him craft a detailed agenda as he prepares to take office.

Blagojevich named today the chairs and vice-chairs of the committees that will be assigned to study a comprehensive set of the most urgent policy areas that Blagojevich is likely to address as governor. The leaders of the 16 committees include people with valuable experience in the private sector, academics, issue advocacy, as well as in state, local and federal government.

In crafting policy options, the committee chairs and vice-chairs will build upon the comprehensive set of substantive issues-based proposals that Blagojevich presented as a candidate during the recent campaign.

Blagojevich said that he was gratified that the pool of individuals chosen for the leadership positions included people with outstanding credentials and that the group reflects the broad diversity of the state.

"This list includes people who are leaders in their fields and represent every part of the state of Illinois and the wide array of communities that give Illinois its energy and character," he said.

"I am confident that they will help me create a state government that is responsive to the needs of every household, every family, every worker every student and every senior in our state," he said.

Today's announcement marks the third occasion during the gubernatorial transition where Blagojevich has called upon top policy experts to address specific sets of issues. He previously unveiled a budget team assigned to look in detail at the state's fiscal condition and report to him on Illinois' budget condition. Likewise, last week, he also named a special task force that will report to him on the current line-up of state boards and commissions.

The 16 issue-areas into which the list of committees is divided are: agriculture; civil rights; consumer affairs and regulatory policy; crime, public safety and anti-terrorism; economic development; education (K-12); environment, energy and natural resources; ethics; health; higher education; housing; labor; local government; social services; streamlining government; and transportation and infrastructure.

The committees will each submit a report to the governor-elect prior to his inauguration in mid-January. The reports will address the immediate challenges that the state faces in each area, and options suggesting how the governor-elect can enact many of the policy goals he outlined during the campaign. The committees will also open a long-term dialogue between the administration and the policy and advocacy community throughout the state.

"I am looking forward to gaining the insights of these leaders who have distinguished themselves in their fields. Their hard work during this period will help me build on the blueprint for change that I presented as a candidate, and provide further details on the current condition of the state in all areas," he said.

The committees will be linked to the transition team by senior policy advisors who will help coordinate the panels' work. The senior advisors are:

Dan Burkhalter, government relations director, Illinois Education Association; Barry Maram, an attorney at Foley & Lardner who previously served as executive director of the Illinois Health Facility Authority and an associate director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, and has taught at the IIT-Kent Law School; Avis LaVelle, senior partner for the Foster Group and vice president of the Chicago Board of Education, who formerly served as Vice President of Government and Public Affairs for the University of Chicago Hospitals, and as former Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and Leo Smith, an attorney and founder of the Illinois Birth to Five Political Action Committee, and former CFO for the Ounce of Prevention Fund.

A complete list of chairs and vice-chairs of the sixteen committees follows.

Rep. Chuck Hartke (co-chair), 108th Legislative District, Assistant Majority Leader; Joe Sullivan (co-chair), co-founder, former CEO, and Chairman of The Vigoro Corporation; Joe Alford, Illinois Farmer's Union Executive Board Member; Jill Appell, Board of Directors of National Pork Producers Council and Past President, Illinois Pork Producers Association; Carlos Arango, Executive Director of Casa Aztlan; David Erickson, soy bean farmer and former President of Illinois Soybean Association; Jeanne Harland, beef producer and President of Extension Partners; Ron Miller, President Williams Bio-Energy and serves as Vice Chairman of the Renewable Fuels Association; Rep. Mary K. O'Brien , 75th District; Rev. Al Sampson, President of Agricultural Improvement Project and Founder Metropolitan Area Council of Black Churches; James Slama, President of Sustain and founding publisher of Conscious Choice Magazine.

Vera G. Davis (co-chair), President, West Side Branch NAACP; Martin King (co-chair), Chairman of the Board, PUSH; Dianne Meeks, Board Member, City of Carbondale Task Force on Race Relations, and Southern Illinois Regional Career Preparation Program for students 10-16; JB Pritzker, Managing Director and a Founder of New World Ventures; Jim Snyder, General Counsel, Illinois Human Rights Commission; Sunida K. Sujata, Executive Director, Apna Ghar; Judy Gold, Director of the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women; Joanne Tripani, President Village of Oak Park; Ald. Carrie Austin, member of Chicago City Council, 34th Ward; Steven Elrod, partner in law firm of Holland & Knight, Corporation Counsel City of Highland Park; Marca Bristo, President & CEO of Access Living Chicago.

John Mitola (co-chair), CEO Electric City Corporation; Charles Hill (co-chair), President and CEO of Charles Hill and Associates, Chairman of the Board Woodstock Institute; Ron Kastner (co-chair), President, Business Manager and Financial Secretary, Int. Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 21; Alberto A. Carrero, Jr., Senior Vice President, Banco Popular; Bhailal Patel, President, Laxmi Financial Services, President of the National Federation of Indian American Associations, Andy Davis, Chairman and CEO of Rock Island Company of Chicago; David Vaught, attorney and Chartered Financial Analyst; Deirdre Manna, Assistant Vice-President, State Affairs, Midwest Region, American Insurance Association; William McNary, President of USAction; Co-Director of Citizen Action/Illinois; William Bonam, co-founder and general counsel for Market Street Bancshares, Inc; Diane Glenn, President, North Lawndale Community Bank; Phil Johnson, real estate broker, president of Kenneth Johnson Agency; State Rep. Skip Saviano, Chair, House Registration & Regulation Committee; State Rep. Dan Burke, Vice Chair, House Financial Institutions Committee.

Ted Street (co-chair), President State FOP; Diane Williams (co-chair), President and CEO of the SAFER Foundation; Sen. George Shadid, State Senator from 44th District, former sherrif; Tom Needham, attorney with Baird and Needham, member of the Governor's Commission on the Death Penalty, former Chief of Staff for Chicago Police Superintendent; Polly Poskin, President of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault; Rev. George Henderson, President, West Side Ministers Conference, Greater Garfield Baptist Church; Melody Heaps, Founder and President of TASC, Inc. (Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities); Roger Walker, Macon County Sheriff; Gary Slutkin, Founding Director Violence Prevention Project; Basil Doyle, VP Goldman Sachs and CO., formerly represented the Chicago FBI on the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Policy Domestic Terrorism Mutual Aid Committee; Dave Foreman, President of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois; Matt Bettenhausen, Homeland Security Director for Illinois; serves as Deputy Governor for Criminal Justice and Public Safety; Cortez Trotter, Executive Director, Mayor's office of Emergency Communication City of Chicago; Peter Garza, President of Hispanic Illinois State Law Enforcement Association; Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Vincent Barnes (co-chair), Executive Director of Rebirth of Englewood Community Development Corporation; Paul O'Connor (co-chair), Executive Director of World Business Chicago; State Sen. Larry D. Woolard (co-chair), 59th District, member of the Committee on Agriculture and Conservation; David Vite, President of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (co-chair); Julie Moore, President, Chamber of Commerce for Decatur and Macon County; Jaime Cain-Casimere, Publisher of the Times Weekly Newspaper and member, Will County Workforce Investment Board; Michael T. Carrigan, Secretary-Treasurer of Illinois AFL-CIO; David Chicoine, University of Illinois, Vice President for Economic Development and Corporate Relations; Rep. Constance "Connie" Howard, 32nd District; Michael Kelleher, Director of the Unit for Community and Economic Development, Illinois State University; Anne Ladky, founding member and Executive Director of Women Employed; Bruce Liametennen, Chief Executive Officer of Finkl Steel; Matt Melucci, Clerk of the Circuit Court, Third Judicial Circuit, Madison County; Juan Ochoa, President and CEO of Mexican American Chamber of Commerce; Diane Voneida, President of Voneida and Associates and former Executive Director of Rockford Community Development Commission; State Representative Wyvetter H. Younge, 114th District; Joseph Gregoire, Regional President, National City Bank; Rev. Timothy Criss, Senior Pastor, City of Refuge Worship Center, President & CEO of "The Galleria" incubator project; Larry F. Altenbaumer, President and CEO of Illinois Power; and Sen. Denny Jacobs, 36th District.

Anne Davis (co-chair), President, Illinois Education Association; James Doherty (co-chair), President, Illinois Federation of Teachers, 36 year Biology teacher at Niles North High School; Sarah Williamson (co-chair), President of the Illinois PTA Association; Dr. Michael Johnson (co-chair), Executive Director of the Illinois Association of State School Boards and former School Superintendent; Gery Chico, Partner, Altheimer and Grey and former President, Chicago School Board; Lula Ford, Assistant Director of Central Management Services, former Principal, Assistant Superintendent, and Chief Academic Officer, Chicago Public Schools; Joseph Vermeire, Rock Island County Regional Superintendent of Education; Mike Bakalis, President and CEO of American Quality Schools Corporation and former Illinois State Superintendent of Education and State Comptroller; Mary Ann Adams, Director, Project Echo Alternative High School in Franklin and Williamson Counties; Will Burns, Vice President of Programs at the Chicago Urban League; Ald. David Marquez, Alderman from Aurora's Second Ward and a Social Studies teacher at Aurora East High School; Ann Chambliss, former Decatur Education Association President, and current Director of Decatur Public Schools Pre-Kindergarten Program; Jim Franczek, Partner, law firm of Franczek and Sullivan and a consultant with the Chicago Public Schools; Senator Vince DeMuzio, Illinois State Senator representing the 49th District, Assistant Minority Leader, and Minority Spokesperson on the Committee on Rules; Linda Rowden, founder, Decatur Project Success Program; Pearly Bonds, President of Special Events, African American Hall of Fame Museum in Peoria; Rep. Calvin Giles, 8th District, Chairman, Elementary & Secondary Education Committee.

Rep. Joel Brunsvold (co-chair), representing the 72nd District, Assistant Majority Leader; Howard A. Learner (co-chair), Executive Director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center; Joseph R. Angleton, District 9 President, United Mineworkers of America, Illinois Mining Institute; Frank M. Clark, Jr., President of ComEd, Senior VP of Exelon Energy Delivery; Ellen Craig, Senior Advisor to Brattle Group, former Illinois Commerce Commission, Chairman and Commissioner; Jack Darin, Director of the Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club; Cheryl Johnson, Founder of People for Community Recovery; Sidney M. Marder, former Executive Director, Illinois Environmental Regulatory Group and former Illinois Director of Energy; Ald. Ricardo Munoz, Alderman of 22nd Ward, City of Chicago; Leslie Sgro, Chair, Springfield Park District; Rep. Ricca Slone, 92nd District, Chairperson of the Committee on Conservation and Land Use.

Abner Mikva (co-chair), former White House Counsel under President Clinton, former Appellate Court Judge, and former U.S. Congressman from Illinois; Mary Lee Leahy (co-chair), former Director of the Department of Children and Family Services and currently an attorney in private practice in Springfield; Dawn Clark Netsch (co-chair), former state Comptroller, former State Senator, and a former faculty member of Northwestern University; Rev. Al Sharp, Executive Director of Protestants for the Common Good; Diane Brown, Executive Director of Illinois Public Interest Research Group; Ron Osmon, Senior Partner of the law offices of Ronald E. Osmon & Associates, operator of farming, grain elevator, and oil production businesses, former US Marine; Jay Stewart, Staff Attorney for Better Government Association; Hugo Rojas, Midwest Program Representative and Executive Director of Common Cause Illinois and former Campaign Director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights; Jim Reed, Legislative Director for Citizen Action - Illinois; Elder Charles Ford, Ordained Minister, former member of the Chicago Department of Human Services; Judge Sheila Murphy (retired), Of Counsel, Rothschild, Barry & Myers.

Joyce Washington (co-chair), President and CEO of the Washington Group, former VP Ambulatory Services Division, Advocate Health Care; J. Kevin Dorsey, MD, PhD, (co-chair), Dean and Provost at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield; Tom Balanoff (co-chair), President of Local 1 Service Employees International Union; Raghuveer Nayak MS, RPh,(co-chair),owner/operator of MRI centers and a clinical laboratory, former owner of chain drug stores, and an architect of the proposed "Cook County Prescription Assistance Coverage for the Elderly" program; Sen. Barack Obama, 13th District, Democratic Spokesman on Public Health and Welfare Committee; Rep. Jack Franks, 63rd District, Vice Chairman of the Aging Committee; Jack Mazzotti, local pharmacist Christian County; David Carvahlo, Special Counsel, Cook County Hospital/Bureau of Health Services; Lynda DeLaforgue, Co-Director, Citizen Action/Illinois; Pam Sutherland, CEO and President of Illinois Planned Parenthood Council; Margie Schapps, Executive Director, Health & Medicine Policy Research Group; Susan Scrimshaw, Dean University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health; Betty Smith, Executive Director of South Side Help Center; Father Jack Wall, Pastor of Old St. Patrick's Church of Chicago; Jim Duffet, Executive Director of Campaign for Better Health Care; Jennifer Fallick, Founder, Cancer Support Center; Carol Kruchko, President, Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States.

Rep. Judy Erwin (co-chair), Illinois State Representative 11th District; Chairperson of Committees on Higher Education; James Walker (co-chair), President of Southern Illinois University; Sue Kaufman, President of University Professionals of Illinois, Local 4100 IFT-AFT/AFL-CIO, VP of Illinois Federation of Teachers; Dr. Carol L. Adams, Director of Northeastern Illinois University Center on Inner City Studies; Dale Chapman, President, Lewis and Clark Community College; Richard Meister, Executive Vice President Academic Affairs and Professor of History, DePaul University; Steven Greene, student, University of Illinois-Springfield; Sen.-Elect Iris Martinez; Craig Bazzanni, Vice President for Foundation Advancement at the University of Illinois; Aurora Chamberlain, President, Chamberlain Consulting, Inc.; Senator Kimberly A. Lightford, 4th District, Senate Education Committee.

Congressman Bobby Rush (Chair), US Representative of Illinois' 1st Congressional District, Secretary of the Congressional Black Caucus; Earl J. Oliver, President/Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Chicago & Northeast Illinois District Council of Carpenters; Ald. Vilma Colom, 35th Ward in City of Chicago; Mayor Zenovia Evans, Village President of Riverdale, co-chair of the Housing Task Force of the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus; Michael Goetz, Executive Director Laborer's Home Development Corporation; Mark Guethle, political director for International Union of Painters and Allied Trades; Robert Grossinger, Senior Vice President in LaSalle Bank's Civic and Community Development department; Kevin Jackson, Executive Director of Chicago Rehab Network; Maya Solis, Vice President, Resolute Consulting LLC, and 18th Street Development Corporation; Herb Rosenberg, business and tax attorney and partner with firm Schoenberg, Fischer, Newman, and Rosenberg; Hipolito (Paul) Roldan, Founder and Executive Director of Hispanic Housing Development Corporation.

Dennis J. Gannon (co-chair), current President of the Chicago Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO; Ron Powell (co-chair), President of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 881; Kevin Conlon, Co-Founder and President of Wilhelm & Conlon Public Strategies, Counsel for the Communications Workers of America; Jerry Williams, President, business agent, and former Executive Board Member of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local; Jethro Head, President of the Bakery, Confectionary and Tobacco & Grain Miller Workers Local 1; Cynthia Rodriguez, Vice President of the Service Employees International Union Local 73; Jim Connelly, Vice President of the Chicago Building Trades Council; Eugene T. Keeley, President, Keeley & Sons, Inc. and Member of the Board of Directors of the Southern Illinois Builders Association; Peter Chaput, President of Midwest Interstate Electric; Marilyn Jones, President and Founder of Consolidated Printing and project participant with OSHA on printing plant worker safety; Joseph Costigan, Vice President, Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees (UNITE), Local #108; Herbert Elam, Directing Business Representative, Int. Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, Local #701; Rosetta Daylie, Associate Director, AFSCME, Council #31.

John H. Stroger, Jr. (co-chair) President of the Cook County Board; James M. Houlihan (co-chair), Cook County Assessor, previously served three terms in the state legislature; Gary Niebur (co-chair) Mayor of Edwardsville, President of the Illinois Municipal League; Rita Mullins (co-chair), Mayor of Palatine; John Baricevic, Chairman of the St. Clair County Board; Dr. Irene Brodie, Mayor of the Village of Robbins, an educator for 32 years at Moraine Valley Community College and a member of the Executive Board of Directors for the National Conference of Black Mayors; Roger Claar, Mayor of Bolingbrook, past President of the Illinois Municipal League.; David Dobill, County Clerk of Franklin County; Victor Roberson, Senior Paralegal, Chicago Transit Authority; Jesse Martinez, Trustee, Village of Stone Park; Mickey Goral (vice chair ), Rockford Township Supervisor, member of the FEMA Board; Dr. Barbara Brown is the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Randolph County, serves on the Public Library Board; political science professor at Southern Illinois University in Springfield and co-author of Basic Illinois Government.

Tina Tchen (co-chair), partner with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meager & Flom (Illinois); Barbara Jones Green (co-chair), founder of Lakeside Community Center; Loretta Durbin (co-chair), Vice President, Government Affairs Specialists, and former C-Chair of Illinois Women in Government; Edward Lawlor, Dean of School of Social Services Administration at the University of Chicago; Geoffrey Obrzut, CEO of United Cerebral Palsy of Will County; Joseph Power, founding partner of Power, Rogers, and Smith, PC; former President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice; Jesse D. Madison, special assistant to State Senator Emil Jones, Jr., former President and CEO of Abraham Lincoln Centre; former member of Illinois House of Representatives; Ald. Marge Laurino, 39th Ward in Chicago, founder of Albany Park Community Center; Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, 12th District, Chairman of House Human Services Committee; Maurice Kerkhove, Chairman of the Veteran's Advisory Committee of the 17th District, former State Commander of the VFW of Illinois, U.S. Army Corporal, World War II; Commissioner David Hanson, Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, City of Chicago; David E. Whittacker, Executive Director of Chicago Area Project (CAP), Co-Chair of the Black Executive Directors Coalition of Illinois; Lori Levin, Supervisor of the Seniors and Persons with Disabilities Division of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office; Eliud Medina, Executive Director, Near Northwest Neighborhood Network/Humboldt Park Empowerment Partnership; Dorothy Thomas, Marketing Director, The Way Back Inn; Gloria Fitzgerald, former Deputy Director of Education for the Illinois Dept. of Children & Family Services; Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, 9th District, member of the Health Care & Medicare Task Force; Rep. Cynthia Soto, 4th District, House Committees on Aging and Human Services; Susan Axelrod, Founder and President of Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE); Grace Hou, Executive Director, Chinese Mutual Aid Association.

Marysue Barrett (co-chair) has been the President of the Metropolitan Planning Council since 1996, and is the former Chief of Policy to Mayor Richard M. Daley. Jeffrey M. Schoenberg (co-chair), State Representative of the 58th District of Illinois; John W. McCarter, Jr. (co-chair) is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Field Museum, and former Budget Director of the State of Illinois under Governor Richard B. Ogilvie. James W. Compton, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Urban League. Blair Hull is the Chief Executive Officer of Matlock Capitol, has served on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange and on the Board of Options Clearing Corporation. Rahm Emanuel was recently elected U.S. Congressman of the 5th District of Illinois; Louis I. Lang, State Representative, 16th District of Illinois; Michael K. Smith, State Representative of the 91st District of Illinois since 1995, and is Chairperson of the Agriculture Committee; Vaughn Blankenship is a professor in the Graduate Program in Public Administration at the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC); Charles Box served for 12 years as the first African American Mayor of Rockford; Victor Rojas is Senior Managing Partner of San Joaquin Venture Partners, and formerly served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary to the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury. Representative Arthur Turner, 9th District of Illinois, and currently serves as Deputy Majority Leader; Mary Ann Sullivan, Executive Director of the Government Assistance Program; Daniel S. Pelino is Vice President, Central Region, of IBM Americas; Myron Cherry, Managing Partner, Myron M. Cherry & Associates LLC.

Congressman William O. Lipinski (Chair), US Representative, 3rd District, member of House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; Rep. Jay Hoffman, 112th District; Ed Smith, Vice President, Assistant to the General President, and Midwest Regional Manager Laborers' International Union of North America; Cheryle Jackson, Amtrak, VP of Government Affairs; Louis Jones, Chair of Political Action Committee, Black Contractors United, Elonzo Hill, consultant, former Executive Vice President of Chicago Transit Authority; Jacky Grimshaw, Vice President for Policy, Transportation and Community Development, Center for Neighborhood Technology; John Coli, Teamsters, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 727; Victor Reyes, former Director of the Mayor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, City of Chicago; Thomas E. Lanctot, Principal, William Blair and Company; John Harris, Department of Aviation First Deputy Commissioner, City of Chicago; James Ryan, City of Rockford Construction Program Manager; State Senator Terry Link, 30th district.