Gov. Pritzker Announces Nine Appointments to Boards and Commissions

Firearm Owner’s Identification Card Review Board

Richard Schoenstedt will continue to serve as a Member of the Firearm Owner’s Identification Card Review Board.* Schoenstedt has over 40 years of legal experience, including 20 years in private practice and 20 years as a Circuit Court Judge. He was elected as a Circuit Judge in 2002 and presided over felony criminal cases. In 2012, Schoenstedt was named the Chief Judge of the 12^th Judicial Circuit and served in that role until his retirement in 2021. In 2020, he received the Will County Bar Association Person of the Year Award. Schoenstedt earned a Bachelor of Arts from Marquette University and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University School of Law.

Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund

Kevin Bramwell will serve as a Member of the Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund.* Bramwell has over two decades of experience with the Bolingbrook Fire Department, where he serves as firefighter and paramedic and on the department’s Hazardous Materials team. In addition to his service in the fire department, he has been a strong advocate for firefighters’ benefits and financial security. Bramwell served over 10 years as President of the Bolingbrook Firefighters’ Pension Fund and currently chairs the Bolingbrook Firefighters’ Retiree Healthcare Funding Trust. He is also the Union President of the Bolingbrook Firefighters Association IAFF Local 3005. Since its inception in 2020, Bramwell has served as a Participant Trustee on the Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund Board of Trustees, where he chairs the Investments and Operations Committee and serves on the Audit and Compliance and Legislative Committees.

Labor Advisory Board

Alec Laird will continue to serve as a Member of the Labor Advisory Board.* Laird has over a decade of legal experience and currently serves as Vice President of Government Relations at the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA), representing its members before the Illinois General Assembly. Prior to joining IRMA, Laird was a Staff Attorney and Senior Legal Counsel to the House Minority Leader in the Illinois House of Representatives. He also previously practiced employment and labor law in the private sector. Laird earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Tennessee and his Juris Doctor from the University of Memphis.

Marisa Richards will continue to serve as a Member of the Labor Advisory Board.* Richards currently serves as Director of Outreach and Engagement for Painters District Council No. 30, where she leads community outreach, membership engagement, and communication strategy efforts. She plays a key role in diversifying union membership and creating a supportive environment for women and underrepresented minorities. Richards earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois.

Anthony Alfano will continue to serve as a Member of the Labor Advisory Board.* Alfano has over 25 years of experience supporting working families across Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. He currently serves as the Sub-District Director and Organizing Counsel for the United Steelworkers (USW) International Union. Throughout his career with USW, he has held roles as an Organizing Counsel, Staff Representative, and Organizer, where he negotiated and enforced bargaining rights and led worker involvement initiatives, including the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees. Alfano is a member of AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance and the National Labor Relations Board-Region 13 Policy and Planning Committee. Alfano earned his Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts and Sciences from DePauw University and his Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University School of Law.

Mid-Illinois Medical District

Nicole Florence will serve as a Member of the Mid-Illinois Medical District.* Dr. Florence is the Medical Director and Bariatrician for Springfield Memorial Wellness Center. After more than 20 years of experience in primary care, she transitioned into obesity medicine and became board certified in 2014. Dr. Florence is also a speaker and actively educates the central Illinois community on health and wellness. Dr. Florence earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Illinois and her Doctor of Medicine from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

State Board of Health

Abel Kho will continue to serve as a Member of the State Board of Health.* Dr. Kho is a tenured professor of Medicine and Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University, specializing in research that integrates diverse data within public health applications. As a co-founder and board member of the Medical Research Analytics and Informatics Alliance, he has contributed to improving community health in Chicago by providing low-cost infrastructure and informatics to public health agencies and non-profits. In 2020, Dr. Kho received the Donald A.B. Lindbergh Award for Innovation in Informatics from the American Medical Informatics Association. Dr. Kho earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois and Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Wisconsin.

State Mining Board

Noble Michael Huff will continue to serve as a Member of the State Mining Board.* Huff worked in the coal industry for several decades, beginning at Peabody Coal and later at Amax Coal in Keensburg. He served on the Illinois State Miners’ Examining Board from 2003 to 2015 and has served on the State Mining Board since 2019. Huff served in the United States Army from 1969 to 1972. He graduated from Carmi Township High School.

University of Illinois Board of Trustees

Joseph Gutman will continue to serve as a Member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.* Gutman began his business career at Goldman Sachs, where he worked for 22 years, became a partner in 1996, and co-headed the Chicago Office and Midwest business from 1996 to 2002. Most recently, Gutman was a Partner at BDT & Company from 2017 until his retirement in 2020. Previously, he was a Managing Director, member of the Executive team, and head of the Business Development team at GCM Grosvenor from 2004 to 2016. Gutman was appointed by President Obama to the Council of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, serving from 2011 to 2016. Gutman earned a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.

###