Gov. Pritzker Announces Six Appointments to Boards and Commissions

Public Administrators and Public Guardians

Rene Bassett-Butler will continue to serve as Public Administrator and Public Guardian of Madison County.* Bassett-Butler currently serves as Partner at Bassett and Gabriel Law Office, PC in Wood River, where she has practiced law since 1994. Bassett-Butler specializes in estate planning, probate administration, eminent domain, real estate law, and personal injury. Bassett-Butler currently serves on many boards and commissions, including the boards of Riverbend Family Ministries, the Order of St. Francis HealthCare Foundation, and the Alton Foundation. Bassett-Butler earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of Tulsa and her Juris Doctorate from Loyola University New Orleans.

Dana Considine will continue to serve as Public Administrator and Public Guardian of Carroll and Lee Counties.* Considine currently serves as Partner at Ehrmann Gehlbach Badger and Considine, LLC in Dixon, where she has practiced law since 2003. Considine’s areas of concentration include family law, civil litigation, and municipal work. She frequently represents clients in matters of divorce, custody, child support, adoptions, and guardianships. Considine currently serves on the Illinois State Bar Association’s Task Force for the Unauthorized Practice of Law, and she recently finished serving on the Standing Committee on Legal Technology and the Law Office Management and Economics Committee. Considine earned her Bachelor of Business Management from Western Illinois University and her Juris Doctorate from Drake University Law School.

Curtis Ford will continue to serve as Public Administrator and Public Guardian of Henry County.* Ford currently serves as Partner at Nash Nash Bean and Ford, LLP in Geneseo. Ford’s practice primarily focuses on estate planning and elder law issues, including long-term care and Medicaid planning. Previously, Ford served as President of the Iowa Alzheimer’s Association and President of the Geneseo Chamber of Commerce. Ford earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Iowa State University and his Juris Doctorate from Northern Illinois University College of Law.

Debbie Harper will continue to serve as Public Administrator and Public Guardian of Tazewell and Mason Counties.* Harper currently operates Harper Law Office, her private legal practice, in East Peoria, where she handles family law, real estate, and estate matters — and frequently serves as Guardian ad Litem. Previously, she served as Attorney with Anderson Law Offices, where she first was Guardian ad Litem and discovered her passion for defending children. Harper earned her Bachelor of Arts from Western Illinois University and her Juris Doctorate from University of Illinois Chicago’s John Marshall Law School, now University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.

Nargis Khokhar will continue to serve as Public Administrator and Public Guardian of Ford and Livingston Counties.* Khokhar currently serves as Attorney with Guardian Law, LLC in Bloomington. Her practice focuses on family and guardianship work in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Illinois, where she is certified in parenting coordination, high conflict divorce, forensic child interviewing, and mediation. Previously, Khokhar served as Attorney with NK Legal Solutions and taught political science courses at Eureka College. Khokhar currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Illinois State Bar Association and is Presidential Appointee for the Illinois Bar Foundation Board. Khokhar was recently awarded the Business Excellence Award by the McLean County Chamber of Commerce. Khokhar earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Rider University, her Master of International Relations from American University, and her Juris Doctorate from American University’s Washington College of Law.

William Lee will continue to serve as Public Administrator and Public Guardian of Whiteside County.* Lee currently operates the Law Office of William Lee, his private legal practice, in Sterling. He represents clients in real estate, estate planning, probate, business and contract negotiation, and employment matters in state and federal court. Previously, Lee owned the private law partnership Mahaffey and Lee in Morrison, and he was Partner at Ludens Potter Mahaffey and Lee. Lee is active in his community, currently serving on the boards of the Sterling Schools Foundation and the Grace Episcopal Church in Sterling. Lee earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from University of Illinois Chicago and his Juris Doctorate from Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent College of Law.

* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.

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