Gov. Pritzker Announces Thirteen Appointments to Boards and Commissions

Illinois Finance Authority

James Fuentes will continue to serve as a Member of the Illinois Finance Authority.* Fuentes is an entrepreneur and former CEO of Clarity Communication Systems Inc, a company he founded in 1998. After the company merged with ISCO International, he took on the role of Chief Strategy Officer at ISCO, where he played a pivotal role in integrating the two businesses. An engineer by training, he served as a senior engineer for Lockheed Advanced Development Projects, an engineer specialist with Northrop Defense, and a senior manager for Lucent Technologies. Fuentes is a Trustee for the Museum of Science and Industry where he serves on the Education and Building Capital Improvement committees. Fuentes earned a Bachelor of Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Workers’ Compensation Commission

Daniel Swanson will serve as an Arbitrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.* Swanson has over three decades of experience in workers’ compensation law, having successfully litigated over 250 cases before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, Illinois Circuit Courts, and the Illinois Appellate Court. He is currently a partner at the law firm Nyhan, Bambrick, Kinzi, & Lowry, P.C., where he practiced for five years before spending two decades as a senior trial attorney at Zurich Insurance Company. Swanson earned a Bachelor of Applied Science from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctor from Northern Illinois University College of Law.

Gerald Granada will continue to serve as an Arbitrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.* Granada has served as an Arbitrator on the Workers’ Compensation Commission since his appointment in 2011. Prior to his work as an Arbitrator, Granada represented municipal entities, employers, insurers, and injured workers in Illinois workers’ compensation cases. While obtaining his law degree, he founded and served as President of the Asian American Law Student Association and interned for the Illinois Industrial Commission. Granada received the Tomorrow’s Leaders Today Award in 1996 by Public Allies Chicago. He also received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the DePaul College of Law APALSA in 2002 and 2012 for his community service. Granada earned a Bachelor of Arts from DePaul University and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law.

Joseph Amarilio will continue to serve as an Arbitrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.* Amarilio has served as an Arbitrator on the Workers’ Compensation Commission since his appointment in 2019. With nearly four decades of experience, Amarilio has represented companies and hospitals in personal injury, workers' compensation, and medical negligence cases. Throughout this career, Amarilio has been dedicated to advocating for individuals with disabilities at all stages of litigation. He provided pro bono representation to hundreds of individuals with disabilities in civil and criminal trials and advised members of the Latino Union of Chicago. Additionally, he served as a Board Member of the pro bono Center for Disability and Elder Law, where he received an award for twenty years of distinguished pro bono service. Amarilio is a Fellow of The College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers and a member of both the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. He was previously associated with the Illinois Trial Lawyers’ Association and the Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group. Amarilio has been recognized as one of the nation’s top workers’ compensation injury lawyers. While obtaining his law degree, Amarilio was the Associate Managing Editor of The John Marshall Law Review. Amarilio earned a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School.

Jeffrey Huebsch will continue to serve as an Arbitrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.* Huebsch has served as an Arbitrator on the Workers’ Compensation Commission since his appointment in 2013. Prior to his appointment, Huebsch was an attorney with Power & Cronin Ltd., where he specialized in workers’ compensation, civil litigation, and insurance defense. Huebsch earned a Bachelor of Arts from North Central College and a Juris Doctor from Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Paul Cellini will continue to serve as an Arbitrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.* Cellini has served as an Arbitrator on the Workers’ Compensation Commission since his appointment in 2015. He previously served as a staff attorney for the Workers’ Compensation Commission and as senior staff counsel for Travelers/Holecek & Associates. Cellini serves as an attorney and Vice President of the Board for the Thomas Cellini Huntington’s Foundation. Cellini received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School.

Maureen Pulia will continue to serve as an Arbitrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.* For over twenty years, Pulia has dedicated her career to advocating for workers. She has served as an Arbitrator in various regions across the state, including Chicago and Zones 1, 2, and 3. She began working for the Workers’ Compensation Commission in 1997 as a public service administrator and staff attorney for the Public Member Commissioner. She served in this capacity until her appointment as Arbitrator on the Workers’ Compensation Commission in 2003. Pulia has also served as the Clerk and Trustee for the Village of Westchester. Pulia received her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from DePaul University and her Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law.

Nina Mariano will continue to serve as an Arbitrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.* Mariano has served as an Arbitrator on the Workers' Compensation Commission since 2021. Prior to being an Arbitrator, Mariano spent her legal career practicing in the workers’ compensation field. She worked at Boudreau and Nisivaco representing injured workers. She then practiced insurance defense, working at Evans & Dixon and at Krakar & Olsen as in-house counsel for a global insurance carrier. During law school, Mariano served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Kathleen Bom Lang in the LaPorte Superior Court in Michigan City, Indiana. Her summer internships were with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office where she clerked in the Narcotics and Gang units. Mariano is a member of the Workers' Compensation Lawyers Association, Hellenic Bar Association, and the Justinian Society of Lawyers. She also served on the Young Lawyers’ Section of the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association as a Board Member and was a Continuing Legal Education speaker. She spent many years involved in the Chicago Bar Association and Illinois State Bar Association and participated in their mentorship programs. Mariano received her Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University and Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University.

Jessica Hegarty will continue to serve as an Arbitrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.* Hegarty has served as an Arbitrator on the Workers’ Compensation since 2014 and has managed a docket of approximately 3,200 cases. Prior to her appointment, she was a Partner with Hegarty & Hegarty where she provided complex plaintiff litigation for personal injury and medical malpractice. Hegarty received a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University and a Juris Doctor from Kent College of Law.

Crystal Caison will continue to serve as an Arbitrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.* Caison has over thirty years of experience in compliance, arbitration, and pro bono advocacy. Caison was appointed as an Arbitrator in 2021. Prior to joining the Commission, she was the Program Manager with the Illinois Department of Employment Security. While in this role she worked closely with leadership to implement system enhancements to the labor exchange system. Caison is involved in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, INC, the Black Women’s Lawyers Association, and the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association. Caison received a Bachelor of Arts from Dominican University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois Chicago. 

Luana Montoya will serve as an Arbitrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.* Montoya has dedicated her career's work to public service and government. ​ Since 2020, Montoya has served as a supervising attorney with the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission. She began her career with the City of Chicago’s Department of Law as an assistant corporation counsel in its workers’ compensation section and went on to serve in supervisory positions at the City in policy and claims administration divisions. Montoya is a member of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law.

Ana Vazquez will continue to serve as an Arbitrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.* Ana Vazquez has served as an Arbitrator on the Workers’ Compensation Commission since 2021. Prior to her appointment, she served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Workers’ Compensation Bureau of the Government Representation Division within the Office of the Illinois Attorney General where she represented the State of Illinois in workers’ compensation matters. Prior to her work as an Assistant Attorney General, she served as an Attorney at the Law Offices of Lawrence Wolf Levin. She is a member of the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Juris Doctor from Kent College of Law.

Adam Hinrichs will continue to serve as an Arbitrator of the Workers’ Compensation Commission.* Hinrichs joined the law firm of Elfenbaum, Evers & Amarilio P.C. (EEA) as an associate in 2007, later becoming an equity partner. While at EEA, he litigated workers’ compensation cases before the Illinois Workers Compensation Commission, the Illinois Circuit Court, and the Illinois Appellate Court. Hinrichs also served as Of Counsel at the law firm of McCarthy Callas & Feeney P.C., in Rock Island, IL, advising on workers’ compensation and related matters from 2010-2014. Governor Pritzker first appointed Hinrichs to serve as an Arbitrator in 2019. Hinrichs earned a Bachelor of Arts from Beloit College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law.

* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.

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