On Friday, July 21, 2023, Governor JB Pritzker announced the reappointment of the following Arbitrators:

Jeanne AuBuchon                                        Paul-Eric Seal

Linda Jean Cantrell                                      Rachael Sinnen

Bradley Gillespie                                          Charles Watts

Gerald Napleton                                            Raychel Wesley

Arbitrators David Kane and Steven Fruth have announced their retirement, effective August 28, 2023. Governor Pritzker appointed two new Arbitrators to serve upon the retirement of Arbitrators Fruth and Kane. The new Arbitrators are:

Jennifer E. Bae

Ms. Bae has been a practicing attorney, with more than 25 years of experience, in various capacities. She is currently the Director of Employee Discipline for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. As the Director, she is responsible for the handling of disciplinary matters for the more than 6000 employees of the office. She has acted in this capacity since 2019. In the past, she has been self employed as a private practitioner, worked as a Staff Attorney for the City of Chicago, was a Member of the Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board and worked as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County. As an ASA, she worked in the Appellate, Traffic and Domestic Violence Divisions. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School. 

James Byrnes

Mr. Byrnes has been a practicing attorney for more than 30 years, with an emphasis on workers’ compensation matters. He is currently a partner at the firm of Ganan & Shapiro, in Chicago. He has been with the firm since 2002. Mr. Byrnes has previously been an Associate Attorney at the firms of Freeborn & Peters and the Law Office of Patricia Cassiday. Additionally, Mr. Byrnes was a Staff Attorney at the IWCC, working with then Commissioner Linzey Jones, Jr. He earned his Juris Doctorate Degree at the University of Illinois.