Illinois e-News Release

Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker announced the following appointments in his administration

Monica LeGrand will continue to serve as a Member of the Health Facilities and Services Review Board.* LeGrand has practiced nursing for almost forty years, and is a fulltime faculty member at Southwestern Illinois College. She began her career as an obstetrics nurse with Memorial Hospital in Belleville and became a System Analyst for the Labor and Delivery unit until her retirement from the hospital in 2020. LeGrand is a member of the Association of Women’s Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), and served as the Southern Illinois Chapter Coordinator, the Illinois State Chairman, and on the national level of the Finance Committee. She is also a member of Sigma Theta Tau and serves with the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce International as a JCI Senator. She has won awards from the March of Dimes and was one of the first recipients of the “Outstanding Nurse of the Year” for nursing informatics RN. LeGrand received a Bachelor of Nursing and Master of Nursing Informatics from the University of Phoenix.

Doug Scott will serve as the Chair of the Illinois Commerce Commission.* Scott most recently served as the Vice-President for Energy Systems at the Great Plains Institute (GPI). In this role, he addressed climate strategy and regulatory response as well as issues involving the changing utility business model. Before joining GPI, Scott served as Chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission, and prior to that, as Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Scott’s public service also includes a term as Mayor of Rockford, Illinois; three terms as an Illinois State Representative; and ten years as an attorney for the City of Rockford. Scott earned a Bachelor of Arts with honors from the University of Tulsa and a Juris Doctorate with honors from Marquette University.

Kevin Irvine will serve as a Member of the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board.* Irvine has been a disability inclusion advocate and trainer for 30 years. He works at RUSH University Medical Center in Chicago as a Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant, Individuals with Disabilities, where he develops and implements RUSH’s strategy to recruit disabled job seekers. In this role, he leads disability inclusion initiatives to make RUSH an inclusive and accessible place for its patients, visitors, employees, faculty, and students. Irvine also recruits veterans and residents of Chicago’s west side neighborhoods and coordinates RUSH’s participation in the HireTransNOW campaign, supporting transgender and gender diverse job seekers. Irvine co-chairs RUSH’s ADA Task Force and facilitates its Disabilities Employee Resource Group, which he co-founded in 2019. In 2022, Irvine was recognized by Crain's Chicago Business as a Notable Executive in HR and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and he completed 10 years of service on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Transit Authority. He is also a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow (2006) and a Disability Lead member. Irvine received a Bachelor of Arts from Purchase College, State University of New York.

Jennifer Van Wie will continue to serve as a Member of the Illinois Pollution Control Board.* Prior to her appointment to the Board in 2020, Van Wie served as Counsel at Neal Gerber & Eisenberhg LLP, where she supported partners in counseling clients. Previously, she served as Special Counsel at Foley & Larder LLP and as Assistant Attorney General at the Illinois Attorney General’s Office in the Environmental Civil Bureau. Van Wie earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Policy from Indiana University and a Juris Doctorate and Masters of Studies in Environmental Law from Vermont Law School.

Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board

Charles Knell will continue to serve as a Member of the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board.* Knell served in the United States Air Force Reserves beginning in 1968, where he was a medic before being honorably discharged in 1974. He is the principal owner of Knell Law, LLC in Peoria and has worked at the arbitration level, the commission level, and for the Appellate Court in the defense of workers’ compensation cases. Knell has an AV rating from Martindale Hubbell, the highest rating any attorney in Illinois can receive, and has been selected as a member of the Leading Lawyers Network Association, serving on the advisory board. He is a current member of the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association Board of Directors. Knell previously served on the Board of Directors of the St. Jude Midwest Affiliate in Peoria and was President from 1998 to 1990. He also served on the Rules Committee for the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. He has been an active member of the Peoria County Bar Association, Illinois State Bar Association, Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel, Chicago Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Knell received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois, and a Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.