The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission has a new chairman. Ronald A Rascia has been appointed to the Chairman position after the resignation of former chairman Michael Latz on November 30th.

Chairman Rascia has been with the Commission since 2011, first serving as General Counsel and later adding the duties of Secretary of the Commission. Before joining the Commission, Chairman Rascia worked for the Illinois Attorney General as a supervising attorney in the General Law Bureau. He was with the Attorney General’s office for nine years.

The attorneys at Lemp & Murphy have worked with Chairman Rascia in his capacity as General Counsel and as Secretary for the Commission. Chairman Rascia was pleasant to work with and was extremely responsive; we are confident that these qualities will continue during his service as Chairman.

Chairman Rascia is taking over the helm of the workers’ compensation system at a very important time. Though he was appointed by Gov. Quinn, his time working with him will be brief as Governor-elect Rauner will take office January 12, 2015. Several proposed changes to the workers’ compensation system- some major and others minor- have been presented to the Illinois legislature for its consideration. Chairman Rascia will be charged with overseeing the Commission as it continues to undergo revisions. 2015 is poised to be a very eventful year in Illinois politics; stay tuned!