The Board’s members and its Executive Director are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by City Council.  Board members serve staggered four- year terms without pay and  can be removed only for cause, with the written approval of remaining Board members.  The Board meets monthly and is staffed by up to eight full-time employees, including its Executive Director. 

William F. Conlon  (term exp. July 31, 2025) Chair

Appointed to the Board and named by Mayor Rahm Emanuel as Chair in October 2016, Mr. Conlon is a retired partner in the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin LLP.  Prior to joining the firm, Bill was an Assistant United States Attorney in Chicago, and was involved in criminal investigations and prosecutions and the trial and appeal of a wide variety of civil cases.  He also served as Chief of the Civil Division of the United States Attorney's Office, and as the Chair of the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board from 1992-1997, as a member and Chair of the Illinois State Board of Ethics from 1982-1988, and as a member of the Chicago Police Board from 2011-2016.

The Hon. Bernetta D. Bush (Ret.) (term exp. July 31, 2027)

Appointed to the Board by Mayor Brandon Johnson in June 2024, the Honorable Bernetta Bush has served as a mediator/arbitrator for JAMS since 2007. Prior to that, she served as a Judge in the Chancery and other Divisions of the Cook County Circuit Court from 1992-2007, and also as the Ethics Officer for Chicago State University from 2009-2015, and as the Ethics Officer for the City Colleges of Chicago from 2007-2009. She is a graduate of DePaul University’s College of Law and earned both her B.A. and M.A. from Northeastern Illinois University.

Ryan Z. Cortazar (term exp. July 31, 2026)

Appointed to the Board by Mayor Lori Lightfoot in December 2021, Mr. Cortazar is a lawyer in the Chicago Office of Korein Tillery. His practice focuses on antitrust, consumer protection, copyright, and securities and derivatives litigation. He also works pro bono in the areas of voting rights, habeas corpus, prisoners’ rights, and educational rights.  Before joining Korein Tillery, Ryan was a Redstone Fellow at the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. He also worked in the City of Chicago Office of the Inspector General helping the city obtain substantial compliance with decades-old patronage hiring consent decrees. He received his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School where he was an articles editor of the Harvard Law Review. While in law school, he worked for the Massachusetts Attorney General and the Office of Congressional Ethics in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ryan received his A.B. in History and Literature from Harvard College.​

Paul Berks (term exp. July 31, 2028)

Appointed to the Board by Mayor Brandon Johnson in May 2025, Mr. Berks is a partner in the law firm of Massey and Gail, LLP, specializing in complex commercial litigation, regulatory matter, and appellate advocacy. Before that, he was Complex Litigation Counsel for the State of Illinois and Deputy General Counsel at the Illinois Department of Revenue. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, the University of California at San Diego, and Stanford Law School.

Norma Manjarrez (term exp. July 31, 2025)

Appointed to the Board by Mayor Lori Lightfoot in September 2021, Ms. Manjarrez is a shareholder in the Chicago office of the law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. She specializes in employment law, and assists employers of all sizes and across various industries in several aspects of the employment relationship. She regularly counsels human resources professionals and in-house counsel on wage and hour issues, employment handbooks and policies, compliance with federal and state anti-discrimination statutes, including anti-harassment training in English and Spanish, and terminations. She co-chairs the firm’s Latinx business resource group, ODAdelante, and is a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity and a Latina Commissioner with the Hispanic National Bar Association. She received her B.A. from DePaul University and her J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law.

Cindy Medina-Cervantes (term exp. July 31, 2028)

Appointed to the Board by Mayor Brandon Johnson in May 2025, Ms. Medina-Cervantes is a Senior Associate in the Chicago office of the UK law firm Clyde and Co., specializing in toxic tort litigation. She is the President-Elect for the Hispanic Lawyers of Illinois, and will become the organization’s President in October 2025. She is a graduate of The George Washington University and DePaul University School of Law.

Sarah Jin (term exp. July 31, 2026)

Appointed to the Board by Mayor Brandon Johnson in June 2024, Ms. Jin is a partner in the Chicago office of Barnes & Thornburg LLC. Her practice focuses on defending manufacturers, distributors, and sellers across multiple product sectors in litigation, including product liability and mass tort matters. She was recognized by Best Lawyers as One to Watch in America 2024 for her work. Sarah is a graduate of Loyola University School of Law and earned her B.A. from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

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