What’s New at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission

The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission has undergone several changes as of the new year.

ARBITATOR ROTATIONS

Effective January 1, 2023, the Commission rotated some of the organizations arbitrators to different venues. The changes include:

• Arbitrator Maureen Pulia will transfer from Zone 2 (Urbana/Quincy/Springfield) to Zone 1 (Collinsville/Herrin/Mt. Vernon) and take the call of Arbitrator Jeanne AuBuchon.
• Arbitrator AuBuchon will take over the call previously handled by Arbitrator Pulia in Zone 2.
• Arbitrator William Gallagher will transfer from Zone 1 to Zone 2 and take the call of Arbitrator Edward Lee.
• Arbitrator Lee will take over the call previously handled by Arbitrator Gallagher in Zone 1.
• Arbitrator Stephen Friedman will transfer from Zone 6 (Wheaton/Elgin/Geneva) to Zone 5 (Rockford/Woodstock/Waukegan) and take the call of Arbitrator Michael Glaub.
• Arbitrator Glaub will take over the call previously handled by Arbitrator Friedman in Zone 6.

In accordance with the provisions of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, more changes may be forthcoming.

OTHER UPDATES

• The Commission ended 2022 with 33,661 cases filed which represents an increase of approximately 1,200 filings over the prior year.
• On January 16, 2023, the terms of five commissioners, including Chairman Brennan, expired.
• All five are in consideration for re-appointment by Governor Pritzker. On July 1, 2023, ten of the current arbitrators will reach the end of their terms.
• The IWCC Springfield Office has moved to 400 South Ninth Street, Suite 106, Springfield, IL 62701. The hearing site is open for business!

As a reminder, status calls are conducted via WebEx along with pre-trials.

• Should a party refuse to participate in the virtual process, the arbitrators, in their discretion, may set the matter for in-person pre-trial or trial at their discretion on another day.
• Trials will continue in-person.
• Oral arguments are also in-person in Chicago and are expected to return to in-person in Springfield at some point in the future.

The NBKL blog is provided for informational purposes; we are not giving legal advice or creating an attorney/client relationship by providing this information.  Before relying on any legal information of a general nature, you may consider consulting legal counsel as to your particular facts and applications of the law.