Illinois Workers’ Compensation Practice, Procedure, Personnel and Legislation Update

In-Person or Remote Attendance Option:

*Those who register will be contacted about their attendance preference.

*A link will be sent to all who register closer to the event.

Time: June 23, 2022, 2:30p – 4:30p (check-in begins at 2:00p)
Social Hour, Cocktails & Hors d’oeuvre: 4:30p – 6:30p

Location: Chicago-Kent College of Law, Auditorium

RSVP HERE!

Dear Clients and Colleagues: 

I am pleased to announce that we will return to a live seminar format this year which will also be streamed for those unable to attend. Please join us on June 23, 2022 at Chicago-Kent College of Law Auditorium. We will review current practice, personnel and procedures before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. We will report on Illinois trends for workers’ compensation claims and consider the likelihood of any legislative action. 

Biographies

Mark P. Rusin – Managing Partner, Rusin & Maciorowski

Mark Rusin is the managing partner of the firm. He has spoken on numerous Illinois Workers’ Compensation issues for employers, insurance companies and educational groups. For more than 25 years, Mark has successfully defended employers in Worker’s Compensation matters through all appellate levels including the Supreme Court of Illinois. He graduated with honors from the Chicago Kent College of Law and has a Martindale-Hubbell preeminent attorney rating. Mark has been recognized as a “Leading Lawyer” in the workers’ compensation defense field since 2010. He is an advocate for disabled and service disabled veteran business owners. He has helped found the Chicagoland Alliance for Disabled owned Businesses. Mark resides in Wheaton, Illinois with his family where he is active in his community.

Michael E. Rusin – President, Rusin & Maciorowski 

Michael Rusin is the President of Rusin & Maciorowski. Mike earned his Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law, order of the coif and has been practicing for over 30 years. With extensive trial and appellate experience, Mike concentrates his practice in the defense of Workers’ Compensation litigation and Employer Liability cases throughout Illinois. Mike is an accomplished speaker and author on various Illinois Workers’ Compensation issues and developments. He has a Martindale-Hubbell preeminent rating and recognized as a “Super Lawyer” in the Worker’s Compensation field the past 10 years. Mike is also an avid runner, and Ironman competitor.

Mark Denzler – President, Illinois Manufacturers’ Association

Mark Denzler is president & CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and Secretary/Treasurer of the IMA Education Foundation. Founded in 1893, the IMA is the oldest and one of the largest state manufacturing trade associations in the United States. Mark is the leading advocate for the state’s manufacturing companies and the 580,000 women and men who make things in Illinois. He is an effective and bipartisan advocate with a strong record of success.

Prior to his appointment as IMA president & CEO, Mark served as the Vice President & COO of the organization where he oversaw government affairs, membership, and human resources. Mark’s previous experience including leading government affairs efforts in Illinois for State Farm Insurance, a Fortune 50 company headquartered in Bloomington. For more than six years, Mark worked as a legislative analyst for the House Republican Leader including serving as a caucus liaison to Governor Edgar’s Ikenberry Commission on education funding. In addition, Mark managed several campaigns across Illinois and also spent a brief time on the Washington D.C. staff of Congressman Tom Ewing. He’s been appointed to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board by three Governors, is also an appointee to the Illinois Department of Employment Security Advisory Board, and was an initial appointee to Secretary of State Jesse White’s Ethics Board.

Mark is very active in the community serving on a number of boards including the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Illinois, Midwest affiliate of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Lincoln Public Library Board & Foundation. He was an inaugural member of the Crain’s Chicago Business Leadership Class and was named an Edgar Fellow at the University of Illinois in 2016. In 2018, Mark was inducted into the Gove Hall of Fame at the University of Illinois-Springfield. The Illinois Wesleyan University alum lives in Springfield with his wife Debbi.

Michael J. Brennan – Chairman, Illinois Workers Compensation Commission 

Michael J. Brennan was appointed as Chairman of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission by Governor JB Pritzker on March 15, 2019. He previously served as a Public Member Commissioner since 2013. He co-chaired a Rules Committee which resulted in the first comprehensive review and modification of the IWCC Rules of Practice in decades. Revised Rules were unanimously approved by the Legislature and Commission in October of 2016.

Mr. Brennan earned both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctorate Degrees at De Paul University. He has practiced law in Illinois and has litigated numerous cases reported by the Illinois Appellate Court, the Illinois Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Brennan was engaged in private law practice from 1991 through 2013, with an emphasis on Workers’ Compensation. He previously served as an Assistant Attorney General, from 1977 through 1991, where he prosecuted Civil Revenue and Criminal Medicaid Fraud cases, before becoming the Chief of the then Industrial Commission Division. He was among the principal authors of the Larson’s Illinois Workers’ Compensation Handbook, and has published numerous articles dealing with Illinois Workers’ Compensation issues for Quinlan’s, Thomson West and Reuters. He has been qualified and testified as an expert on Workers’ Compensation matters and has lectured extensively on the topic.

He is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and Workers’ Compensation Lawyers’ Association. He has been elected by his peers as a Martindale-Hubbell Rated AV Preeminent Attorney for over Twenty Years, an Illinois Super Lawyer, an Illinois Leading Lawyer, named as among the Best Lawyers of America and among the Top Attorneys in Illinois by Chicago Magazine. 

Carla Townsend – Senior Executive, National Council on Compensation Insurance 

Carla Townsend, Senior State Relations Executive, is responsible for NCCI’s regulatory and legislative affairs, including rate/loss cost filings, legislative pricings, rule and form filings, appeals mechanisms, and residual market issues.  She currently has responsibility for the states of Illinois, Missouri, and Tennessee.

Prior to joining NCCI in 2015, Ms. Townsend worked at The Travelers Insurance Company where she held various positions over a span of 19 years, dedicated to Operations and Underwriting Management in Workers Compensation. Townsend received a BA in Psychology from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and is designated as a Certified Workers Compensation Professional, WCP.