A press release from Governor Bruce Rauner:
Governor Announces Appointments
Bruce Rauner
CHICAGO – Governor Bruce Rauner announced today he has selected the Co-Chairs of the Early Learning Council in the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development and appointed members to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.
Name: Beth Purvis
Position: Co-Chair – Early Learning Council
Governor Bruce Rauner has selected his Secretary of Education, Dr. Beth Purvis, to serve as a Co-Chair of the Early Learning Council. Dr. Purvis has more than 22 years of experience in various levels of education. Most recently, Dr. Purvis was the Chief Executive Officer of the Chicago International Charter School. She was also an assistant professor of special education and associate director of the Child and Family Development Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Name: Phyllis Glink
Position: Co-Chair – Early Learning Council
Governor Bruce Rauner has selected Phyllis Glink to serve as a Co-Chair of the Early Learning Council. Glink is currently the Executive Director of the Irving Harris Foundation, which focuses on investments to early-childhood education and children and family welfare, among other issues. She is an advocate for the well-being of infants, toddlers, and pregnant women, focusing on early intervention through increasing non-profit advocacy, government involvement and public understanding. Glink has also served on the Illinois Department of Human Services Advisory Council on Childcare.
Name: Andrea Waintroob
Position: Chairman – Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board
Governor Bruce Rauner has named Andrea Waintroob the chairman of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. She brings more than 35 years of experience in negotiating labor contracts with private and public sector employers.
Waintroob has negotiated and settled more than 50 collective bargaining agreements for educational employers in the State of Illinois as well as cities and other public entities. She is currently Of Counsel at Franczek Radelet and was one of its founding partners. Prior to her work at Franczek Radelet, she was a partner at Vedder Price, representing public school districts in labor and employment negotiations.
In addition to her work as an attorney, she is also a lecturer at the University of Chicago in both the law and business schools. She has taught courses on public sector labor relations and government regulation of the employment relationship.
Waintroob is a graduate of Brown University and earned her law degree at the University of Chicago. She lives in Deerfield.
Name: Judy Biggert
Position: Board Member – Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board
Governor Bruce Rauner has appointed former U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. Her experiences in Congress and at the state and local level bring a unique perspective to the board.
Biggert represented the southwestern suburbs in Congress from 1999-2013. She served on the Education and the Workforce Committee, including subcommittees on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, and Higher Education and Workforce Training. She also served on the Financial Services Committee, and was the Chairwoman of the Insurance Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee.
Before serving in Congress, Biggert served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1993 to 1999. She also was a member of the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 from 1978 to 1985, and served as its president from 1983 to 1985.
Biggert is an attorney and graduated from Northwestern University’s School of Law. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University. She lives in Hinsdale.
Name: Michael Prueter
Position: Board Member – Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board
Governor Bruce Rauner has reappointed Michael Prueter to the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. He has served on the board since 2010.
Prior to serving on the board, Prueter served as government liaison for a number of corporations and trade associations where he negotiated labor contracts with local and national food service vendors. He also served on a national legislative policy board in Washington, D.C. for several years.
Prueter has several years of business experience in the banking and financial services industry. He also worked as a staff member in the Illinois House and Illinois Senate.
Prueter received his bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Columbia State University. He lives in Naperville.