10  ILLINOIS BUSINESS LEADER
10  ILLINOIS BUSINESS LEADER
CONNECTING
Highlights 
from Workers’ 
Compensation 
Conference
The Illinois Chamber joined forces 
once again with the Illinois Self 
Insurers Association (ISIA) to host 
our Annual Workers’ Compensation 
Conference on Wednesday, October 9, 
2024, at the Doubletree Hilton in Lisle. 
	
The annual event kicked off 
with opening remarks from Kassan­
dra Silva, representing the Illinois 
Chamber’s Employment Law Council 
and Adam Cox, Executive Director 
of the Illinois Self-Insurers Associ­
ation. Gina Rossi, President, Illi­
nois Self-Insurers Association, also 
welcomed attendees and stressed 
how crucial this conference is for all 
Illinois employers. 
	
The first session of the day was 
a panel discussion moderated by 
Lou Sandoval, President and CEO of 
the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. 
Panelists included Assistant House 
Majority Leader Marcus Evans, 
Illinois State Senator Seth Lewis, 
and Illinois State Representative 
Daniel Ugaste. They discussed how 
Springfield lawmakers view workers’ 
compensation and looked forward to 
expected changes in 2025. 
	
The next panel discussion centered 
around employer workers’ compensa­
tion costs, transparency and manage­
ment. Joan Vincenz of United Airlines 
was the moderator for the group. 
Panelists included Paige Bowling, 
Corporate Pharmacy Services, John 
Brown, Convergent, Mike Burnett with 
Marsh McLennan Agency, and Mark 
Walls, Safety National. 
	
Following a short break, attend­
ees diverged to attend one of three 
workshops. Tim O’Gorman, Keefe, 
Campbell, Biery & Associates led 
a lively discussion regarding the 
intersection between civil litigation 
and workers’ compensation.  Ben 
Friederich, Abacus Research, held an 
interactive presentation covering the 
ever changing and evolving tools of 
the insurance defense investigations 
process. And Amy Bilton of Nyhan, 
Bambrick, Kinzie, & Lowry, P.C. dis­
sected The Great Obliteration: How 
the Death of Chevron Deference 
Could Change Workers’ Compensa­
tion Claims Forever. 
	
During the lunch hour, we heard 
from the Chairman of the Worker’s 
Compensation Commission (IWCC), 
Michael Brennan. Michael spoke 
on how Workers’ Compensation in 
Illinois is a 3-billion-dollar industry. 
Illinois Workers’ Compensation Drivers were dissected in our last panel of the day. 
Moderator was Bill Lowry, Nyhan, Bambrick, Kinzie, & Lowry, P.C. with panelists Preston 
Wolin, MD, Al Gapinski, NHRMA, Frank Totton, Caterpillar, and Marci Rodriguez, UPS. 
Dr. Kern Singh included the audience in his 
presentation on Fact and Fiction about Work Comp 
Spine Surgery.

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