Bennett currently serves as director of the Illinois Department of Human Rights. He previously served as the Midwest Regional Director at Lambda Legal. During his 12-year career there, Bennett was a lead strategist in Lambda Legal’s Illinois and Iowa marriage campaigns and successfully fought Indiana’s RFRA and their discriminatory ‘religious refusal’ laws. Bennett will be the chair of the state commission. He was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2013.
Noriega previously served as part of the Commission on Human Rights for the City of Chicago. Last year, she was named as one of Illinois Comptroller Ssuana Mendoza’s LGBTQ Pride Honorees. She was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 2002.
Other newly named members of Pritzker’s discrimination/hate crimes committee include Village of Oak Park Chief of Police LaDon Reynolds; vPeer founder/CEO Dilara Sayeed; Indo-American Center consultant Anita Banerji; Southern Illinois University School of Law professor Cindy Buys; Catholic Charities Legal Assistance Department Department Director Hilda Bahena; Anti-Defamation League Midwest Regional Director David Goldenberg; Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Chicago Executive Director Andrew Kang; RefugeeOne Executive Director Melineh Kano; Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly; Chicago Sinai Congregation Senior Rabbi Seth Limmer; Illinois Attorney General’s Office Civil Rights Bureau Chief Amy Meek; Access Living President/CEO Karen Tamley; and Illinois State Board of Education Director of Student Care Molly Uhe-Edmonds.
The Commission on Hate Crimes and Discrimination will include 21 members total. Additional members are completing the appointment process and will be announced soon.
Appointments are pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.