Co-Chairs

• Justice Gino DiVito
• Governor James R. Thompson

Commissioners

• State's Attorney Anita Alvarez
• Judge Paul P. Biebel, Jr.
• State's Attorney Joseph E. Birkett
• Edwin A. Burnette
• Justice Thomas E. Callum
• Vincent Cornelius
• Senate President John J. Cullerton
• Senator Kirk Dillard
• Representative Jim Durkin
• Justice Rodolfo Garcia
• State's Attorney Robert Haida
• Attorney General Lisa Madigan
• Terri L. Mascherin
• Michael Metnick
• The Hon. Robert S. Molaro
• Appellate Defender Michael J. Pelletier
• Stephen Pugh
• Ted Street
• Judge Michael P. Toomin
• Donald R. Zoufal

Director

• Peter G. Baroni

Special Advisor

• John F. Decker

As Cook County Public Defender, Mr. Burnette supervised the second largest public defender office in the country. During the first ten years of his career, Mr. Burnette worked primarily on appellate and felony criminal defense cases (1977 until 1987) in the United States Marine Corps. In 1987, Mr. Burnette joined the Office of the Cook County Public Defender, where he served in the Appeals Division, 1st District and the Sixth District courtrooms. In 1992, he became the First Assistant Public Defender, and in 2003, Mr. Burnette was appointed the Public Defender of Cook County and served in that role until 2009.

Mr. Burnette was honored with the Cook County Superior Public Service Award in 1995. He currently serves on several boards, among them the Rich Township High School District 227 Board of Education and the Board of Directors of the National Legal Aid & Defender Association.

Mr. Burnette received his J.D. from DePaul University in 1977 after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1972.