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Merit Board

BOARD MEMBERS

 

 

Mr. Tim Touhy, Chairman

of Oak Lawn, Illinois was appointed to the Merit Board by Governor JB Pritzker in July of 2022 with a term ending in March 2026. Touhy is a longtime public relations and public affairs consultant with keen insight into criminal law and civil litigation. He has served as a spokesperson for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, working closely with former Cook County State's Attorneys Cecil A. Partee, Jack O'Malley and Richard A. Devine as well as their top prosecutors. Tim also served as an assistant press secretary to former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar. He has spearheaded local, regional and national public relations campaigns as a vice president at the public relations firm of Hill & Knowlton in its Chicago and Washington offices.  Touhy also served in a senior communications position at Navistar International Corporation. He is also a member the Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission. Touhy currently serves as the communications director for Friends of the Chicago River.

 

Ms. Michelle D. Carrera, Secretary

of Chicago, Illinois was appointed to the Merit Board by Governor JB Pritzker in January 2023 with a current term ending March of 2026. Ms. Carrera has more than 20 years of experience as Vice President of Human Resources for Hydro, Incorporated, a privately held international industrial business with headquarters and two service centers in Chicago.  Ms. Carrera developed and implemented Human Performance Improvement programs for Hydro’s Chicago locations and presently oversees Quality/Safety/Risk Management for North America. 
 

Dr. Linda Flowers, Ph.D., Board Member

of Carbondale, Illinois was appointed to the Merit Board by JB Pritzker in November 2024 with a current term ending in November 2028.  Dr. Flowers is the fifth of eleven children born to James and Percy Anderson.  She grew up on the south side of Chicago, attending Chicago Public Schools K-12th grade.  Dr. Flowers is a three-degree graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, holding a B.S. Degree in Special Education/ Elementary Education, a M.S. Degree in Early Childhood Education, and a Ph.D. In Reading and Language Studies.  She holds an Illinois Professional Educator License with numerous endorsements, including Elementary Education, Learning Behavior Specialist, Reading Specialist, General Administration, and Superintendent.  Dr. Flowers holds memberships and leadership positions in numerous civic, community, and professional organizations including; Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., National Education Association, National Alliance of Black School Educators, Southern Illinois University Alumni Association, Illinois Principal Association, Rock Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Little Egypt Chapter of the Afro-American Historical & Genealogy Society, Carbondale Fire and Police Board of Commissioners, Carbondale Crime Stoppers, Black Graduate Greek Council of Carbondale, Jackson County 708 Board, Jackson County deputy registrar, Jackson County election judge, and the Carbondale Branch NAACP.  Additionally, she is an elected member of the Carbondale Community High School #165 Board of Education, and Vice-Chair of the Shawnee Division of the Illinois Association of School Boards.  Dr. Flowers is a retired teacher/administrator with the Carbondale Elementary School District.  She resides in Carbondale, Illinois and has been married to retired SIUC administrator, Carl Flowers, Ph.D. for forty-six years.  They have one son, Cameron, a Portfolio Comptroller with Sound Investment Management in Chicago, one daughter, Courtney, an accountant with Shawnee Health Services, and five grandchildren: Jordan, Isaiah, Anaiah, Micah, and Gianna.

 

Dr. Raymond C. Garcia, Board Member 

of Roscoe, Illinois was appointed to the Merit Board by Governor JB Pritzker in March of 2022 with a term ending in March 2026.  Dr. Raymond Garcia oversees clinical treatment and care at the Rosecrance Harrison Adult Campus.  He is board-certified in psychiatry and neurology, licensed in Illinois, a member of Illinois Psychiatric Society and a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.  Dr. Garcia is also a board-certified Addictionologist by the American Board of Addiction Medicine, ABAM.  Dr. Garcia is on faculty at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford, where he has received the Golden Apple, Mentor of the Year, and Distinguished Teaching Awards.  He joined Rosecrance in 2009.    

 

Mr. William D. Stiehl, Board Member

of Belleville, Illinois was appointed to the Merit Board by Governor JB Pritzker in March of 2023 with a term ending in March 2027.  Mr. William D. Stiehl is an attorney in private practice in Belleville, Illinois.  Judge Stiehl is a former Circuit Judge in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in St. Clair County where he was responsible for a major civil jury docket.  Prior to his appointment as a Circuit Judge, Judge Stiehl was an attorney in private practice for more than 40 years during which he represented public bodies and individual clients in civil and criminal litigation in federal and state courts throughout Southern Illinois.  Judge Stiehl was instrumental in forming Family Hospice, a non-profit organization which provides hospice services in the Belleville area at no cost to its patients, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater East St. Louis Community Fund, which provides college scholarships to students and recreational and educational opportunities for younger students from East St. Louis.   

 

BOARD STAFF

 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, Emily E. Fox
CHIEF LEGAL COUNSEL, Daniel R. Dykstra
INFORMATION SYSTEMS ANALYST, Eric Garvue 

 

 

 

ANNUAL REPORTS

 

Click the link below to view the Illinois State Police Merit Board's annual reports.