Maria S. Bocanegra
Age: 37
Title: Commissioner
Name of Organization: Illinois Commerce Commission
Maria S. Bocanegra was appointed to the Illinois Commerce Commission by Governor JB Pritzker on April 8, 2019, and confirmed by the Illinois Senate on May 31, 2019.
Maria S. Bocanegra is an accomplished, well-respected attorney with prior public service experience under both Democratic and Republican administrations. As an ICC Commissioner, she regulates public utilities, transportation and telecommunications entities in complex and technical matters.
Commissioner Bocanegra is actively engaged in the energy and regulatory sectors, touching on issues ranging from water usage, electrification and electric vehicles, customer service, diversity and cybersecurity.
Recently, Commissioner Bocanegra and her team convened a meeting before the ICC of more than 100 stakeholders to focus on issues related to electrification and electric vehicles. As the co-vice chair of NARUC’s National Committee on Water, her focus will be on data and energy nexuses, extreme climate events, state water plans, leak and lead detection, affordability and sustainability.
Immediately before the ICC, she served as an arbitrator at the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, where she managed a docket of nearly 3,000 claims, wrote several hundred decisions and was only reversed three times during her tenure.
Previously, Bocanegra held the Public Seat on the Labor Advisory Board for the Illinois Department of Labor. She also formerly worked as an attorney litigating workers’ compensation, employment and personal injury claims.
Commissioner Bocanegra was recently selected to Negocios Now’s Who’s Who In Hispanic Chicago and the Chicago City Council Latino Caucus as a 2019-2020 Fellow. In addition, she serves as national Chair for NARUC’s Center for Partnerships & Innovation’s EV Working Group, assisting understanding of electrification for other public utility commissions. She earned her Juris Doctor from the DePaul University College of Law and her Bachelor of Arts in political science from Quincy University. She is the second Latina to be appointed to the Illinois Commerce Commission.
“Always work in service of others. In any work I do, I strive to do it competently, fairly, honestly and with integrity”.
