Hon. Azeema Akram joined the Illinois Human Rights Commission as an Administrative Law Judge in June 2021 and was promoted to Deputy Chief Administrative Law Judge in August 2024.  Prior to that, she was an Administrative Law Judge and arbitrator at the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), adjudicating matters involving railroad safety, motor carrier licensing and various regulatory violations.  Judge Akram has substantial litigation experience across State agencies, owing to her prior service in varied roles at the ICC and the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation (IDFPR).  At IDFPR, Judge Akram also served as an Assistant General Counsel, where she provided legal counsel to professional boards (e.g., the Illinois Medical Licensing and Disciplinary Boards), and drafted and negotiated significant legislation and administrative rules with various professional industries and members of the General Assembly.

As a hard-of-hearing attorney, Judge Akram has engaged in work inside and outside of State government to advocate for increased accessibility for people with disabilities.  She speaks regularly to attorneys and judges on court accessibility, and previously presented at the Commission's Lunch and Learn CLE on Accommodating People with Disabilities in State Administrative Proceedings.  She is also a Community Representative on the RTA's Paratransit Certification Formal Appeals Program Eligibility Review Board. In December 2019, Judge Akram became one of 34 members of the national Deaf & Hard of Hearing Bar Association to be sworn into the United States Supreme Court Bar. Judge Akram has been published in the American Bar Association Journal and was awarded the University of Missouri-Columbia College of Arts & Science 2021 Distinguished Alumni Award. She is a member of the Alumni Diversity Counsel at her alma mater, DePaul University College of Law, and is engaged in several other civic and legal organizations.