Senior Management Team

Tracey B. Fleming

Executive Director

Tracey B. Fleming was appointed Executive Director of the Illinois Human Rights Commission (“Commission”) by Governor JB Pritzker in August 2020, following a more than 25-year career as a professional advisor and leader in the civic, governmental and business sectors.

Mr. Fleming came to the Commission from City Colleges of Chicago, the largest community college system in Illinois, where he served as Chief Advisor to the Board of Trustees. In this role, he was the primary contact between the Board of Trustees, Chancellor and other senior management, providing confidential counsel to the Board Chair and other Trustees involving matters of district governance, policy and operations.

In addition to his regular duties, Mr. Fleming served as staff director for two, simultaneous national searches for executive leadership at City Colleges and served as liaison to the City of Chicago Office of the Mayor regarding the City Colleges of Chicago Board of Trustees during two mayoral administrations.

Mr. Fleming was the first and longest-tenured staff of Chicago Metropolis 2020 (“Metropolis”), a groundbreaking business-based civic organization established by The Commercial Club of Chicago and later functioned as a Supporting Organization of the Chicago Community Trust, to promote long-term planning and smart investments in physical and human capital of the Chicago region. Mr. Fleming also worked for Bank of America, serving in Community Relations where he helped implement the Bank's annual United Way campaigns, and served in leadership roles for its employee volunteer network. A lifelong Chicagoan, Mr. Fleming attended Chicago Public Schools (CPS) through high school and graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a degree in Political Science.

David R. Larson

General Counsel

David Larson joined the Illinois Human Rights Commission as General Counsel in September 2022. Mr. Larson previously served as Deputy General Counsel for the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission where he provided strategic support and consultation for all the commission's departments, boards, and proprietary funds. In addition to his day-to-day responsibilities as Deputy General Counsel, Mr. Larson led the team that designed, built, and implemented CompFile, the cloud-based case management and electronic filing system for workers' compensation cases.

Prior to joining the State of Illinois, Mr. Larson worked in private practice representing employers in workers' compensation litigation and representing financial institutions in structured finance, securitization, and factoring transactions. He also worked as an investment analyst helping to oversee the administration of the endowment and planned giving program at DePaul University. Mr. Larson earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law.

Claudia P. Ortega

Chief Financial and Human Resources Officer

Claudia P. Ortega joined the Illinois Human Rights Commission in August 2021 and serves as Chief Financial & Human Resource Officer. Ms. Ortega previously worked at the Office of the Executive Inspector General (OEIG) for nearly eight years, serving as the Chief Administrative Officer. Ms. Ortega served as the principal budget and accounting advisor to the OEIG and senior management and oversaw the administrative functions in Finance, Human Resources, and IT.

Prior to joining the State of Illinois, Ms. Ortega worked in various roles in the private sector, advising senior staff on policy initiatives, procedural functions, and compliance related matters. Ms. Ortega earned her MSA degree from Benedictine University, College of Business, in Lisle, IL. She is a graduate of DePaul University in Chicago, IL, where she earned an undergraduate degree in Accounting. Ms. Ortega is a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Brian Weinthal

Chief Administrative Law Judge

Go to the "Administrative Law Judges" page for Chief Judge Weinthal's biography.