Environmental Progress - Spring 2001

Employees of the Month

Editor's Note: Each month the Illinois EPA recognizes outstanding employees for making quality part of every job they do. Three recent honorees are listed below.

Jan Ogden was the Agency Employee of the Month for December. Jan works for the Bureau of Land as their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Coordinator. Under state FOIA law, anyone can request Agency records that are not deemed to be confidential or trade secret information. Jan administers some 6,000 requests annually for information on more than 12,000 site files. Requests come from news media, elected officials, government and private groups and the general public. To meet specific time-frames for response, information must be quickly identified and compiled. Jan has been able to accomplish her responsibilities with minimal staff resources. She coordinates responses so each request is consistently processed, responded to in a timely manner, and contains appropriate and comprehensive information. She was instrumental in adapting the Bureau's FOIA procedures to comply with new Agency FOIA rules.

Bill Marr was EOM for January. Bill works for the Bureau of Air, Permit Section, Clean Air Act Permit Program. He works on some of the most difficult emission sources and manages to write clear, outstanding quality permits. He regularly provides feedback to management, and often offers suggestions for improved output and performance. This frequently results in streamlining the permit process. Bill played a major role in ensuring the success of the Emissions Reduction Market System (ERMS). His depth of knowledge on the subject allowed him to provide quality control and help with questions in reviewing ERMS applications.

Terri Labunski was the EOM for February 2001. Terri works for the Bureau of Water, Rockford Regional Office. She was nominated by the Bureau of Land for her participation on a Quality Action Team (QAT) which led to major changes in BOL filing procedures that are more effective and efficient. She purged, rearranged and compared countless documents to microfiche, making it possible to save time and conserve storage space. She accomplished this while performing regular duties. Terri also served on a QAT that streamlined routing of mail in the office.