0-5 years

Will Cousineau joined Cornerstone's Springfield, Illinois office in June 2017. Will comes to the firm after nearly 18 years working for Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan, including eight years as political director for the Speaker and the Democratic Party of Illinois.
Will was the longest serving political director for Speaker Madigan and most recently served as senior advisor to the Speaker. Over the past 10 years, Will worked directly with Speaker Madigan to shape, develop and implement the strategy and messaging for the Speaker's legislative and political agenda and the agendas of every member of the House Democratic Caucus. He also developed the implementation of political, legislative and outreach strategies for House Democratic Caucus members and all aspects of the Illinois House's political operation.

During his time with the Speaker's office, Will was involved in the major initiatives that moved through the Legislature over the past ten years, including such legislation concerning utilities, conceal and carry, financial institutions, and civil laws. Additionally, Will was intimately involved in the 2010 drawing of legislative districts, including new districts in the suburban region that have helped House Democrats expand and maintain their majority. While many democratic legislative caucuses across the country lost record numbers of seats during his tenure and every legislative chamber in the Midwest outside Illinois became Republican controlled, Will guided the Illinois House caucus and the Democratic Party of Illinois through a period of expansion and maintained a healthy majority for Illinois House Democrats.

Will's long tenure with the House, experience with message development, crisis management, grassroots organizing and input on political campaigns for offices throughout the state, gives Will an ability to understand complex legislative and political problems, easily digest those issues for members and clients and put together a collaborative and detailed action plan for moving forward.

In 2014, Will and his wife, Macy, adopted three sisters from Latvia. This experience has shaped their family, has given them the opportunity to speak with others about adoption and has encouraged their family to assist others who are adopting children both internationally and domestically. In 2016, Will and Macy's family grew with the arrival of their son.

In his spare time, Will is active in his church and serves on the Board of Elders. Will currently resides in Chatham, IL with his wife and four children.

Matthew O'Shea is the President of Matthew O'Shea Consulting, Inc. In 1994, Matthew started his public service career with State Representative Dan Rutherford and then worked for State Representative James Durkin and Senator Thomas Walsh from 1995 through 2000. While working for Representative Durkin and Walsh, Matt attended John Marshall Law School and completed his Juris Doctor in 2000. After leaving Representative Durkin and Senator Walsh, he served as the Village Administrator for the Village of Forest Park located in the western suburbs of Cook County. While serving as Village Administrator, Matt was also appointed to the Senate to fill out the remaining term of Senator Tom Walsh for the 22nd Legislative District.

As State Senator, Matt was able to learn and experience the legislative process from an elected official standpoint. In 2004, Matt joined House Republican Minority Leader Tom Cross as Deputy Chief and Ethics Officer before coming Chief of Staff. In his role as Chief of Staff, he dealt with all four legislative caucuses including participating in several high level leadership meetings. His role as Chief of Staff allowed him to deal with many important issues facing the legislature such as pensions, capital funding, energy, local government, budget, Medicaid and redistricting.

Matt has knowledge and experience working with many regulatory issues including those before Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. Matt has spent time working on many political elections at all levels of state government.

20+ years

In 2017, Governor-elect Phil Murphy selected Eric to serve on the Human Services Committee for his transition team. During that same year, he was nominated by Kentucky State Senator Jimmy Higdon and commissioned by Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin to become a Kentucky Colonel.

In 2004, Eric was nominated by New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey to serve on the South Jersey Port Corporation's Board of Directors, which is responsible for the development of port facilities in South New Jersey. Eric was reappointed in 2008 by Governor Corzine and again in 2017 by Governor Chris Christie.

In 2018, Eric was appointed to the Advisory Board of the Burbank International Film Festival.

Eric is also a founding member of the Board of Directors for the NYC Fashion Manufactures Alliance of Design Educators and Save the Garment Center in New York City; a position he's held since 2008.

In 2007, Eric was selected by the American Council of Young Political Leaders, a bi-partisan not-for-profit international exchange organization, as a delegate to Vietnam for a two-week political exchange program. Eric joined six other young political leaders from the U.S. to study Vietnam's political system, engage in dialogue on international issues, and forge professional relationships. He's also participated in international trade missions, including trips to the Netherlands, China and the United Arab Emirates.

Eric was appointed in 2007 by New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine to serve as a member of the Economic Growth Council to assist with statewide economic development policies.

Eric is a former Committee Chairman for the Mercer County College Board of Trustees Advisory Committee and a former member of the Board of Trustees for the Arts & Business Partnership of Southern New Jersey. He's served on the boards of the Mercer County Workforce Investment Board, the Mercer County Economic Development Committee and Junior Achievement. Eric was appointed by Assembly Majority Leader Paul DiGaetano in 2002 to the New Jersey Council of Local Mandates and served as Vice Chairman until 2004.

6-10 years

Paul joined Drexwood Partners in 2019 bringing 10 years of professional experience with him, including a half decade handling multi-state government affairs and running a U.S. government affairs operation for a multi-national company.

Adept at handling complex public policy issues, Paul began his early professional days working as a litigation paralegal for multiple law firms and working as a field organizer on a national campaign. To begin his government affairs career, Paul spent a short time in Washington D.C. working for a child welfare non-profit conducting policy research and organizing advocacy days.

Prior to joining Drexwood as Vice President, Paul served as Director of Government Relations for a publicly-traded company where he led U.S. federal and state government affairs for multiple business segments. While there he executed federal and multi-state government affairs strategies to support organizational goals across six businesses. This included managing federal appropriation and jurisdictional committee advocacy, a fifty state legislative tracking operation, and direct and indirect lobbying in over half a dozen states across the country. In addition to traditional government affairs work, Paul led the first company-wide global political risk assessment due to international expansion and re-designed the internal government affairs approach to also focus on brand development for business segments that found more value in an elevated presence among government officials.

With a broad range of policy experience in agriculture, education (Pre-K through postsecondary), child welfare, healthcare, insurance, and tech fields, Paul is prepared to tackle new and complex issues quickly to deliver results. He is passionate about government affairs — from traditional lobbying and strategy development to advocacy, coalition building, and policy research.

A native of mid-Missouri, Paul holds a M.A. in Political Science from University of Missouri, Kansas City and a B.A. in Pre-Law/Legal Studies from William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri. He currently lives in Chicago, Illinois with his wife and two sons.

Julia Larkin joined Cornerstone Government Affairs in February 2020 with more than 12 years of legislative experience in the state of Illinois. In her role as vice president, Julia uses her skills to help clients in Illinois advance their advocacy goals. Prior to joining Cornerstone, Julia served as the director of advocacy and government relations at AMITA Health, one of the largest health systems in Illinois. During her time in this role, Julia represented the organization's mission with state and local officials and executive agency staff, while also creating and executing strategies to ensure specific policy goals were met.

Previously, Julia served as legislative coordinator to Speaker of the Illinois House Michael J. Madigan for 10 years, where she assisted in the development of a wide array of policy positions and legislative initiatives. Julia has also supported the Democratic Party of Illinois, where she led state representative campaigns, managed opposition research and oversaw state representative candidate recruitment efforts.

Julia received her Bachelor of Arts with a double major in political science and international studies from Loyola University in Chicago.

The TAG network consists of the top lobbying firms across the US, public affairs specialists in various countries and specialty services.

US Members:
50-States
DC Council
US Congress

International:
Profile Consulting (Aust) Pty Ltd (Australia)
Tactix (Canada)
Monarch Global Strategies (Mexico, Central & South America)
Kesarev (Russia, CIS, Central Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Turkey & Israel)
Instinctif Partners (United Kingdom & the European Union)

Specialty members:
Five Corners Strategies (Grassroots Advocacy & Public Affairs)
FOCUS, a Leonine Business (50-State Legislative & Regulatory Tracking & Analysis)
Select Litigation (Jury Selection)
Bullpen, LLC (Market Entry Strategy)
The Virtuous Cycle Collaboratory (Social Enterprise Business Development)
Law Offices of Mitchell D. Gravo, Inc. (Specialty Member)

15-20 years

Mike founded Drexwood Partners LLC with the mission to merge government affairs with a business savvy approach. By drawing upon his nearly 15 years of experience in government and politics combined with 10 years of experience in finance and real estate, Mike is able to provide a unique perspective to his clients. As a registered lobbyist he works with government officials at the state, county and city level navigating the process to solve problems and achieve the desired results for his clients.

Prior to founding Drexwood, Mike served as executive vice president at All-Circo, Inc, a full service government affairs and lobbying firm. There he handled the needs of over 60 clients ranging from fortune 500 companies and small businesses to units of government, non-profits and associations across all sectors and issues. In addition to helping clients with their legislative and administrative goals, he provided counsel in regards to appropriations, regulation, procurement, and coalition development.

Mike was previously vice president at Chicago-based real estate development firm The Prime Group. Serving as a member of the capital markets group, he provided financial analysis, budgeting, and due diligence on real estate transactions as well as helped facilitate $400 million in financing for the JW Marriott mixed use development on LaSalle Street. He began his career in New York with Jefferies & Company on the institutional trading desk, providing sales trading coverage for corporate accounts and hedge funds.

Mike received a B.S. in Finance from Santa Clara University in 1998. He resides in Chicago with his wife, Liz, and two daughters.

0-5 years

Key Achievements:

Developed and managed high-impact community and media strategies at the Housing Authority of Cook County, leading to increased awareness and support for affordable housing initiatives.

Served as a chief legislative liaison, effectively advocating for policy changes and securing funding for critical programs at the Housing Authority of Cook County.

Spearheaded innovative programs like the "Summit of Hope," significantly reducing recidivism rates and improving re-entry support for ex-offenders at the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Education:

Master of Science in Communication, Northwestern University, 2019
Bachelor of Arts, Southern Illinois University, 2011

Certifications:

- Business Writing, State of Illinois I IDOR
- Project Management, State of Illinois I IDOR

Speaking Engagements:

Guest Lecturer at various universities, sharing insights on political communication and advocacy.

20+ years

General Electric Company Awards

2016 --GE Project Plum Award
2014 - GE Chicago Executive Leadership Team
2014 - GE Project LEAP
2013 - GE Government Affairs and Policy Pinnacle Award
2012 - GE Transportation HQ Relocation Team
2011 - GE Golden GECO Award
2010 - GE Capital Chicago Expansion

McDonalds Team Awards

2005 - 50th Anniversary Development Team
2002 - Illinois Tollway Development Team
2002 - Bradley Airport Development Team
2001 - Reward and Recognition Team
2001 - 25th Anniversary, Ronald McDonald House Charities in Illinois
2001 - Present McDonald's Salute to the Military Team
2000 - McDonald's All-American Basketball Program
1999 - 25,000 Restaurant Core Team
1999 - 2002 Founder's Week Team
1998 - Eastern Division Relocation Team

2012 -- Present: Catholic Education Foundation -- Executive Committee and Board Secretary
2011-- Present: Chicago Youth Program - Board Member
2010 -- Present: Illinois Chamber of Commerce -- Board Member
2007 -- 2008: State Government Affairs Council -- President

KMCStrategies leverages thirty five years of legislative, public policy and political experience to represent businesses and associations on the state and local government levels in Illinois. Provides added value to clients by:

Advocating for clients on policy issues before the executive and legislative branches of state government;

Developing strategies to secure desired resolution to public policy issues;
Organizing and leading coordained lobbying activities with various organizations and interest groups;

Strategic planning and inoculation of key legislative leaders of industry trends;

Candid and timely feedback on issues


General Electric Company (GE) June 2010 -- March 2018

Responsible for directing state and local government affairs, public policy engagement, community relations and reputation management activities in 15 states for GE, one of the world's most recognized brands. Specific duties include:

Developing and managing strategic plans, anticipate, identify, monitor, and analyze government proposals and trends that may affect the GE business portfolio;

Direct lobbying, managing contract lobbyists, developing and guiding coalitions, representing GE's public policy interests in trade groups;

Maintaining ongoing communications with GE senior leadership, plants and facilities.

Leading issue management team within GE to proactively identify and develop appropriate response to specific government affairs matters; and

Additional responsibilities include activating GE's extensive grassroots network, community engagement and ownership of reputation management within the region.

McDonald's USA Director - Government Relations December 1995 -- June 2010

Managed government relations activity for twenty-five (25) Eastern and Central states, as well as Arkansas and Hawaii's more than 6,100 restaurants with annual revenues exceeding $10.5 billion. Responsibilities included:

Served as legislative strategist and advocate for McDonald's;

Identified and developed opportunities to secure government policies that reduced costs to McDonald's and created a favorable business climate for increased sales;

Served as a liaison to other internal departments to advise them of developments that may impact their areas of responsibility;

Lead McDonald's grassroots efforts to influence the outcome of legislative and regulatory developments, including developing strategy, communicating, educating and motivating over 1,000 McDonald's owner/operators, senior management, associations, coalitions, competitors and consultants;

Leveraged relationships with major business and trade associations and other third-party allies; and

Built the McDonald's Trust Bank and enhanced the corporation's reputation with public officials, opinion leaders, McDonald's owner/operators, and the general public.

Illinois House of Representatives Office of Speaker Madigan August 1984- November 1989

JOHN D. NICOLAY directed state governmental representation at Winston & Strawn LLP for seven years. Previously, he served as general counsel to the Illinois Senate President, where his responsibilities included staffing and operations for the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee.

Prior to his work with the office of the Senate President, he served as a legislative liaison for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office where he helped secure passage of more than 50 pieces of legislation, including major sentencing and evidentiary reforms. He also served as an Assistant State's Attorney and practiced in the area of commercial and governmental litigation at Shefsky & Froelich, Ltd. In addition, Mr. Nicolay served as a Legislative Aide to former Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, and as a special assistant to Governor James R. Thompson.

Mr. Nicolay has represented Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, and entrepreneurs in the General Assembly. He also has negotiated and litigated on behalf of clients before municipal and administrative law tribunals. He is a frequent speaker on legislative process and governmental ethics, and served as outside ethics counsel to the Senate President. Mr. Nicolay is the co-author of Effective Dates of Illinois Legislation, in the Handbook of Illinois Administrative Law (Illinois State Bar Association, 2001).

In January 2008, Mr. Nicolay was named as a "Rising Star" in the Illinois Super Lawyers edition of Chicago Magazine, having been nominated by fellow members of the Illinois bar.

Mr. Nicolay is past President and serves on the Board of Directors of The Advocacy Group, an international governmental affairs organization. He is Vice-Chairman of the Illinois Executive Mansion Association, a not-for-profit corporation which administers the public use of the Governor's Mansion in Springfield and the Hayes Mansion in DuQuoin. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of MacMurray College, served two terms on the Board of Directors of the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce, and served on the Board of Directors of Intermountain Corporate Affairs Company. He is honored to serve on the Advisory Board of Misericordia/Heart of Mercy Home in Chicago, a residential facility for developmentally disabled children and adults, which is a pro bono client of the firm.

Mr. Nicolay received a B.S. in history and political science from MacMurray College and a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. He is admitted to practice in the Illinois Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the Northern, Central, and Southern Districts of Illinois.

Mandy Drendel joined the Cornerstone Illinois team as a vice president in January 2021. She is an attorney and registered lobbyist with experience advocating on behalf of clients before the Illinois General Assembly and Executive Branch. As a contract lobbyist, Mandy's worked on behalf of industries including telecommunications, energy, gaming, healthcare, insurance, education and cannabis.

Prior to joining Cornerstone, she served as senior legal counsel in the Illinois Senate President's office where she worked on telecommunications, insurance, tax, and pension issues. During her tenure, Mandy helped lead major legislative initiatives including a telecommunications rewrite, small cell wireless deployment, major insurance legislations, revenue packages, property tax relief and pension reform.

Before that, Mandy served on the Senate Democratic legal team, and acted as the caucus's key regulatory and administrative rule specialist where she staffed the General Assembly's administrative rulemaking committee. This experience provided her direct access and insight into the regulatory arm of Illinois state government.

Mandy received a Juris Doctorate from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

15-20 years

Member of the national council of state legislatures

0-5 years

U.S. Senate; U.S. House of Representatives; Illinois Department of Transportation

Before joining the firm, Greg Bales worked for U.S. Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin for more than a decade, serving as senior advisor in the Senator's government office as well as his campaign manager for his 2020 reelection. During his time with the Senator, he oversaw special projects throughout Illinois, and worked as a liaison to elected officials, businesses, community organizations, and other constituencies across the state.

Prior to joining Senator Durbin's staff, Greg worked as a policy advisor for the Illinois Department of Transportation. He was a staffer for former Illinois Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson, and he has worked on numerous political campaigns in California, Illinois, and Indiana. Before managing Senator Durbin's recent reelection, Greg took leave to elect Illinois Congressman Sean Casten to his first term in 2018, and served as Illinois state director for Secretary Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential campaign.

Greg's relationships span across the state, including the Illinois Congressional delegation, the Illinois General Assembly, City of Chicago, Cook County government, and in numerous municipalities and local units of government. Greg has concentrated on infrastructure funding, economic development, and earmarks. He has worked with Illinois General Assembly leadership on legislative language to ensure millions of dollars in federal funding for election security were allocated to cybersecurity; managed multi-million-dollar campaign budgets; pitched stories and gone on the record with the media; and lobbied for state funding for public transit.

William ("Bill") Smith brings to Cornerstone a wealth of experience in politics and government affairs, particularly working with the financial services industry in Illinois. Prior to joining Cornerstone, he served as General Counsel to a state chartered community bank which managed more than one billion dollars in assets and operated subsidiary insurance and title insurance agencies. In that role, Bill worked at the state and national levels on legislative initiatives that affected the industry.

Bill has experience working on campaigns at every level of government in the State of Illinois including executive offices, legislative and judicial. He has served on the Legislative Division of the Community Bank Association of Illinois. In 2011, the Illinois Supreme Court selected Bill to serve on its foreclosure crisis commission to develop recommendations on legislative and procedural changes to address the impact of the foreclosure crisis throughout the state.

Based upon his significant experience and network of relationships, Bill provides his clients with a strong and experienced advocate in the state legislative and regulatory arenas. In addition to his state experience and contacts, he maintains very good working relationships with the members and staff of the Illinois congressional delegation.

Bill graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1988 with a B.A in Government and DePaul University College of Law in 1991 where he graduated cum laude and was inducted into the Order of the Coif.