D205 Board Member Named Chief of Staff to Diana Rauner

Submitted by Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205.

Elmhurst, IL - Emily Bastedo has been named the chief of staff to Illinois first lady Diana Rauner.

Bastedo, a member of the Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 School Board, brings a unique background to the role with experience as an attorney at the corporate and state level.

Bastedo’s thorough understanding of the law and policy will be an asset as she assists with agency transformation and acting as a liaison for the First Lady across the state. She will also active role in the restoration of the Executive Mansion.

Bastedo is an experienced public finance attorney. She is currently an associate counsel in the Office of the Governor where she is the legal liaison for 10 state agencies, boards and commissions including the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, the Capital Development Board and the Illinois Finance Authority.

Prior to her work with the Governor’s Office, she was an associate at Chapman and Cutler LLP where she served as bond counsel and disclosure counsel for state agencies and local governmental units.

Similar to the first lady, Bastedo is passionate about the education of our state’s future generation. She currently sits on the Finance & Operations and Policy Committees for the Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 School Board. On the Finance Committee, she was able to save taxpayers more than $11 million in savings through restructuring debt.

Bastedo is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and earned her law degree from DePaul University. She and her husband, Brian, along with sons Charlie and Elliott, live in Elmhurst, where she serves on the District 205 Board of Education.