Firefighter Forum

Shawn Flaherty Related Seminars and Products

Senior Partner

Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg & Castaldo, Ltd.

Shawn P. Flaherty is a senior partner with Ottosen DiNolfo Hasenbalg & Castaldo, Ltd. in Naperville. He has represented fire protection districts, fire and police commissions, fire and police pension boards, townships, and other units of local government in corporate and labor matters for nearly thirty years. He frequently attends board meetings as general counsel and has served as an administrative hearing officer. He has co-authored several editions of the IAFPD Handbook for Illinois Fire Protection District Trustees, among numerous other publications. He is a frequent speaker at fire service and public pension conferences, has taught Fire Officer classes, and he co-created and remains an instructor for the IAFPD Essential Trustee Training certification program. 

Marron Mahoney Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Laner Muchin

Marron joined Laner Muchin as Of Counsel in 2022 and became a partner at the Firm in 2024. She concentrates her practice on representing public and private sector employers in numerous areas of labor and employment law, including collective bargaining negotiations, grievances, investigations
and employment counseling.

Prior to joining Laner Muchin, Marron was the Chief Legal Counsel for the
Will County Executive’s Office and the General Counsel and Chief of Staff for the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice, where she gained experience in collective bargaining negotiations, grievance resolutions and employment counseling. She has also practiced at Am Law 50 law firms and has argued in the Illinois Appellate Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Additionally, Marron served as a judicial law clerk for Judge Sharon Prost of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Judge James Holderman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and Justice Laura Liu of the Illinois Appellate Court, First District.

Marron also is a moot court coach at Loyola Law School, where she previously taught legal writing as an adjunct professor.

Mr. Jerry J. Marzullo Related Seminars and Products

Shareholder

Asher Gittler & D'Alba Ltd.

Jerry Marzullo is a shareholder in the firm of Asher, Gittler & D’Alba Ltd. and concentrates his practice in the representation of Labor Unions and Pension Funds.  He has successfully represented clients in both pension and labor matters, including collective bargaining, discipline, arbitrations, pension hearings (representing Pension Boards), administrative review, and declaratory judgment proceedings at Administrative, State, and Federal Levels.  Jerry has considerable experience in both litigation and appellate work with numerous decisions. He also serves as Deputy General Counsel for the Illinois Public Pension Fund Association and the Metropolitan Alliance of Police.  He serves as an Advisory Committee Member for the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Conference and on the Board of the Chicago Chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association.

Jerry received his Juris Doctorate from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law and his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with a dual concentration in Strategic Management and Managerial and Organizational Behavior.

He has previously taught undergraduate, Master’s Degree, and Law School courses in various labor and employment law topics. Jerry has been a frequent speaker on both labor and pension-related issues for the Illinois Public Pension Fund Association, the Metropolitan Alliance of Police, the Associated Firefighters of Illinois, the Illinois Professional Firefighters Association, the Illinois Government Finance Officers Association, and the Chicago-Kent Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Conference and the American Bar Association. Jerry has authored legal articles for publication, including, most recently, the Illinois Public Employee Relations Report (A Statement of Facts: The Reality of Public Safety Employee Pension Funds in the State of Illinois; Vol. 37 No. 3; Possible Wisdom and Wit regarding the Arbitration of Discipline; Vol. 39 No. 3). He has also helped train command staff police officers and firefighters at the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy (NIPSTA).

Jerry is a City of Berwyn Battalion Chief (IAFF-AFFI Local 506), where he currently has 24 years of creditable service and is former President of the City of Berwyn Firefighter's Pension Fund and former Vice-President of IAFF-AFFI Local 506. He is a Certified Fire and Arson Investigator, Advanced Technician Firefighter, and Chief Fire Officer.

Finally, and most importantly, he is happily married to one of Chicago's finest Police Lieutenants and has two evil pugs that he barely restrains from taking over the world.

Chuck Sullivan Related Seminars and Products

President

Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois

Chuck is President of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois.  He has served in that role since January of 2020.  The AFFI represents over 15,000 firefighters and paramedics in 225 locals across the state.

Prior to becoming the President, he served as the AFFI Central District Legislative Representative from 2008-2020.  During that time, he worked extensively on legislation and rules within Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Statute that affects Downstate and Suburban Firefighters. Chuck Sullivan was appointed to the Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund Board on January 31, 2020. Chuck has served as Chairperson of the Board of Trustees since the Board’s inception.

Chuck has an Associate’s degree in Fire Science and a Bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University. He was a firefighter with the City of Champaign from 1995 until his retirement in March of 2022 at the rank of Battalion Chief.  In addition he is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and served in Desert Storm.