Karyn L. Bass Ehler

Karyn L. Bass Ehler currently serves as an Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General for the Illinois Attorney General. Prior to this role, Karyn served as the General Counsel for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), where she managed all legal functions for IDPH, including helping the agency and the State of Illinois navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to joining IDPH, Karyn served as a civil rights attorney in both private practice and in the public sector. Karyn served as the Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau for the Illinois Attorney General and oversaw the department that investigates and litigates cases under both state and federal law involving patterns and practices of discrimination. While working for the Illinois Attorney General, Karyn served as one of the lead counsel in the State of Illinois v. City of Chicago (N.D. Ill.) litigation and negotiation, which resulted in a historic consent decree addressing comprehensive and systemic reform of the Chicago Police Department. In addition, Karyn successfully led the legislative initiatives on campus sexual assault in 2015 and the effort to expand Illinois’ hate crimes law in 2017. Karyn earned her J.D., cum laude, from DePaul University College of Law, where she was the Editor-in-Chief for the DePaul Law Review and a Dean’s Merit Scholar and earned her B.A., with honors, from Northwestern University.