Mario Treto, Jr.

Mario Treto, Jr. was appointed by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to serve as the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation on April 1, 2021.  In this role, he leads and oversees the State of Illinois’ lead regulatory agency with a budget of $135 million charged with strengthening consumer protections through the licensing of over 1.2 million licensed professionals and the regulation of banking and financial services.  Under his leadership, the agency has continued to see increased departmental efficiencies, updated and modernized professional regulatory frameworks, reduced barriers to licensure in the State of Illinois, increased license portability for veterans and their spouses, and established diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies for the advancement of the people of Illinois.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, various initiatives were implemented to address concerns with health care workforce shortages by allowing out-of-state, retired, and international medical graduates to provide their services to Illinoisans.

Secretary Treto serves on notable and prominent civic boards and committees, including being appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Professional Responsibility and elected to the Indiana University Maurer School of Law Alumni Board.   He served as an Obama Foundation Scholars Program Strategist at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and recently as the Board Chair of Howard Brown Health, a federally qualified health center serving 30,000 patients through 12 clinics.  Mario has received national recognition from various organizations, including the International Municipal Lawyers Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association, and the National LGBT Bar. Treto has also received leadership accolades from Crain’s Business Magazine, Business Equality Magazine, Chicago Scholars, and Hispanic business publication Negocios Now. In 2018 he was presented with the Humanitarian Award by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, and in 2020, he was the recipient of the Illinois REALTORS Presidential Medallion.

Treto earned his Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Mario is a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow, University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs Edgar Fellow, and David Bohnett Leaders Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He has also been recognized by the Leyden Township High School Alumni Hall of Fame.