* Press release…

As Governor Pritzker begins his second term in office, the administration has announced the following personnel appointments to Illinois State Agencies:

Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS)

Raven DeVaughn will serve as the Director of the Illinois Department of Central Management Services.* Prior to taking on this role, DeVaughn served as Assistant Director at CMS where she oversaw the agency’s procurement through the Bureau of Strategic Sourcing (BOSS), promoted minority and women owned participation in CMS contracts; oversaw the Bureau of Administrative Hearings and the Illinois Office of Communications and Information; and served as liaison to the recently created Commission on Equity and Inclusion and the African Descent-Citizens Reparations Commission. Before joining CMS, Raven served as the Director of Economic Development Initiatives within the Office of Civic Engagement at The University of Chicago, where she designed and advanced policies surrounding the University’s community-based economic inclusion efforts on the south side of Chicago. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Howard University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)

Kristin Richards will serve as the Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.* Most recently, Richards was the Director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security where she oversaw the provision of more than $38 billion in unemployment benefits to hard-hit families during the pandemic. With more than 20 years of public service experience, Richards has served under two governors and as Chief of Staff for two senate presidents. In her time with the Illinois Senate, Richards played a critical role in bipartisan negotiations which resulted in Medicaid and pension reform, and later, ending the more than two-year budget impasse. She began her career in public service as a James H. Dunn Fellow in the Governor’s Office in Springfield. Richards earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Millikin University.

Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES)

Ray Marchiori will serve as Temporary Director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Marchiori currently serves as the Chief of Staff for the IDES and has more than 25 years of public service experience. He has served in executive-level roles for state, county, and federal agencies. Marchiori received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Northern Illinois University.

Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT)

Brandon Ragle will serve as Temporary Secretary of the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology. Ragle has worked at DoIT since 2016, where he served as the Assistant Secretary and the Chief of Enterprise Applications. Prior to that, he was Deputy Chief of Enterprise Applications. Ragle brings 30 years of service in state government, serving in various roles supporting the Illinois Department of Corrections, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and Illinois Department of Insurance. Ragle spent the past two decades in information technology. Ragle served in the Illinois National Guard for seven years and was non-commissioned officer of the year in 1995. Ragle received a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Greenville College and Master of Business Administration from Benedictine University.

* Appointments pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.