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* 3:48 pm - From a press release…
Governor Pat Quinn today named Jack Lavin as his Chief of Staff. Lavin previously served as the state’s Chief Operating Officer. Current Chief of Staff Michelle Saddler will resume her position as the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS).
“Jack Lavin has helped my administration accomplish many of our top priorities and I have full confidence that he has the vision and ability to lead my office into a successful new term and will tackle the many serious issues facing our state,” said Governor Quinn. “Michelle Saddler has done an excellent job as Chief of Staff. However, I wish to honor her preference to return to the work she began at the Department of Human Services. She is a key leader in my administration.”
Lavin has served as Governor Quinn’s Chief Operating Officer since February 2009, where he has led implementation of the Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program and directed the state’s federal stimulus program. Lavin, who also leads Governor Quinn’s job creation efforts, worked to keep Ford, Navistar and Chrysler in Illinois. […]
“It has been a privilege to serve as Governor Quinn’s Chief of Staff,” said Saddler. “Returning to the Department of Human Services will allow me to pursue my truest passion and continue to address the immense challenges and needs facing human services in Illinois.”
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 3:48 pm
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So Lavin finally comes out on top. He’s been angling for the spot every since Blago’s demise. Now let’s see whether he can actually lead.
Comment by Louis Howe Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 3:54 pm
Good Luck Jack! He is smart and hardworking and i wish him the best in a no-win situation.
Comment by prairiestatedem Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 4:04 pm
Good appointment. He knows something about politics unlike his predecessors.
Comment by Tom Joad Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 4:05 pm
Good luck Jack. Welcome to the Thunderdome!
Comment by Spliff Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 4:07 pm
Good choice. He has been the “go to” guy anyway.
Comment by North Side Novice Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 4:28 pm
Congratulations to Jack Lavin, a smart, capable and effective staffer. Best of luck!
Comment by QC Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 4:31 pm
Different people…same results
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 4:35 pm
===This just in… Lavin new chief of staff ===
But don’t forget, he will have to submit his resignation soon along with all the other cabinet members.
Comment by Been There Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 4:36 pm
BT, chief of staff is not confirmed by the Senate.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 4:37 pm
He still carries the strong stench of Blago….he’sgoing to have to find some tomato sauce to help get that smell off….
All-in-all, he’s effective, but let’s hope he guides the Governor to some good appointments…and a little diversity never hurt.
Comment by Nickname Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 4:41 pm
===BT, chief of staff is not confirmed by the Senate. ===
Good point, I forgot. It was meant to be snark anyway.
Comment by Been There Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 4:42 pm
How did Lavin get into government anyway?
Comment by Hattie Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 4:44 pm
Hattie, he worked with Quinn at the treasurer’s office.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 4:46 pm
He probably shouldn’t plan to stay too long. It’s a dangerous job. Lon Monk, John Harris, Jerry Stermer. They all stayed too long, almost certainly to their regret.
Comment by cassandra Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 5:01 pm
Jerry Stermer hardly “stayed too long.” And to put him in the same category as Monk or Harris is ridiculous.
Comment by soccermom Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 5:11 pm
Soccermom-
I’m not a Jerry Stermer fan and I thought Harris was more a victim of bad judgment than an evil spirit but that’s not my point. COS is a very tough job. The longer you stay the more you risk getting swept away by events. Mistakes are inevitable. You are not an elected official so you are expendable. So you better have an agenda and implement it fast.
Comment by cassandra Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 5:21 pm
Cassandra — I agree with you about Harris, actually. But you can’t compare the mistakes that happened in the Blagojevich administration with three very brief emails, out of thousands.
Comment by soccermom Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 5:22 pm
@Nickname…”Strong Stench of Blago” sounds like a name for a car fragrance tree.
Comment by amalia Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 5:24 pm
Lavin went through the Blagojevich administration and Rezko’s company without any hint of corruption. That ought to be to his credit. Instead, we see the predictable mindless guilt by association insults.
If you have something real on him, produce it. Otherwise, the association attacks are purely bogus.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 5:27 pm
Rich is right. Lavin is clean, Brady tried to smear him during the Ochoa and Dean Martinez incident, but as always nothing came up.
Lavin is a solid guy and the best they have on 16. Which isn’t saying much, but it is something.
Comment by Cliff Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 5:39 pm
Jack Lavin is top-notch. He’s clean but he knows how to play politics when needed. Great choice by the Governor.
Comment by Just Sayin' Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 5:48 pm
Quinn needs one, that’s for sure. Let’s hope for the best.
llinois isn’t Mayberry, so “guilt by association” isn’t fair, even for one who rolled from a private sector job with Rezko to a grant-giving economic development job with Blago.
But it gives one pause long enough to serve as a reminder that vigilance is a good idea.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 5:57 pm
This is a good sign. The Gov trusts him and Jack is a quality person who is grounded with a strong family. He would make an excellent statewide candidate for the dems in 2014,
Comment by yep Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 6:00 pm
Like the move, what is great is that Quinn can show where he wants to go in the next 4 years with more moves like this and change some perceptions in the process. Good Luck Jack!
Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 6:25 pm
Wasn’t Lavin a Tony Rezko protege?
Comment by Robert Hiyane Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 6:36 pm
I knew that Michelle’s time as COS was temporary and just an election stunt on Quinn’s part. At the time he appointed her he was having serious trouble with black voters, and he was bent on appearing woman-friendly too.
On paper Lavin is up to the task. We’ll see how he does. I am not expecting much because of who his boss is and the problems that are facing Illinois.
Comment by BF Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 6:36 pm
Re: Rich’s comment on “mindless guilt by association”- that is what the “fumigation” thing is all about, i.e., if you were around 2003 to 2008 you are corrupt. Thanks for calling bs on that…
Comment by DuPage Dave Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 7:20 pm
I’ll have to take your word on Lavin being clean, but DCEO was not run well from what I could see of it. Still isn’t. Lots of money wasted (remember the money for rebuilding the church school that didn’t exist?) and lots of inefficiency, an agency that had lost it’s way while becoming a Blago play-toy for handing out favors and state cash. Not that it was much better under Ryan.
Comment by Gregor Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 8:49 pm
take the member intiative stuff out of dceo and it would compare well with any other e.d, agency in the country. Its the legislature’s pork that gives it a bad rap and all they are doing is processing the sausage.
Comment by yep Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 9:13 pm
Congratulations to both Lavin and Saddler. Both are strong staffers for their positions. Jack is a dedicated worker who combines idealism with business savvy. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago, which is a big honor in itself, and entered government with public service goals in the early 90’s when other MBAs were racing to grab the financial industry jobs paying vastly more money. He has a consistent focus on balancing the policy management goals with crunching the numbers. And Michelle will be glad to renew her focus on a closer-to-the-people leadership role at DHS.
Comment by Statewide Monday, Dec 13, 10 @ 9:32 pm
Deck chair rearrangement.
Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Dec 14, 10 @ 7:23 am
Was thinking the same thing Cincinnatus. Regardless of whether these people are capable of doing these jobs, we hear about how people will do things differently when elected. Then the same old names pop up to get jobs. Quinn said he was asking for resignations, then didn’t. Same old, same old.
Comment by Concerned Voter Tuesday, Dec 14, 10 @ 8:08 am
I’m surprised by the positive comments. What did Lavin accomplish as head of DCEO? He had a chance to counteract Blago’s lack of interest in attracting business and jobs to Illinois and failed miserably as far as I’m concerned.
Comment by 3 beers to Springfield Tuesday, Dec 14, 10 @ 8:42 am
- Then the same old names pop up to get jobs. -
You know, you’re right, Quinn should probably draw someone’s name from a hat instead of choosing someone he’s known for 20 years to be his COS.
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Dec 14, 10 @ 8:45 am
3 beers, you haven’t met Jack, have you? I’ll let others fight the “facts” battle.
I just want to join in and say a happy congratulations to Jack Lavin. A total professional who knows the players, both their weaknesses and strengths. I think he’ll use that to increase the economic recovery in Illinois in 2011. My warmest Congrats to Jack!
Comment by Fan of Cap Fax Tuesday, Dec 14, 10 @ 8:52 am
Two things I admire most about Jack Lavin is that he is accessible and he tells it like it is.
Comment by GA Watcher Tuesday, Dec 14, 10 @ 9:27 am
@3 Beers:
This year, Illinois ranked in the Top 5 nationally in plant openings.
Under George Ryan and Jim Edgar, I heard business leaders complain that when someone wanted to move their business to Illinois and wanted help from the state, instead of offering them a straight-up economic development grant, we would tell them to go to Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri to see what they would offer and we would match it.
“Hey, before you shop here, shop our competitors!”
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I don’t hear those complaints since Lavin took over.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Dec 14, 10 @ 10:52 am
Found these interesting tidbit about Jack Lavin’s rise to political power and his relationship with Tony Rezko in the Tribune:
“On a state level, at the urging of Tony Rezko Governor Blagojevich appointed Jack Lavin director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. The DCEO administers “programs and services designed to help Illinois businesses thrive,” according to its web site. The site also states:
“This includes a strong emphasis on programs designed to provide small businesses — particularly minority and female entrepreneurs — with the resources they need to succeed and grow their business opportunities.”
Lavin is a former CFO of Rezko Enterprises, a company described as, “a $100 million firm that operates more than 150 Panda Express and Papa John’s Pizza outlets, primarily in the Midwest,” on the DCEO‘s web site in April 2004, according to the Journal-Register.
As noted earlier in this series, Lavin sent a letter urging approval of Mercy’s new hospital in the Planning Board pay-to-play scheme.”
You can’t tell me Quinn couldn’t have found someone not tainted by Blago and Rezko?
Comment by Hattie Tuesday, Dec 14, 10 @ 12:06 pm
Great move by Quinn. Lavin is a strong executive with business and political savy. Saddler, as I understand, wanted to go back to DHS. It was a dream job “of sorts” for her. Both will serve us well.
Comment by anon Tuesday, Dec 14, 10 @ 12:33 pm
Fan and Yellow Dog - Yes, I’ve met Mr. Lavin several times. Highest number of plant openings means what exactly if it’s offset by a higher number of plant closings? Besides, Lavin hasn’t been at DCEO since Blago left office.
Comment by 3 beers to Springfield Tuesday, Dec 14, 10 @ 3:22 pm