Illinois e-News Release

May 2, 2023

Jennifer Jennings

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT) Acting Secretary & State Chief Information Officer Brandon Ragle and Chief Information Security Officer Adam Ford were honored by StateScoop for their leadership and achievements in tech on Monday.

The StateScoop 50 Awards, now in their 10th year, honor the most influential people in the state government IT community, and the most innovative projects that advance government operations and citizen services. This year’s awards recognize leaders and projects from 22 different states, along with executives from 14 companies.

Ragle earned a Golden Gov award for leading state government into a new technology landscape with innovative ideas and inspriring others to get on board.

The award comes in response to Ragle’s exceptional leadership, spearheading several successful initiatives across Illinois agencies. In 2022, Ragle initiated a statewide website modernization rollout of the Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) platform. This rollout has accelerated Illinois’ digital transformation to improve digital experiences and provide more equitable access for Illinois residents.

“I am both honored and humbled to receive this recognition among this distinct group of leaders across the country,” said Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology Acting Secretary & State CIO Brandon Ragle. “The milestones that DoIT has been able to accomplish over the past year would not have been possible without our dynamic team driving innovation and making big things happen. I will continue to make it my mission to enable Illinois to utilize technology to more effectively serve Illinois residents.”

Ford received a State Leadership award for his work as a statewide leader of information security operations. Last year, applying his twenty years of experience in state government, Ford led the Security team that hardened endpoints, reduced the attack surface area, and limited elevated rights through collaboration with Illinois state agencies on cybersecurity and overall information security practices.

“I’m honored to receive a StateScoop 50 award, which recognizes the hard work and dedication of our DoIT Security and operations teams to secure the systems providing critical services to Illinois residents,” said Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology Chief Information Security Officer Adam Ford.

The StateScoop 50 Awards annually honor the best and the brightest who make state government more efficient and effective. These awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of our peers and acknowledge their tireless efforts to make a positive impact in the government IT community and in public service.

A complete list of StateScoop 50 Awards winners can be found at https://statescoop.com/list/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2023-statescoop-50-awards/.