Illinois e-News Release

Springfield— Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker announced the following appointments in his administration:

Marc Smith will continue to serve as Director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.* Smith previously served as the Executive Vice President of Foster Care and Intact Services at Aunt Martha’s Health & Wellness. Prior to serving with Aunt Martha’s, Smith worked for more than two decades as a Social Worker, trainer and leader in child welfare. From 2004 to 2009, he served as a Program Administrator and Recovery Coach at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities, where he managed the child welfare division. Earlier in his career, Smith worked as a Public Service Administrator for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services from 1993 to 2000. Smith has served on numerous boards, committees and work groups, helping to shape policies and inform best practices in leadership and in the field. Smith received his Bachelor of Science from Illinois State University and his Master of Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

John Kim will continue to serve as Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.* Kim has served in many senior roles over 25 years at the Department under five governors of both parties. He previously served as Chief Legal Counsel, where he supervised a legal staff of approximately 40 employees. Prior to that, Kim served as Director, Interim Director, Ethics Officer, Deputy General Counsel, Assistant Counsel/Special Assistant Attorney General, and Project Manager for an IEPA-China pollution prevention project. Before joining IEPA, Kim was an Assistant Attorney General in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and General Counsel to the Midwest Environmental Enforcement Association. He received his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Juris Doctor from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Heidi Mueller will continue to serve as Director of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice.* Mueller has spent over 8 years at the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice and was first appointed to serve as Director in 2016. Prior to joining the Department, Mueller served as the Director of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission. Her background includes development and management of community programs for justice-involved youth, legal practice, front-line youth services, and social science research. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College, Master of Arts in Social Psychology from Stony Brook University, and Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School.

Jane Flanagan will continue to serve as the Director of the Illinois Department of Labor.* Jane previously served as Deputy General Counsel and Deputy Chief Compliance Officer in the Office of Governor JB Pritzker. While serving in this role, she spearheaded several priority initiatives, including implementation of disability access planning across state agencies, drafting pay transparency amendments to the state Equal Pay Act, and the development of the Governor’s Commission on Workforce Equity & Access. Prior to that role, she spent six years in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General where she held the role of Labor Counsel and Assistant Attorney General before founding the Workplace Rights Bureau and serving as its first chief. A graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, Flanagan has also served as a Visiting Scholar at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Institute for Law and the Workplace. She began her legal career in Maryland where she represented chicken processing workers and bus drivers in wage cases at Brown, Goldstein & Levy in Baltimore before becoming counsel to the Maryland Department of Labor. A native of Maryland, Jane lives in Oak Park with her family.

Dana Popish Severinghaus will continue to serve as the Director of the Department of Insurance.* Popish Severinghaus has extensive legal, policy, government relations and insurance industry-related experience. Popish Severinghaus was formerly Legislative and Regulatory Counsel at Allstate Insurance Company where she advised Allstate and its subsidiaries on legal, regulatory and legislative matters across the Midwest. Before that, she served as Senior Policy Advisor at the State of Illinois in Central Management Services where she saw oversaw the Bureau of Benefits. Prior to that, Popish Severinghaus served as the Director of Government Relations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. Popish Severinghaus is a Member of the Association of Corporate Counsel, Board Member of the Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund, Secretary of the Illinois Insurance Association, Advisory Board Member and Co-Chair of Government Relations Advisory Council for the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center, Women in Law Mentor at Chicago Kent College of Law and Auxiliary Board Member of ChildServ. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and Journalism & Mass Communications from the University of Iowa and Juris Doctor from Chicago Kent College of Law.

Theresa Eagleson will continue to serve as Director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.* Eagleson previously served as the Executive Director of the Office of Medicaid Innovation at the University of Illinois system, joining in 2014 after spending over a decade in management at HFS. She served as the state Medicaid Director, Deputy Administrator of the Division of Medical Programs, and Senior Adviser to the Administrator during her 15-year tenure. Prior, Eagleson served two Republican governors’ administrations, leading the Medical & Child Welfare Division of the governor’s budget office and serving as Governor Edgar’s Policy Adviser for Health and Human Services and as Senior Budget Analyst. Eagleson received her Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Master of Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield.