Illinois

First appointed in 2023, Sanjay Gupta's last day at the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology is March 20. Deputy CIO Brandon Ragle will serve as interim CIO until a replacement is named.

The Illinois House and Senate are considering an amendment that would allow community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degrees in technical programs like advanced manufacturing and cybersecurity.

After legislation took effect Jan. 1, the Secretary of State’s Office will work with the technology company to let users add their driver’s license or state ID to the Wallet. A sign-up page for interested Illinoisans has been set up.

The data breach last year by an outside entity resulted in the accessing of files that included Social Security numbers. Separately, hackers obtained the public assistance account information of more than 1 million people.

A Bus2Grid project in Illinois will not only send electric school buses to 13 school districts, but enable them to discharge unneeded power back to the district, or an electric utility, when needed.

While cybersecurity remains a high priority for many CIOs, we spoke to technology leaders to understand what other skills are difficult to find when recruiting new talent.

The Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles is deploying kiosks this fall as part of a pilot program to help residents access services like driver’s license renewals more efficiently. Average transaction times are estimated at roughly two minutes.

At NASCIO, Illinois CIO Sanjay Gupta says he has won direct appropriations for tech from state officials. He wants to move away from the chargeback model eventually, which he says will result in better services.

An unsecured platform made roughly 4.6 million records across a dozen Illinois counties temporarily available on the Internet. Information exposed included voting registrations. The vulnerability was identified in July.

Illinois' DMV modernization hit a snag with rampant no-shows for digital appointments. But a simple tech fix — text reminders — may be turning the tide. Government Technology dives into the data to reveal the impact.

The state’s second most populous county has created the force after a roundtable discussion by county IT leaders last week. The move is in response to the general ramping up of cyberattacks.

Plus, the FCC has launched a new mobile speed test app, HUD’s ConnectHomeUSA program has expanded to new communities, more states have seen their initial proposals for BEAD program funding accepted, and more.

Every one of these attacks is an outrage, disrupting commerce, threatening the prospects of otherwise healthy organizations and requiring lavish investments to harden systems against hacking.

Illinois has partnered with Google to launch a groundbreaking portal, aiming to streamline access to youth mental health services and break down agency silos. A project leader shared with Government Technology what they’ve learned in the process.

The Illinois IT Trainee Program, offering full-time paid training and a competitive salary, has snagged the attention of aspiring tech professionals, with thousands of people vying for a handful of positions.

The Illinois Senate has voted to make the appointments of the state CIO and Secretary of the Department of Innovation and Technology Sanjay Gupta, as well as Deputy CIO and Secretary Brandon Ragle, official.

The state and federal funding will drive deployment of high-speed Internet. The money, which comes in part from the American Rescue Plan Act, will be distributed by formula to unserved and underserved locations first.

Jason Bowen, an Army veteran who previously worked as a senior security executive for a private-sector consulting firm, has been hired as the state’s new chief information security officer to replace Adam Ford.