Illinois

In an email before his departure, Michael Pegues said he had an “incredible and productive tenure” that was “marked by groundbreaking innovations and transformative progress.”

A seasoned private-sector technology executive, Tyagi started work Wednesday in the Chicago suburb, which broke ground last year on a “smart neighborhood.” Its other initiatives in progress include creating an artificial intelligence policy.

Ragle brings more than two decades of experience to the role of state CIO, including in leadership roles managing enterprise applications and the state technology budget for the Department of Innovation and Technology.

Bills now under consideration by lawmakers in Illinois and West Virginia would affirm the roles of existing task forces on artificial intelligence. In Alaska, a proposed law would create a joint legislative AI task force.

Like other state legislatures around the country, the Illinois General Assembly in the last couple of years has grappled with how to address a rapidly evolving technology that replicates human intelligence.

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.