All DoIT In The News

Now Decatur
By: Joe Deacon
Gov. Bruce Rauner recently proclaimed October as Cyber Security Awareness Month.

Gov CIO Outlook
By: Krishna Iyer
Krishna Iyer, Illinois Chief Data Scientist shares the journey in Illinois to establish the state's first state data practice.

StateScoop
By: Jared Beinart
Kevin Parker, previously the leader of Rhode Island's government innovation office, started the role in July.

Government Technology
By: Zack Quaintance
After holding tech and innovation positions in government in Boston and Rhode Island, Kevin Parker discusses priorities for his new position in Illinois.

U.S. News & World Report
By: Anna Marie Kukec
The Windy City has become a popular place for startups, incubators and accelerators. Illinois DoIT Acting Secretary Kirk Lonbom shares on new agency's direction.

StateScoop
By: Colin Wood
The State of Illinois selected as a finalist in three award categories. The winners from this group of 31 projects and programs will be announced at the association's annual conference later this year.

River Bender
The Department of Employment Security (DES) and Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT) jointly announce the release of the IllinoisJobLink.com mobile functionality.

WICS/News Channel 20
The State of Illinois is modernizing the way people can look for jobs by offering a mobile job-search program.

GCN
By: Matt Leonard
Illinois Chief Data Scientist, Krishna Iyer weighs in on the state's AI strategy.

ISU News
By: Tyler Emken
Tyler Clark, Chief of Staff for Illinois DoIT and Illinois State University graduate (‘09) is looking to Redbirds to help fill the agency’s ranks.

StateScoop
By: Colin Wood
Officials say smart streetlights are a foundational technology that will serve as a first step in Illinois' ambitious smart state initiative.

Government Technology
By: Lauren Harrison, Noelle Knell
Acting Illinois CIO Kirk Lonbom weighs in on the importance of change management and preparing for a retirement wave.

Chicago Tribune and Daily Southtown
By: Dennis Sullivan
Chris Hill, IL CISO gives keynote address to future cyber warriors at Cyber Camp, where college students learn how to fight phishing, ransomware attacks and other Internet threats at a recent 5-day intensive boot camp at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills.

HPC Wire
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at Illinois was invited to join Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, state legislators and agency leaders for the signing of HB-5611, which formally created the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT).

StateScoop
By: Colin Wood
After creating the Department of Innovation and Technology by executive order in 2016, Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed a bill codifying its place in the state government.

News Channel20
The Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT), formed by Executive Order in 2016, is now officially recognized as a state agency.

StateScoop
By: Colin Wood
Leaders from Colorado, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota and Virginia will head to Chicago in October to compare notes on statewide connected technology programs.

STL News
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner issued an executive order mandating that steps be taken to eliminate the backlog of over 1,000 cases at the Illinois Human Rights Commission (IHRC) dealing with anti-discrimination and equal opportunity complaints, DoIT to participate in effort.

Government Technology
By: Noelle Knell, Lauren Harrison
Acting CIO Kirk Lonbom is prioritizing the unification of all IT in the state.

StateScoop
By: Colin Wood
Rahming will play a central role in the next phase of the state's IT unification effort.

Government Technology
By: Theo Douglas
The Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) has hired former Nevada CIO Shanna Rahming to lead its newly created Office of Strategy and Planning.

The State Journal-Register
Students had a chance to show what they are learning with the science, technology, engineering and math classes recently to lawmakers at the Illinois Capitol.

StateScoop
2018 StateScoop award winners include Illinois' Tyler Clark for State Leadership of the Year and Chris Hill for State Cybersecurity Leader.

PR Newswire
Illinois technology industry added more than 4,000 jobs in 2017, tech contributes nearly $49 billion in economic impact to state.

Illinois Business Daily
By: Carol Ostrow
“We are pleased to see the ISAC IT team receiving well-deserved recognition. ISAC's team has been instrumental in helping to advance our Mobile FIRST strategy,” said Kirk Lonbom, acting secretary for DoIT.

The State Journal-Register
By: Maximilian Kwiatkowski
According to experts speaking to Illinois House members at a hearing on Tuesday, the technology behind Bitcoin could help make government more efficient.

Government Technology
By: Juliet Van Wagenen
As lawmakers shoot for transparency and data integrity with blockchain, they must also address possible privacy and scalability concerns.

MeriTalk
By: Kate DeNardi
When the Land of Lincoln needed a new CIO this fall, Illinois-native Kirk Lonbom couldn’t have been a more obvious choice.

StateScoop
By: Ryan Johnston
The report identifies use cases and potential legislative proposals for deploying the technology to improve existing government processes.

GCN
By: Sara Friedman
Over the past year, the Illinois Blockchain Initiative has grown from a nascent project based at the Illinois Department of Technology into a program with two completed pilots and renewed momentum for the next stage of research

MeriTalk
By: Kate DeNardi
Illinois CIO Kirk Lonbom discusses NASCIO's Top 10 Survey and how he's using the information for the State of Illinois.

Coindesk
By: Wolfie Zhao
An Illinois government task force has outlined a potential direction for applying blockchain technologies in the state's inter-government operations.

Government Technology
By: News Staff
A state task force met for four months to discuss and study the technology's potential.

Government Technology
By: Theo Douglas
A new information network is putting the collective wisdom of public sector IT agencies within reach of their colleagues and trying to solve some of the big problems that vex government.

StateScoop
By: Colin Wood
The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation is positioning a new website as the go-to spot for state and local governments looking for best practices and case studies

GCN
By: Sara Friedman
Many cities that want to take advantage of smart technology find they cannot afford to make the necessary investments to research, evaluate and purchase the technology. To fill that gap, some "smart states" are taking the lead make it easier for communities to modernize their infrastructure.

Government Technology
By: Skip Descant
Illinois signed a deal with three vendors to make streetlight purchases cheaper and easier for local governments.

StateScoop
By: Colin Wood
The state government's customers can now use its joint purchasing program to build Internet of Things platforms that support technologies for air quality monitoring, traffic management and public safety.

Peoria Public Radio
By: Jenna Dooley
A group of Illinois lawmakers will exploring the potential benefits to the state in using “blockchain” technology developed for cybercurrency.

Illinois News Network
By: Greg Bishop
With the soaring price of digital currency Bitcoin, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group set to launch futures beginning Dec. 17, one state representative says the technology is here to stay.

StateScoop
By: Colin Wood
The two-day event designed to enhance service delivery is part of the state technology office's growing effort to pull from the private sector for new ideas.

Herald-Whig
By: Associated Press
Illinois has turned to an online database to help form policy decisions on health, safety, education and work opportunities for residents younger than 25.

StateTech
By: Juliet Van Wagenen
StateTech's annual list of the most useful blogs offering analysis, commentary and insights for public sector IT leaders at the local level.

StateScoop
By: Colin Wood
The new portal expands the state's existing transparency initiatives and is scheduled for expansion in coming months with new features.

StateScoop
By: Jake Williams
Illinois CTO, Mike Wons is interviewed on Illinois' journey to the cloud and how it impacts the state's digital transformation.

Route Fifty
By: Mitch Herckis
Kirk Lonbom has served for two years as chief information security officer for the state of Illinois, but has a unique blend of information technology and security expertise that goes back years.

StateTech
By: Erin Cunningham
IoT efforts create a skills gap in local government manpower. Tech leaders in Seattle and Illinois reveal training and partnerships can bolster the necessary expertise.

Shelbyville Daily Union
The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) is announcing the launch of its new website (www2.illinois.gov/sites/agr) which features a more modern and user-friendly design.

Government Technology
By: Noelle Knell
With protection from cyberthreats an ever-present concern for IT leaders at all levels, five states (including Illinois) presented their approaches at NASCIO's annual conference in Austin.

StateTech
By: Brad Sowell
Security technology is important, but states show how people can be your biggest asset in protecting your organization and preventing attacks. Read about Illinois' examples.

StateScoop
By: Jason Shueh
Winners include Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology's Interim Secretary Kirk Lonbom, for his cybersecurity progress as CISO.

WICS News Team
Governor Bruce Rauner issued a proclamation for Illinois to recognize National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

StateTech
CTO Mike Wons describes how the Internet of Things and data analytics support better decision-making.

MeriTalk
By: Kate DeNardi
Kirk Lonbom is stepping up as interim CIO after a long tenure with Illinois state government and becoming state CISO in 2015. Before Bhatt stepped down, both Bhatt and Lonbom spoke with 21st Century State & Local about the DoIT’s focus and plans for the future.

Enterprise Mobility Exchange
By: Jason Koestenblatt
It’s often believed the public sector lags in digital transformation, especially now with mobility standing as a key pillar of enterprise technology. That’s not the case for the State of Illinois, which has plunged headfirst into mobile transformation, both for its citizenry and employees

Coindesk
By: Michael del Castillo
The state of Illinois has begun work on a new blockchain pilot focused on the digitization of birth certificates.

Government Technology
By: Dan Lohrmann
Illinois state government has launched a 2017-2019 cybersecurity strategy that is both bold and ambitious. Here is what state Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Kirk Lonbom had to say about where the state is now and where it is going regarding government cyberdefense.

Bloombery BNA
By: Michaela Ross
Federal and state governments are ramping up their use of blockchain technology in a growing trend that backers say will be a powerful boost to widespread private-sector adoption.

21st Century
By: Kate DeNardi
Blockchain isn’t new, but state and local governments’ interest in it is fairly recent.

21st Century
By: Kate DeNardi
The state of Illinois is making a significant push to be a leader in blockchain technology.

The Enterprisers Project
By: Carla Rudder
Tips from top Execs (including Illinois' Hardik Bhatt) Up your IT leadership game with this proven advice

StateTech
By: Juliet Van Wagenen
From smart street lighting to mobile government to blockchain, the state is making major IT changes aimed at setting the stage for the next generation.

Government Technology
By: Theo Douglas
Roughly a year after beginning to explore how blockchain can benefit government, the State of Illinois has six pilots in various stages.

News Channel 20 - WICS
By: Jaclyn Driscoll|
Cyber hacking is a global threat. Now Illinois is taking steps to make sure your information is safe.

StateScoop
By: Jason Shueh
A new law could save the state up to $9 million through greater awareness of malicious and costly cybersecurity attacks.

CBS News-KFVS
By: Jasmine Adams
On Monday, August 7 Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed House Bill 2371.

StateScoop
By: Colin Wood
Eight months after an announcement that the state would aggressively pursue technology to improve electronic record keeping and transactions, the state's first blockchain business liaison says the program — and its community network — is growing.

GCN
By: Sara Friedman
Late last year, the Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology announced plans to bring together state and local agencies on pilots to explore blockchain technology.

Government Technology
By: Adam Stone
How to get talent in the door, keep them engaged and soften the blow of the retirement wave.

Enterprisers Project
By: Kristin Burnham |
Hardik Bhatt, CIO of the State of Illinois, sought to become the nation’s first Smart State — a process that required reorganizing its 38 IT departments into one, improving government services, and finding new sources of innovation to apply to its revenue model

StateScoop
StateScoop announces the top smart communities in the nation, and Chicago and State of Illinois are on the list.

21st Century
By: Kate DeNardi
Three years ago, the State of Illinois ranked in the last quartile of states when it came to using IT efficiently. After two years on the job Hardik Bhatt, the state’s CIO, has transformed Illinois.

ChicagoInno
By: Utsav Gandhi
Amid the continued budget gridlock impacting the state, one area where Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner’s administration has shown positive impact is actually a more technical one

Government Technology
By: Ben Miller
At TiECon 2017 in Santa Clara, Calif., some gov tech leaders parceled out advice on how to work with the public sector.

StateScoop
By: Jake Williams
The state’s chief technology officer said Illinois' approach to cloud computing and hybrid IT will set up the state for future growth in areas like data analytics.

CBS Chicago
By: Craig Dellimore
The state of Illinois is teaming up with the private sector to offer people across the state – from every income level – free training in the information technology field.

IoT Talent Consortium
Partnership with the IoT Talent Consortium to Offer Data Science Training to Illinois Workers and Learners, with Cybersecurity Training Next in the Pipeline

State Scoop
By: Jason Shueh
A new partnership announced by the state with Microsoft and the Internet of Things Consortium is designed to bolster the skills of low-income residents.

Government Technology
By: News Staff
Illinois IT officials talk a lot about their plans for cutting-edge technologies like the ever-expanding Internet of Things, and now they're taking action to make sure the talent pool is there for implementation.

21st Century
By: Morgan Lynch
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has declared April to be Information Technology month in order to bring attention the state’s IT efforts and increase the IT workforce.

Government Technology
By: News Staff
The proclamation outlines the need to support and nurture growing public and private IT industry within the state.

Government Technology
By: Eyragon Eidam
At a time when the state is turning its energy toward bolstering its cyberdefenses, the comptroller's office is tightening the purse strings on key tech upgrades.

State Scoop
By: Colin Wood
The governor calls cybersecurity America's greatest risk as his state unveils a plan to protect an organization that had been in a state of "security neglect."

Our Quad Cities
By: Mike Colon
Governor Bruce Rauner and the Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT) announced a comprehensive state cybersecurity strategy as an important step toward the governor's vision for a cyber secure Illinois.

Reality Biz
By: Allison Halliday
Illinois is set to become the very first US smart state. It will be the first to support a coordinated and government approved strategy for tech-centric initiatives in smart cities.

GreenBiz
By: Heather Clancy
Name a U.S. hot spot for tech innovation. The first name on your lips probably isn't Illinois, the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, but it’s time to emancipate yourself from that skepticism.

CIO Review
Illinois Chief Technology Officer, Mike Wons shres the State of Illinois' ambitious journey to transform and modernize technology.

WAND News
Thanks to the Going Mobile in Illinois initiative, another app is making it easier for residents to experience all the state has to offer.

The Effingham Daily News
A new app from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency offers information and photos that will help visitors get the most from their trips to state historic sites.

Medill Reports Chicago
By: Jingnan Huo
Blockchain: Experimentation abounds, Illinois hopes

Harvard Kennedy School
By: Stephen Goldsmith
Harvard Kennedy School's Stephen Goldsmith interview Hardik Bhatt on Data Sharing in Illinois

StateScoop
By: Jake Williams
At a StateScoop virtual roundtable, smart cities and cybersecurity experts from the private and public sector weigh in on how state and local governments are securing smart cities.

Kankakee Times
By: Ruth de Jauregui
Gov. Bruce Rauner recently announced the release of a request for proposal (RFP) for the Smart Street Lighting for Illinois Municipalities statewide master contract.

21st Century State
By: Jessie Bur
States looking to become “smart” can look to smart cities initiatives to inform broader statewide practices, according to Illinois government officials who spoke at a Thursday FedInsider webinar.

Park Forest eNews
Technology initiative will help state better serve citizens, promote business growth

News-Gazette
By: Tom Kacich
Illinois and the University of Illinois' National Center for Supercomputing Applications today will announce a partnership aimed at helping the state address data analytics, cybersecurity and other technology issues.

StateScoop
By: Jason Shueh
The state hopes to leverage its buying power to make smart street lighting more affordable for local communities.

Route Fifty
By: Dave Nyczepir
Budgetary crisis aside, the Department of Innovation & Technology is finding ways to to innovate and transform its operations.

WAND TV
By: Dawn Sterling
Governor Bruce Rauner announced Illinois has taken another step in its technology transformation to become a ‘Smart State', with the release of an RFP allowing local governments the opportunity to explore the benefits of smart street lighting.

Government Technology
By: News Staff
The state seeks vendors to allow local and municipal government to leverage connected infrastructure.

The State Journal-Register
By: Jason Nevel
State officials are hoping to make it easier for students and job-seekers to make a career choice in Illinois through a new mobile app.

WAND News 17
Teens, young adults and those considering career changes will now have access to realistic projections and information thanks to the new Reality Check app.

CIO Review
Hardik Bhatt, Illinois CIO and Secretary Designate for the Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT) and Kevin O'Toole, Illinois Chief of Transformation Applications and Digital Officer provide a view into what it took to implement the recent first ever pilot ERP in Illinois.

Lawndale News
The State of Illinois’ Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT) recently hosted the Smart State Roadmap Workshop, a two-day workshop to pursue becoming the first ‘Smart State’ in the nation.

GCN
By: Amanda Ziadeh
Illinois aims to be the first “smart state” in the nation.

StateTech
By: Ricky Ribeiro
In an attempt to be among the nation’s first to adopt distributed ledger technologies, the Prairie State strives to serve as an innovator and incubator of blockchain technology.

Government Technology
By: News Staff
On its mission to become the nation's first smart state, Illinois held its second workshop solidifying goals and project leads.

Illinois News Network
By: Staff Reporters
The State of Illinois is moving forward with an initiative it said will make the Land of Lincoln an innovator in adapting to new and emerging technologies.

CoinDesk
By: Michael del Castillo
The Illinois Blockchain Initiative, a first-of-its-kind consortium comprised of government agencies is exploring how Blockchain technology can strengthen the state.

StateScoop
By: Colin Wood
The state is one of the first in the nation to create governance around growing billion-dollar technology.

Government Technology
By: Eyragon Eidam
The state announced its commitment to growing blockchain business and implementing the technology wherever possible.

StateScoop
By: Colin Wood
The state's top tech official says he sees himself as the leader of a growing tech company with a singular mission.

Government Technology
By: Eyragon Eidam
With an eye for partnerships and a passion for his work, Illinois CIO Hardik Bhatt is looking ahead to new opportunities for his state.

CoinDesk
By: Michael del Castillo
The state government of Illinois has established a working group tasked with developing a strategy for integrating blockchain tech.

Government Technology
By: Ryan McCauley
Through an international partnership, Illinois will exchange information, ideas and data to make both states leaders in their countries.

StateScoop
By: Jason Shueh
State CIO Hardik Bhatt signed an agreement with Indian officials to share ideas and best practices on emerging civic technologies.

The Gazette - Democrat
Governor Bruce Rauner has proclaimed October National Cyber Security Awareness Month in Illinois.

StateTech
By: Hardik Bhatt
The Internet of Things offers so much potential for states willing to take the leap and make the investments.

The State Journal-Register
By: Doug Finke
A survey of state information technology officers found that states are making progress in protecting the mountains of data they keep.

Illinois Network News
By: Staff, Illinois Network News
Illinois improved from a grade of C+ in 2014 to a B+ this year in the 2016 Digital States Survey from the Center for Digital Government.

Illinoishomepage.net
By: Emilee Fannon
The state has moved up the ladder and is now one of the most improved states for technology and innovation.

WAND 17
The State of Illinois, led by DoIT and CMS, announced they will be offering a new online enrollment platform.

The Wall Street Journal
By: CIO Journal Editor
CIO Hardik Bhatt is leading a radical redesign of Illinois’ IT system.

The Center for Digital Government
By: Staff
Illinois received recognition for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission Student Portal app.

StateScoop
By: Samantha Ehlinger
Government panelists discuss NIST’s cybersecurity framework as a model for government IoT standards.

StateScoop
By: Alex Koma
Gov. Rauner is encouraging disadvantaged businesses to provide IT services to the state.

Government Technology
By: Matt Buedel
Gov. Rauner announced the state's first Sheltered Marketplace citing the need for reform of the state's procurement process.

IoT Tech Expo North America 2016
By: Staff
Hardik Bhatt spoke about his background and knowledge of the internet of things.

GCN
By: GCN Staff
Illinois’ Going Mobile Initiative created four new apps ILocate, a DoIT app, a state fair app, and the Student Mobile Portal app.

IL News Network
By: Staff
DoIT recently launched the state fair, I-Locate, DoIT and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission mobile apps.

Meritalk
By: Dan Verton
Illinois' CIO Hardik Bhatt is helping to lead one of the biggest turnarounds in state and local technology.

StateTech
By: Ricky Riberio
For Illinois’ Department of Innovation & Technology, getting agencies to share data internally was a big win.

Springfield Business Journal
By: Scott Fairgold
The State of Illinois is moving toward a statewide digital transformation.

Government Technology
By: Adam Stone
Government uncertainty that threatened major connectivity initiatives didn’t stop the work of these government CIOs.

CIO Magazine
By: Phil Weinzimer
Illinois is undergoing a digital transformation to improve the services it provides to citizens.

AITS
The Illinois CIO is leveraging information and technology to improve services to citizens.

Government Technology
By: News Staff
The new agreement will allow agencies to deliver customer-centric services and improve efficiency.

StateScoop
By: Alex Koma
CIO Hardik Bhatt persuaded more than a dozen of his state's agencies to become customer friendly by sharing data.

StateScoop
By: Jake Williams
StateScoop introduces Illinois CIO Hardik Bhatt a StateScoop 50 GoldenGov nominee.

Government Technology
By: Ruthbea Yesner-Clarke
The "smart" concept doesn't just apply to cities; Illinois is proving that it can become the nation's first smart state.

StateScoop
By: Hardik Bhatt
Illinois’ CIO highlighted one department’s innovative way it handled documents, and now he aims to scale that practice enterprise wide.

StateScoop
Illinois CIO Hardik Bhatt plans on creating a culture of innovation, cutting down bureaucracy and making Illinois more efficient.

StateScoop
By: Hardik Bhatt
Illinois’ CIO outlines how he went beyond hardware and software to transform how the state handles technology.

Government Technology
By: Hardik Bhatt
DoIT will bring together 1,700 IT professionals to provide customer-centric solutions to Illinois through executive branch agencies.

Office of the Governor
DoIT will lead a digital transformation, increase inter-agency efficiency and improve service delivery to residents and businesses.

StateScoop
By: Alex Koma
CIO Hardik Bhatt plans a full-speed-ahead effort to consolidate and modernize the state's IT as quickly as possible.

Government Technology
By: Colin Wood
Since announcing changes to Illinois state IT earlier this year, department heads are noting big changes in technology.

Government Technology
By: Prasad Alavilli
An initiative is currently under way with a back-to-basics focus on future-state business capabilities of individual agencies.

Government Technology
By: Hardik Bhatt
Over 1 million licensees can now view their license on a mobile device and print one wherever and whenever needed.

StateScoop
By: Hardik Bhatt
Illinois CIO Hardik Bhatt outlines what he prioritized in the first 75 days of his new role.

Government Technology
By: Trey Childress
Government should harness technology to better understand customer interactions and improve outcomes across departments.

Government Technology
By: Hardik Bhatt
What is a smart state, and how is Illinois putting this concept into action?

StateScoop
By: Hardik Bhatt
Illinois’ CIO outlines steps he has taken to change the state’s technology culture.

Chicago Hack Night
Illinois’ CIO will talk about technology changes the state is undertaking centered on data analytics.

StateTech
By: Phil Goldstien
The State of Illinois is embarking on a multiyear process to streamline and modernize its IT procurement.

StateScoop
By: Alex Koma
CIO Hardik Bhatt details how he plans to lead a new effort to consolidate IT operations and modernize Illinois.

StateTech
By: Phil Goldstien
Earlier this week, Gov. Rauner issued an executive order creating the Department of Innovation and Technology.

Government Technology
By: Colin Wood
The state's hodgepodge of overlapping IT desks will consolidate under the control of CIO Hardik Bhatt.

CBS Chicago
The Governor outlines Illinois’ digital transformation.

State Journal-Register
By: Doug Finke
The Governor announced the creation of the Department of Innovation and Technology by executive order.