Warren Ribley
Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

On March 2, 2009, Governor Pat Quinn named Warren Ribley as Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Prior to this announcement, Ribley served as DCEO’s Director of Operations since March 2003 where he oversaw the Department’s 12 administrative offices and 12 program bureaus. In this role, he helped the state of Illinois add more new jobs than any Midwestern state since 2004; facilitated the development of more than 585 new business projects in Illinois and was a key player in the campaign to bring FutureGen, the “clean-coal plant of tomorrow” to Mattoon.

Ribley began working in state government in 1979, serving for twelve years in the Office of the Illinois Senate President. He joined the Office of the State Treasurer in 1991 and became the Director of Banking in 1993 under now-Governor Quinn, managing relationships between the State of Illinois and over 500 financial institutions.

He has 21 years of professional experience in state government and eight years in the private sector, focusing on financial services. Throughout his career, Ribley has worked closely with the Illinois General Assembly to develop successful programs to strengthen the Illinois economy.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s mission is to bolster and improve Illinois’ competitiveness in the changing global economy.  Among the Department’s top priorities: creating and retaining high quality jobs, maintaining a well-trained workforce and building strong communities.

Originally from Olney, he has lived in Springfield with this family for nearly 30 years.