In 2023, I passed Senate Bill 2228, legislation intended to bring the state’s hiring practices out of the 1950s and into the present so Illinois’ ability to recruit and hire quality applicants would be improved and streamlined. The future is now, and on May 19, Illinois Central Management Services announced that the State of Illinois has achieved historic outcomes in building up its workforce, increasing the total employee count from 50,544 in 2019 to 55,340 in 2025 – the highest number of state employees since 2008, which was 55,237 employees. This includes a 44% increase at the Department of Children and Family Services and 15% at the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Here's the payoff already happening from making this leap forward: CMS has reduced the hiring timeline nearly 60%, cut the job vacancy rate nearly in half in critical agencies like DHS and DCFS, and tripled the number of job applications received through the new electronic system. The candidate pool grew and job offers increased. This is a win for both the State and its workers. Read more.