[Updated on IDNR director nomination, with the announcement bio from the governor’s office and Colleen Callahan’s Facebook post below]
Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced a surprising nomination for director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Tuesday in Colleen Callahan. She must be confirmed by the Senate.
“I would consider myself an outdoorsman by virtue of my heritage,” Callahan said in a phone interview.
She grew up on a farm in Iroquois County, where people came from Chicago to hunt pheasant.
She was agribusiness director for WMBD in Peoria for 30 years. She spent seven years as state director for USDA Rural Development in Illinois before running her own communications consulting firm. She was on the Pritzker transition team for agriculture.
Her husband has a FOID card, while Callahan said, “My background is more in flora and fauna. Our farm reflects that.”
It is in pasture or cover crops.
Sun-Times political columnist Mark Brown noted she is niece of the late Gene Callahan, a Downstate political legend who became the first lobbyist for Major League Baseball. She was beaten by Republican Adam Schock in a 2008 congressional race.
* * * *
Callahan’s Facebook post:
As the newly announced acting Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, I’m honored to be asked to serve in the Pritzker Administration and humbled to be in a leadership position. I’m also eager to work with the dedicated DNR career staff, to learn from them, and collaborate on ways to help meet the needs of enhancing Illinois’ natural resources. I welcome the opportunity to communicate the importance and impact of our natural resources and the diverse responsibilities of Illinois DNR. From Mines and Minerals to Museums and Management of Lands; from Parks to Preservation of History; from Water to Wildlife…the oversight is vast and various. I’m looking forward to connecting with those who use and those who depend on our state’s greatest asset, our natural resources.
From the governor’s press release:
ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES Colleen Callahan will serve as Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR).* Callahan currently manages her own communications consulting firm after spending over seven years as state director for USDA Rural Development in Illinois. During her tenure, she oversaw a 20% reduction in staffing while still being able to generate a $1 billion increase in the Illinois loan portfolio. Prior, Callahan served as the agribusiness director for WMBD in Peoria, a position she held for 30 years. She was the first female president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Callahan received her Bachelor of Science in agricultural communications from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
