State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Case Study: Making Sense of 'Smart State' Efforts Underway in Illinois

Route Fifty: Illinois has lost more residents than any other state over the last three years. It’s dealing with an ongoing budget standoff between its Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, and the Democratic-controlled legislature. But Illinois is also considered a leader of the “smart state” movement.

Hardik Bhatt, Illinois’ chief information officer, is the first to admit his state is difficult to work in and with, but it’s his mission to bring IT systems up to speed by the end of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s first term in 2019.

It helps, Bhatt said, that Rauner has a private-sector background in venture capital and private equity plus has sat on government advisory boards the last two years looking at ways to shift IT away from specialists and agency silos and more toward collaboration.

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