Brad Cole Named Deputy Chief of Staff for Southern Illinois

SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. George H. Ryan today named Brad Cole as the Deputy Chief of Staff in charge of the Governor's downstate office in Marion.

"Brad has had a great deal of experience in the area of local government and this will be beneficial in his new post, " Gov. Ryan said. "His work in the areas of transportation and education will be helpful in the southern Illinois area."

Cole succeeds Robert Winchester who recently retired after 36 years of state service.

Cole will coordinate the administration of government services with all state agencies, primarily in the southern 40 Illinois counties. Prior to the current appointment he served as a liaison to Ryan for issues in southern Illinois. He monitored economic development, education, transportation, and revenue-taxation matters in the Marion office. He joined Gov. Ryan's staff in 1999.

Cole is a member of numerous boards of directors for public and private organizations. Among them are the federal Delta Regional Authority, the Lower Mississippi River Delta Development Center and Rural Partners.

Prior to joining state service, Cole held the position of Assistant Director of the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Alumni Association and also has served as a research assistant in the SIU Office of Economic and Regional Development. He graduated from SIU in 1994 with a bachelor's degree and a double major of political science and biological sciences.

Cole, 30, resides in Carbondale where he is serving his first term as an elected member of the Carbondale City Council. He also has served as a commissioner of the Carbondale Park District and a Trustee of the Carbondale Public Library. He is a member of several community organizations and the SIU Alumni Association.