CHICAGO - Today Governor JB Pritzker announced labor and employment attorney Jane Flanagan will serve as the new Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Labor, effective March 2, 2022. Former Director Michael Kleinik retired last month after decades in public service.

"Jane Flanagan has built a career in public service dedicated first and foremost to uplifting and protecting the rights of working people," said Governor JB Pritzker. "Most recently, she has designed and implemented COVID-19 workplace safety protocols throughout state government, building on her advocacy for workers in the implementation of Illinois Works and the crafting of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. I'm proud to appoint Jane Flanagan as the Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Labor." 

"I am honored to be appointed Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Labor to continue building on the strong foundation laid by former Director Kleinik," said Jane Flanagan. "I look forward to continuing to work alongside Governor Pritzker to advance policies that uplift working people and make Illinois the best state in the nation for employers and employees."

Jane previously served as Deputy General Counsel and Deputy Chief Compliance Officer in the Office of Governor JB Pritzker. While serving in this role, she spearheaded several priority initiatives, including implementation of disability access planning across state agencies, drafting pay transparency amendments to the state Equal Pay Act, and the development of the Governor's Commission on Workforce Equity & Access. Prior to that role, she spent six years in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General where she held the role of Labor Counsel and Assistant Attorney General before founding the Workplace Rights Bureau and serving as its first chief.

A graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, Flanagan has also served as a Visiting Scholar at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law's Institute for Law and the Workplace. She began her legal career in Maryland where she represented chicken processing workers and bus drivers in wage cases at Brown, Goldstein & Levy in Baltimore before becoming counsel to the Maryland Department of Labor.

A native of Maryland, Jane lives in Oak Park with her family.

The mission of the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) is to promote and protect the rights, wages, welfare, working conditions, safety and health of Illinois workers, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, color or sexual orientation.  This is done through enforcement of state labor laws to safeguard the public.  In addition, the Department regulates amusement rides and ensures compliance with all other labor standards.