New CIO appointed to lead county IT Department

WINNEBAGO COUNTY, Ill. – After conducting interviews with internal and external candidates, Winnebago County Board Chairman Joe Chiarelli has appointed Dan Magers as Chief Information Officer of Winnebago County's Department of Information Technology. The appointment was supported by the full County Board.

Magers offers extensive experience within the department, as he was first hired by the County in 2008 as a Web Developer, later moving up the ranks as Lead IT Integrator, Manager of IT Integration and most recently serving as Deputy CIO since 2018.

"Dan was not only the most natural fit, but the most qualified candidate for the position," said County Administrator Patrick Thompson. "This will ensure continuity of operations for the many Information Technology projects currently underway."

During his 13 years with the county, Magers has been instrumental in ensuring that Winnebago County is a leader in the State of Illinois when it comes to IT advancement. A few of his past accomplishments include: developing a bi-directional data exchange to share information between local judicial systems and the Illinois Department of Corrections, implementing a court system collections interface resulting in the collection of over $9.5 million in past due fees since 2013, and transitioning the County Law Enforcement records system to a shared, countywide and mobile system.

"In this new role, I'm most looking forward to the many projects we'll be able to execute using ARP dollars," said Magers, referring to funds allocated to Winnebago County from the American Rescue Plan. "We are already in the process of upgrading out-of-warranty PC's, establishing a countywide camera and security system, and enhancing all of our cybersecurity measures."

Winnebago County DoIT is responsible for thwarting cyberattacks on a regular basis to keep county software secure and protected. In the last year, DoIT has knocked down over 300,000 attacks against technology assets in the county. DoIT serves all of Winnebago County's Elected and Appointed Officials and their departments, which includes 15+ buildings and 1,200+ employees. DoIT also serves multiple other municipalities in the county for IT services. FULL RELEASE HERE