The adjutant general of Illinois is the senior officer of the Illinois Army National Guard,

Illinois Air National Guard The Illinois Air National Guard (IL ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Illinois, United States of America. It is, along with the Illinois Army National Guard, an element of the Illinois National Guard. As state militia units, the units ...

, and state defense forces of Illinois. The

Illinois Naval Militia The Illinois Naval Militia was a naval militia created by the Illinois General Assembly in 1893, and finally dissolved in 1988. The naval militia was reauthorized by Governor Rod Blagojevich through an executive order in 2006. As a naval militia it ...

was also part of the adjutant general's command, until it was disbanded. Major General Richard R. Neely is the 40th Adjutant General of the State of Illinois. He assumed the duties of the Adjutant General on 8 February 2019 upon the retirement of Major General Richard Hayes. He serves as a member of the Governor's Cabinet as the Director of the Illinois Department of Military Affairs and is the Governor's principal advisor on military matters. As the Adjutant General, he is responsible for carrying out Illinois National Guard missions in supporting civil authorities during domestic operations and emergency relief efforts, operational readiness and supporting U.S. military operations across the world. General Neely is the senior officer in the chain-of-command for both the Illinois Air and Army National Guard. He is responsible for the daily operations of the Illinois National Guard and oversees approximately 13,000 men and women in uniform (2,286 full time) and 230 civilian employees in the Illinois Department of Military Affairs. General Neely works closely with the leadership of National Guard Bureau and the Departments of the Army and Air Force. Historically, the Adjutant General of Illinois also commands the state defense forces of Illinois, including the

Illinois Reserve Militia The Illinois Reserve Militia was the state defense force of Illinois during World War I and World War II. After the Illinois National Guard was federalized, the Illinois Reserve Militia was organized to assume the stateside duties of the National ...

and the Illinois Naval Militia.

History

While the post dates back to territorial days, before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

the position was, with the exception of the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...

, mainly honorary and the pay negligible. The Adjutant general was effectively the chief of the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

's staff. As the Civil War broke out the post became important. Colonel Thomas S. Mather resigned to enter active service, and Judge Allen C. Fuller was appointed, remaining in office until 1 January 1865. The office of Adjutant-General for the State of Illinois, as such, was created by act of the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

on 2 February 1865. The first appointee was Isham N. Haynie, who served until 1869, when he died in office. Reviewing the role in 1869, as the volunteer army had been mustered out, and the duties of the Adjutant General correspondingly decreased, the legislature reduced the size of the department and its funds. After the adoption of the 1877 military code, the Adjutant General again became prominent within the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

Holders of the post

Territorial period

* Elias Rector * Robert Morrison * 1813-1814 - Benjamin Stephenson * April 24, 1819 William Alexander

Statehood to Civil War

* April 24, 1819 – 1821 William Alexander * June 11, 1821 – 1828 Elijah C. Berry * December 19, 1828 – 1839 James W. Berry * December 16, 1839 – 1857 Moses K. Anderson * April 3, 1857 – 1857 Simon Bolivar Buckner * December 9, 1857 – 1858 William C. Kinney * October 28, 1858 – November 11, 1861 Thomas S. Mather

Civil War

* November 11, 1861-1 January 1865 Allen C. Fuller

Adjutant General for the State of Illinois

* January 16, 1865 – 1869: Isham N. Haynie * March 24, 1869 – 1873:

Hubert Dilger Hubert Anton Casimir Dilger (March 5, 1836 – May 4, 1911) was a German-American who became a decorated artillerist in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was noted as one of the finest artillerists in the Army of the Potomac and rec ...

* January 24, 1873 – 1875: Edwin L. Higgins * July 2, 1875 – 1881: Hiram Hilliard * August 1, 1881 – 1884: Isaac H. Elliott * May 15, 1884 – 1891: Joseph W. Vance * June 28, 1891 – 1893: Jasper N. Reece (also 1897-1902) * January 20, 1893 – 1896: Alfred Orendorff * January 4, 1896 – 1897: Charles C. Hilton * February 2, 1897 – 1902: Jasper N. Reece (also 1891-1893) * April 19, 1902 – 1903:

James B. Smith James B. Smith (born 1952) is the former United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Selected by President Barack Obama, he was sworn in on September 16, 2009. He left his post on September 27, 2013. Prior to his appointment, Ambassador Smith had se ...

(died in office) * July 1, 1903 – 1909: Thomas W. Scott (died in office) * January 1, 1910 – 1922: Frank S. Dickson * February 7, 1922 – 1939: Carlos E. Black * August 24, 1939 – 1940: Lawrence V. Regan * November 8, 1940 – 1969: Leo Martin Boyle * 1969-1978: Harold R. Patton * 1983-1991: Harold G. Holesinger * 1991-1995: Donald W. Lynn * 1995-1999: Richard G. Austin * 1999-2003: David C. Harris * 2003-2007: Randal E. Thomas * 2007-2012:

William L. Enyart William Lee Enyart, Jr. (; born September 22, 1949) is an American General and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 12th congressional district. A member of the Democratic Party, Enyart was elected on November 6, 2012, ...

* June 7, 2012 – December 21, 2012 : Dennis Celletti (acting) * December 21, 2012 – June 8, 2015: Daniel M. Krumrei *June 8, 2015 – February 15, 2019: Richard J. Hayes Jr. *February 15, 2019 - : Richard R. Neely

References

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