The Illinois State Superintendent of Education, often shortened to State Superintendent, is a statewide government office in the U.S. state of Illinois. The State Superintendent is nominated by the Governor of Illinois and serves at the pleasure of the

Illinois State Board of Education The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) administers public education in the state of Illinois. The State Board consists of nine members who are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate. Board members serve four-year terms, wit ...

. Since at least 2007, the superintendent is hired at the beginning of a new gubernatorial term after the governor appoints the State Board of Education. The State Superintendent is the chief education officer of the state, and the chief executive officer of the State Board of Education, but is prohibited from being a member of the board. the Superintendent of Public Instruction; the old name is still referred to in some laws. The powers and duties of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction were transferred to the

on January 12, 1975. The current officeholder is Dr. Carmen I. Ayala. Ayala is the first Latina and female to hold the position on a full-time basis.

List of office holders

Elected

Ninian Wirt Edwards Ninian Wirt Edwards (April 15, 1809 – September 2, 1899) was an American politician. Born in Sangamon County, Illinois, Edwards was the son of Ninian Edwards (who served as territorial and state governor of Illinois). He was married to E ...

(1854–1857) * William H. Powell (1857–1859) *

Newton Bateman Newton Bateman (July 27, 1822 – October 21, 1897) was an American academic, educational administrator, and editor from New Jersey. Raised in poverty, Bateman came with his family to Illinois at a young age then earned his way into Illinois C ...

(1859–1863) *

John P. Brooks John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

(1863–1865) *Newton Bateman (1865–1875) * Samuel M. Etter (1875–1879) *

James P. Slade James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(1879–1883) * Henry Raab (1883–1887) * Richard Edwards (1887–1891) *Henry Raab (1891–1895) *

Samuel Inglis Samuel M. Inglis a nineteenth century American educator. He played significant roles in the development of education in Illinois, including that of Illinois Superintendent of Public Instruction. With this position, he was an ex-officio member of s ...

(1895–1898) *

Joseph H. Freeman Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

(1898–1899) *

Alfred Bayliss Alfred Bayliss (March 22, 1847 – August 26, 1911) was an English American educator from Gloucestershire. Orphaned shortly after his family emigrated to the United States, Bayliss worked his way into Hillsdale College in Michigan. After a two ...

(1899–1907) *

Francis G. Blair Francis may refer to: People * Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

(1907–1935) * John A. Wieland (1935–1943) * Vernon L. Nickell (1943–1959) *

George T. Wilkins George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

(1959–1963) *

Ray Page Raymond Ian Page (25 September 1924 – 10 March 2012) was a British historian of Anglo-Saxon England and the Viking Age. As a renowned runologist, he specialised in the study of Anglo-Saxon runes. Biography Page was born in Sheffield in 1924, ...

(1963–1971) *

Michael Bakalis Michael J. Bakalis (born March 23, 1938) is an American academic and politician. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Illinois in 1978, losing to incumbent Republican Governor James R. Thompson. Bakalis received his bachelor's, master ...

(1971–1975)

Appointed (1975–present)

*Joseph Cronin (1975–1980) *Donald Gill (1981–1984) *Ted Sanders (1985–1989) *Robert Leininger (1990–1994) *Mary Jane Broncato (1994) (temporary) *Joseph Spagnolo (1994–1998) *Glen "Max" McGee (1998–2001) *Ernest Wish (2002) (1 month) *Respico Vazquez (2002) (temporary) *Robert Schiller (2002–2004) *Randy Dunn (2004–2006) * Christopher Koch (2006–2015) *Tony Smith (from 2015 to 2019) *Dr. Carmen I. Ayala (2019–Present)

References

{{reflist * 1854 establishments in Illinois