Gov. JB Pritzker taps Cook County official to run state emergency management agency
SPRINGFIELD — Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday tapped a Cook County official to run the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security.
Theodore 'Ted' D. Berger most recently worked under Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle as the county's executive director of emergency management and regional security.
If approved by the state Senate, Berger would be the permanent replacement for Alicia Tate-Nadeau, who started as director of IEMA and OHS in 2019, Pritzker's first year in office, after more than three decades with the Illinois National Guard.
As the state's emergency management czar, she played a key role in responses to crises including the COVID-19 pandemic and the influx of asylum-seekers bused from the southern U.S. border, as well as responses to large-scale, weather-related damage.
Berger has held roles with the Illinois Department of Transportation, State Toll Highway Authority and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal. He joined the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in 2012 as deputy director of legislative affairs, managing legislative portfolios, and advancing tax incentives, transparency reforms, and economic development programs.
He later worked as chief of staff for Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications, supporting the delivery of services that included public safety technology infrastructure, communications systems, large-scale event management and disaster planning, among others.
As Cook County's top emergency management official, he helped guide the county's COVID-19 response and served as primary liaison to state and federal officials during several declared disasters, according to the governor's office.
'With decades of emergency management experience and a wealth of knowledge about our State's many regions, Ted Berger is an exceptionally qualified candidate to lead Illinois' critical support efforts,' Pritzker said in the news release.
Preckwinkle said Berger 'helped guide Cook County and Offices Under the President through pivotal county moments, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the new arrivals humanitarian crisis and three federally-declared natural disasters.'
His appointment by Pritzker is effective May 15.
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