The adjutant general of Illinois is the senior officer of the

Illinois Army National Guard The Illinois Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. With the Illinois Air National Guard it forms the Illinois National Guard. National coordination of various state National Guard unit ...

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 a reserve of the United States Air Force and along with the Illinois Army National Guard, an element of the Illinois Natio ...

, 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 ...

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 Nationa ...

and the Illinois Naval Militia.

History

While the post dates back to territorial days, before the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

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 in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

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

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

'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 Adjutant General Allen Curtis Fuller (September 24, 1822 – December 6, 1901) was the adjutant general of Illinois from November 11, 1861, to January 1, 1865, during the American Civil War. Biography Allen C. Fuller was born in Farmington, C ...

was appointed, remaining in office until 1 January 1865. The office of Adjutant-General for the

State of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, as such, was created by act of the

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

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 autonom ...

Holders of the post

Territorial period

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

William Alexander William or Bill Alexander may refer to: Literature *William Alexander (poet) (1808–1875), American poet and author *William Alexander (journalist and author) (1826–1894), Scottish journalist and author * William Alexander (author) (born 1976), ...

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 Simon Bolivar Buckner ( ; April 1, 1823 – January 8, 1914) was an American soldier, Confederate military officer, and politician. He fought in the United States Army in the Mexican–American War. He later fought in the Confederate State ...

* December 9, 1857 – 1858 William C. Kinney * October 28, 1858 – November 11, 1861 Thomas S. Mather

Civil War

* November 11, 1861 - January 1, 1865

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). German American who became a decorated Artillery, 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 an ...

* January 24, 1873 – 1875: Edwin L. Higgins * July 2, 1875 – 1881:

Hiram Hilliard Hiram may refer to: People * Hiram (name) Places * Hiram, Georgia ** Hiram High School, Hiram, Georgia * Hiram, Maine * Hiram, Missouri * Hiram, Ohio ** Hiram College Hiram College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Hiram, Ohio, ...

* 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 (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 * 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 - May 4, 2024: Richard R. Neely *May 4, 2024 - present: Rodney C. Boyd

References

{{Reflist