Pritzker Names Mike Lazzeri Labor Director
Lazzeri, a longtime federal wage enforcement official, will lead the Illinois Department of Labor pending Senate confirmation.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in People
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Gov. JB Pritzker appointed Mike Lazzeri as director of the Illinois Department of Labor, and Lazzeri took over on November 1, 2026. The appointment is pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.
Why it matters
The change follows the departure of Jane Flanagan, who led the department for more than four years. Lazzeri's appointment brings a background in federal wage enforcement to a state agency responsible for worker protections across Illinois.
Lazzeri spent 15 years at the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division and most recently served as its Midwest regional administrator, overseeing enforcement of more than a dozen laws across 10 states. Under Flanagan, annual unpaid wages collected for workers more than tripled, a figure the source does not break down further.
The players
JB Pritzker
Pritzker is the governor of Illinois, who announced the appointment of Lazzeri to lead the state's labor department.
Mike Lazzeri
Lazzeri is a federal wage and hour enforcement veteran with more than 20 years of government service, most recently serving as Midwest regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division.
Jane Flanagan
Flanagan led the Illinois Department of Labor for more than four years before departing at the end of October 2026, and was previously named a 2025 Workforce Innovation Fellow.
The details
Lazzeri also spent five years in the Office of Management and Budget. His Midwest team received the Federal Employees of the Year award from the Partnership for Public Service in 2024 and led what the governor's announcement described as the largest and most impactful child labor investigations in the division's history.
Timeline
End of October 2026: Jane Flanagan departs the Illinois Department of Labor.
November 1, 2026: Mike Lazzeri takes over as department director.
2024: Lazzeri's team receives the Federal Employees of the Year award.
Market Landscape
Lazzeri's federal background places him within the Wage and Hour Division's enforcement system under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which he helped administer across the Midwest. His move to state leadership shifts that enforcement experience to Illinois, where the state labor department now runs its own wage and worker protection programs.
Illinois workers who file wage complaints or seek unpaid wage recovery will now deal with a department led by a former federal wage enforcement administrator. The change may affect how state labor enforcement priorities are set in the coming years.
The takeaway
Leadership changes at state labor agencies can reshape how wage laws are enforced day to day, so workers and employers in Illinois may find the department's direction under its new director worth following as Senate confirmation proceeds.
What happens next
The Illinois Senate must confirm Lazzeri's appointment before he can serve as director on a permanent basis.
Further reading
Explore more on People coverage tied to state labor leadership changes in Illinois.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The State Journal-Register.
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