510 Apple Orchard Road
Suite 100
Springfield, Illinois 62703

Phone: 217-522-2378
Fax: 217-522-2698
Toll Free: 800-728-1523

Email: joeiccs@aol.com

BIO: 

Joe has been Executive Director of ICCS since 1998, after serving two years as Associate Director.  He brought to ICCS a wealth of knowledge of Illinois due to his 15 years of service with former Senator Paul Simon.  Having worked in the Senator’s Washington office and then as his Downstate Director, Joe’s perspective on helping Illinois communities is well-rounded.

No stranger to the cause of empowering the disenfranchised, Joe served as Outreach Coordinator for Illinois Farmers Union-CETA from 1977-1981, and coordinated the Summer Youth Employment Program in four Southern Illinois counties.

Much of Joe’s energy and commitment to the community-building ICCS makes possible is due to his first-hand knowledge of the challenges his hometown of Gorham faces.  A small town of only 300 people, Gorham is rediscovering how to maintain a sense of community in spite of losing its school and all its churches.

Joe has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Eastern Illinois University, and graduate coursework at the University of Illinois at Springfield. 

Currently, Joe is a member of the Governor’s Rural Affairs Council, the Illinois Poverty Summit Steering Committee, the Illinois Collaboration on Youth and the Service Learning Task Force of the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Steering Committee of the Alliance of Communities for Faith and Justice.