Pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate, Natalie Phelps Finnie is poised to become just the second woman to head the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Callahan stepped down Jan. 16 at the request of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, having served in the position since spring 2019. Phelps Finnie has been deputy director of the department since August 2021, overseeing the Office of Land Management , legislative affairs, the Office of Oil and Gas Management and the Office of Mines and Minerals.than it has been in decades, though it’s still playing catch-up on a backlog of maintenance needs.
The Phelps name is well known in political circles in southern Illinois, where Phelps Finnie was born and raised and still lives with her husband and three children. Her father, David Phelps, and cousin, Brandon Phelps, both were elected to the Illinois House, representing the 118th District for nearly 30 years combined.
Phelps Finnie was tapped to serve out her cousin’s term from 2017 to 2019 when he stepped down due to health concerns, but she lost her bid in 2018 to retain the seat. Professionally, Phelps Finnie has undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing. Her education in biological sciences will be “useful in policy decisions concerning the environment and conservation,” IDNR said in a statement
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