The Illinois Arts Council is governed by up to 21 members appointed by the Governor of Illinois who serve four-year terms.
Assisted by volunteer advisory panels, they distribute grants and oversee arts programs and services.
Governor Rod Blagojevich drastically cut the budget in 2007 in what many saw as a political move against his chief rival, Michael Madigan, whose wife was the head of the council.
Governor Pritzker's Y25 budget for the Illinois Arts Council brings a 65% increase from previous budgets setting it back to previous amounts.
Since 2022, Nora Daley, of Chicago's renowned Daley family, has served as chair of The Illinois Arts Council.