Governor Quinn Names Key Advisor to Lead Office of Management and Budget

From the Office of Governor Pat Quinn

CHICAGO – October 5, 2009. Governor Pat Quinn today named his Senior Advisor David Vaught as Director of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB). Vaught will succeed Ginger Ostro, who was named Senior Policy Advisor at the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC). These appointments are effective immediately.

“The people of Illinois will be well-served by these two experienced and hard-working public servants,” said Governor Pat Quinn. “David Vaught brings a wealth of accomplishments to his new position as Budget Chief. Also, I look forward to benefiting from Ginger Ostro’s expertise at ISAC and want to express my thanks for her fine work at GOMB.”

Vaught, an attorney and financial analyst, is Senior Advisor to Governor Quinn and Chairman of Illinois’ Procurement Policy Board. As Senior Advisor he has focused on advancing Governor’s Quinn’s legislative, fiscal and economic development efforts. Previously, Vaught worked for then-Illinois Treasurer Pat Quinn from 1991 to 1995 and served as an ISAC commissioner from 2005 to 2008. He has also been elected to two school boards and is a trustee of the Great Lakes Protection Fund.

Prior to his current state service, Vaught was Managing Director for Mitchell Vaught & Taylor, Inc. Investment Advisors. He is a graduate of the Southern Illinois University School of Law and the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also served in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division as a field artillery officer.

“I look forward serving as Governor Quinn’s Budget Director,” said Vaught. “I am eager to take on Illinois’ unprecedented budgetary challenge and am confident that we can emerge a stronger and more resilient state.”

Ostro, who has held numerous positions in state government for nearly 20 years, was with GOMB for six years and in 2007 was named the agency’s director. She received a Bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and a Master's degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

As Senior Policy Advisor at ISAC, Ostro will focus on the agency’s strategic direction while also developing innovative ways to make college more affordable for students and their families.

"It has been an extraordinary and exhilarating six years with the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget, and a distinct honor to help Governor Quinn through the most challenging budget in state history,” said Ostro. “I look forward to continuing my service to the people of Illinois as Senior Policy Advisor at the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.”