Chicago, IL — On Monday (Feb. 8), Governor JB Pritzker announced the appointments of Alan Henry and John Stephan to serve as Commissioners on the Illinois Racing Board. Henry and Stephan both come to the IRB with an extensive background in public service in Illinois.

“I am excited by today’s news that Governor Pritzker has appointed two highly qualified individuals to join our board,” said Domenic DiCera, Illinois Racing Board Executive Director. “Their experience working in State Government will be a real asset to the horse racing industry in Illinois.”

Alan Henry has served previously as the Communications Director for the Office of the Illinois Comptroller, the Deputy Executive Editor of Pioneer Press Newspapers, and the Deputy Managing Editor of the Chicago Sun-Times. He has won local, state, and national awards for news, feature, investigative and column writing, and is a New York Times bestselling author. Four of the short fiction stories in his book “Horse Tales” were top three finishers in Thoroughbred Times fiction writing contests.

John Stephan is a United States Army veteran and previously served as a Public Services Representative for the Illinois Secretary of State. He attends St. Ambrose Catholic Church, is a horse racing enthusiast and spent more than 30 years as a youth and high school sports coach.

The mission of the Illinois Racing Board is to regulate pari-mutuel horse racing and support the development of the equine industry. The goal of the Board is to advance a regulatory environment that benefits the equine industry and to ensure that the public has confidence in the integrity of pari-mutuel horse racing.

The new commissioners are appointed to terms that expire in 2026.