Sangamon County has announced its nominee to take over as director of the Department of Public Health. John Ridley gets the nod after a committee comprised of Sangamon County Board and Board of Health members conducted the search. Ridley most recently served a system administrator at Memorial Health and prior to that as executive vice president and chief operating officer at Decatur Memorial Hospital.

Ridley is a Springfield native and Navy veteran. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois-Springfield and a master’s degree in healthcare delivery science from Dartmouth. Ridley will take over as acting director October 2nd and the County Board and Board of Health will vote on the nomination at their October meetings.