It’s been almost 2 1/2 years since Betsy Dirksen Londrigan was on a ballot, but the Springfield woman is still on the move around Illinois.

She now works for the Biden administration as USDA Illinois director of rural development.

“I tell everybody: when you’ve been to one small town, you’ve been to one small town,” she said. “They’re different. They have different needs. Our job at Rural Development is to support them and help them reach the goals set out by their communities.”

Londrigan says she promotes dozens of economic development programs for farms, communities, and individuals.