ELEVATE ILLINOIS STAFF
Janet M. Mathis, President/CEO
Elevate Illinois President & CEO, Janet Mathis, is a fifth generation Illinoisan. She grew up on her family’s farm near Fairbury where her great-great grandparents settled in the 1860s and has lived in Illinois her entire life but for two years when she was the state’s trade director in Canada. Janet’s degree in Agricultural Economics/Industries from the University of Illinois has served her well in a career which has spanned work in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. In her professional life, she has honed skills and cultivated relationships in nonprofit management, public policy, economic development and communications. Janet gives time to causes focused on state and community betterment, having served on many non-profit boards over the years with current board positions on the Riverbend Food Bank and the Illinois Agri-Food Alliance. She now resides in Geneseo with her husband, Neil, and the family’s two dogs, Violet and Blu. Son, Josh, is a graduate student and assistant cross country and track and field coach at St. Ambrose University.
J. Craig Coil, Executive VP/COO
Craig Coil serves as Elevate Illinois’ Executive Vice President/COO. Craig's entire career has been spent promoting Illinois and Illinois businesses. At the State of Illinois’ Department of Commerce, he managed business development efforts with a staff of 40 whose work led to the state’s number 1 ranking as a business location in the early 2000’s. Craig’s work at the agency, coupled with his stint as President & CEO of the Decatur Macon County Economic Development Council and his efforts with Janet in their consulting business, has meant the creation or retention of hundreds of thousands of jobs and tens of billions of dollars in investment in the state of Illinois. He is a recognized leader in public policy impacting Illinois economic development and is widely consulted on the topic. Craig is also a life-long Illinoisan, except for a short-stint living in Missouri where his dad, the Illinois High School Hall of Fame coach, Jack Coil, was teaching at the time. Craig and wife, Dorothy, live in rural Petersburg. His son Jon lives in the Springfield area and his stepsons Matt and Andy live in Springfield and Decatur.