LINCOLN- Rob Jeffreys, who departed his job leading the Illinois Department of Corrections less than a week ago, was introduced as the new chief of the Nebraska prison system. Jeffreys had been in the Illinois position since 2019 and was a standout candidate according to Gov. Pillen. Gov. Pillen said he interviewed seven other finalists in a nationwide search, and is confident Jeffreys is the right fit.

In Illinois, Pillen said, Jeffreys made strides in obtaining national accreditation for the prison system, reentry programs and vocational and educational services, as well as guiding the agency through the COVID-19 pandemic. “He is a nationally recognized criminal justice expert,” Pillen said. “I hope that director Jeffreys is as excited to come to Nebraska as I am about him coming.” Jeffreys will be paid $210,000 a year, $10,000 more than he was making in Illinois.

State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha, a key senator on criminal justice issues, said he was optimistic about the hiring of Jeffreys. “But Nebraska is different from Illinois, so we shall see how it works out,” McKinney said. Jeffreys said the top three challenges here are no different from those faced nationally by prison systems. Those include providing quality infrastructure, hiring and retaining adequate staff and preparing inmates to be productive citizens.

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