Chicago appoints new CIO

The Chicago City Council has voted unanimously to appoint Nick Lucius as Chief Information Officer (CIO) and to lead the city’s Department of Technology and Innovation.

Lucius, a trained lawyer, had been serving as Interim CIO for the past eight months and prior to that for almost six years in various roles including Chief Data Officer and Chief Technology Officer.

“I am honoured to serve this beautiful city as the Chief Information Officer for the Department of Technology and Innovation,” said Lucius (pictured). “I want to thank the city council for their support and the mayor’s vision to improve how our agencies work together. I am committed to ensuring that we continue to reinvent our approach to technology and innovation to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our services.”

During his time in the department, he has helped develop data architecture and infrastructure for public data dashboards and apps. Notably, the Violence Reduction Dashboard and the COVID Dashboard which provides residents with hyper-local, up-to-date data and statistics.

His eight-year city government experience also extends to transport where he was previously assistant commissioner and worked to improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers in the city’s public spaces.

Brandon Johnson, Mayor of Chicago, welcomed the city council’s confirmation: “This is a major step forward in transforming how our city agencies provide services to our city residents. I am confident that with his expertise and years of experience as a technologist, this department will thrive in addressing the barriers between residents and accessing technology across Chicago.”

Image: City of Chicago/LinkedIn