A shake-up of Gov. JB Pritzker’s communications team puts a suburban face in a prominent position.
Pritzker announced Friday that Democratic National Convention Senior Director of Communications Matt Hill, who grew up in Buffalo Grove, is his new deputy chief of staff for communications.
Pritzker also appointed Emily Bolton, communications director for Illinois’ Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, to be his director of agency communications.
Leaving the governor’s office is Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Strategic Media Jordan Abudayyeh, whose tenure with Pritzker dates back to his first 2018 campaign. Another departure is Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications and Agency Strategy Jason Rubin.
“Jordan Abudayyeh and Jason Rubin have been essential advisers since Day One of this administration,” Pritzker said in a statement.
“While they leave big shoes to fill, I have no doubt that Matt Hill and Emily Bolton will rise to the occasion, bringing their deep communications experience across politics and government, to this work. I am thrilled to welcome them to the team and look forward to all that we will accomplish together.”
Hill, who attended Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, spent the last five years as a senior communications aide for President Joe Biden.
Hill met Biden in 2015 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he served on student government. His advocacy to prevent sexual assaults on campus got the attention of the then-vice president
Hill later worked on Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, telling the Daily Herald previously that “I don’t need much sleep.”
Abudayyeh was the face of Pritzker’s press team for years, coordinating news conferences throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She also worked as an anchor for Naperville’s NCTV17.