Ann Gillespie was appointed as Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Insurance (DOI) in April 2024 by Gov. JB Pritzker.

As a former Illinois state senator, Acting Director Gillespie sponsored legislation for the new state-based marketplace (SBM), also known as the Illinois Health Benefits Exchange, which Gov. Pritzker signed into law in 2023. The SBM will operate within the Illinois DOI, enrolling Illinoisans in federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace health plans beginning Nov. 1, 2025. Additionally, she served as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee for Health and Human Services and chair of the Medicaid Working Group. She also was a member of the Senate Insurance Committee.

Prior to joining the Illinois General Assembly in 2019, Acting Commissioner Gillespie practiced health care law, served as chair of the Illinois HMO Guaranty Association, and consulted with state insurance departments managing health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in receivership.  

Acting Director Gillespie is a Six Sigma Black Belt with expertise leading teams in health insurance operations process improvement. She has held several leadership roles in the health care industry, including at CVS/Caremark. She was vice president, member communications operations, heading member communication strategy and operations for commercial and Medicare lines of business. Prior to that, she was vice president, operations member experience, leading the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) enterprise team.  

Acting Director Gillespie earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from DePaul University College of Law (Chicago, IL) and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.