The IL RUG operates as a member driven organization with shared governance
The IL-RUG Leadership Team
Member organizations have a voice and vote in IL RUG governance
Board of Directors
We are proud to be led by a group of leaders from our member organizations. This team, under the direction of the Chair; Vice Chair; Secretary and Treasurer: • Provides strategic direction and organizational oversight
• Manages bylaws, budget, and long term planning
• Represents member organizations at the leadership level
Jonathan Birnberg, MD
Chair
Advocate Health
Brooke Buschuk
Vice Chair
University of Chicago, Medicine
Karl Kochendorfer, MD
Treasurer
Southern Illinois Healthcare
Steven LoBue, MD
Secretary
Northwestern Medicine
Kaitie Smith
Executive Director
Illinois Regional User Group
The Interoperability Leadership team establishes Priorities and deliverables
The IL-RUG Interop Leadership Team
The IL-RUG interoperability steering committee plays a critical role in turning complexity into clarity by establishing a shared direction and disciplined prioritization across teams and initiatives. It provides the governance structure needed to align technical, clinical, and operational perspectives, ensuring that interoperability efforts focus on the highest‑value outcomes rather than competing local interests. By setting strategic guardrails, sequencing work, and making transparent trade‑off decisions, the steering committee helps organizations move forward with confidence—reducing duplication, accelerating progress, and ensuring resources are invested where they will have the greatest collective impact. In doing so, it transforms interoperability from a series of disconnected projects into a coordinated, purpose‑driven program.
Every IL-RUG member organization is able to identity 2 leads to participate on this important leadership team.
Every IL-RUG member organization is able to identity 2 leads to participate on this important leadership team.
Interoperability - it's here to Stay
Focusing on interoperability is essential because it enables systems, organizations, and people to work as one, rather than as disconnected silos. When data and workflows can move seamlessly across platforms and boundaries, teams spend less time reconciling information and more time acting on it—driving better outcomes, safer decisions, and more efficient operations. Interoperability reduces duplication, minimizes friction, and builds trust between partners by ensuring that shared information is timely, accurate, and usable. Ultimately, it is the foundation that allows collaboration to scale, innovation to take hold, and complex ecosystems to function with greater clarity and purpose.