The state’s top doc, Dr. Ngozi Ezike is stepping down next week as the head of the Illinois Health Department.
She said, “(I’m) glad that I served as a role model to young girls, girls of color, little Black girls, that they can be leaders in any field... I’m proud to exemplify that empathy and strength can exist in the same body and in the same breath.”
Dr. Ezike didn’t go into details on why she was leaving, but she said it was a good time to move on with low COVID numbers throughout the state. According to Crain’s Chicago, she’s been offered a job as the next president and CEO of Sinai Chicago hospital system, but it’s not clear if she’s accepted their offer.
To honor her hard work over the past three years, Governor Pritzker issued a proclamation, naming March 1, 2022, as #DrEzikeDay.