Tuesday, February 27, 2024
IRG New Hire: Jake Curtis as General Counsel and Director of CIO
IRG is thrilled to announce that Attorney Jake Curtis has been named General Counsel and Director of the award-winning Center for Investigative Oversight (CIO). Jake is a highly accomplished lawyer with a deep private and public sector background interacting with local units of government and state agencies. Previously, Jake was appointed by Governor Scott Walker to serve as Chief Legal Counsel at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He also previously served as Deputy Legal Counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), was a policy advisor to a state senator, and served as an elected County Supervisor. Jake serves in the Wisconsin Air National Guard and is a member of the Federalist Society.
Curtis replaces Anthony LoCoco, who left to work in his law practice full-time, as the head of IRG’s Center for Investigative Oversight. The CIO was launched in February 2023 with the goal of reinvigorating real oversight and accountability of government operations by highlighting – and taking action – on wasteful, illegal, and unconstitutional behavior. In a short period of time, IRG has shifted the paradigm on oversight, including:
- Authored the first analysis in Wisconsin – if not the country – detailing exactly how state lawmakers can conduct oversight on the executive branch, and then worked to export the Manual to neighboring states. We’ve educated lawmakers about the tools they have to keep government accountable
- Discovered, through our own investigations, that outside funding from the United Nations Foundation was funding staffers in Governor Evers’ administration – after the legislature refused to fund them.
- Discovered, through our own investigations, that University of Wisconsin – Madison was using unconstitutional, race-based hiring for its faculty members, which was later dropped by UW-Madison in negotiations with Speaker Vos.
- Tracked where every single dollar for COVID relief was being spent in K-12 schools and created a dashboard to educate lawmakers and the public on where their money is being spent. First to discover that 426 of 450 school districts have created a fiscal cliff by using federal funds to fund full-time employees.
- Discovered, through our own investigations, that the Wisconsin Secretary of State was refusing to follow the law regarding open and transparent government. Partnered with the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty to file a lawsuit.
- Won a national award from State Policy Network for our work.
“Jake Curtis is a highly accomplished attorney and a long-time leader in the center-right world, so we are beyond excited that he’s joining our team. In the last four years, IRG has established itself as the best in the business in getting results by solving kitchen table issues, holding government accountable, and building bridges into communities. Adding Jake to our already strong team is a huge deal for IRG, our Board, and our supporters.” –CJ Szafir, President and CEO of the Institute for Reforming Government.
Jake can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow him on X at: @JacobJCurtis.
Along with Curtis and Szafir, IRG’s full-time team includes: Chris Reader, Executive Vice President; Quinton Klabon, Senior Research Director; Elizabeth Evenson, Senior Director of Operations; Alex Ignatowski, Director of State Budget and Government Reform; and Courtney Mullen, Director of External Affairs.
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The Institute for Reforming Government is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that seeks to simplify government at every level by offering policy solutions to thought leaders in American government in the areas of tax reform, government inefficiency, and burdensome regulations.
To learn more about the Institute for Reforming Government, click here.