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Chief of Staff - Illinois Department of Military Affairs

Major General (Retired) William D. Cobetto serves as the Chief of Staff for the Illinois Department of Military Affairs (IDMA) / Illinois National Guard (ILNG).  His duties include coordinating the efforts and resources of IDMA to support the state and federal missions given the ILNG.  He serves as the agency’s main point of contact with the Governor’s Office and other state and federal agencies that work with the ILNG. General Cobetto was previously assigned as the Legislative Liaison.

Major General William D. Cobetto is the former Commander & Assistant Adjutant General - Air, Illinois National Guard.  General Cobetto was responsible for the command, control and operations of plans and programs affecting more than 3,000 Illinois Air National Guard personnel located at the 126th Air Refueling Wing at Scott Air Force Base, the 182nd Airlift Wing at Peoria, and the 183rd Wing at Springfield, Illinois.  His broad range of responsibilities included insuring combat readiness and mission capability of the three major air bases comprised of flying wings, command and control facilities, logistics and mission support units. 

General Cobetto is a 1980 graduate of Hillsboro High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Administration, from Parks College of Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri.   

Major General Cobetto retired in 2015.  After retiring General Cobetto went to work at Bank of Hillsboro as a Commercial & Residential Loan Officer.  He returned to the Department of Military Affairs as the Legislative Liaison in August of 2019.   General Cobetto was born in Hillsboro, IL and raised in Taylor Springs, IL.  He and his wife Kelly reside in Hillsboro and have four children, Ashley, Jacob, Adam and Emily.