Today the City of Champaign announced the appointment of Nancy L. Rabel to serve as the City’s next Deputy City Manager starting December 16, 2024. Rabel has more than 25 years of combined municipal administration and extensive experience serving as an attorney for both public and private entities. She has served the City of Champaign since 2021. Rabel has a comprehensive background managing issues related to human resources, labor, employment, and municipal law and prior experience serving as a City Administrator.
Deputy City Manager Joan Walls said, “Nancy’s extensive public administration and wide-ranging legal experience made her the clear choice to serve as Champaign’s next Deputy City Manager. She has consistently demonstrated her leadership skills by steadily advancing through positions with increasing levels of responsibility and a demonstrated passion for public service. I’m pleased to have Nancy join the City’s executive team and I know she’ll continue to be a great asset to our community and the City organization.”
Nancy L. Rabel said, “It’s an honor to serve as the City of Champaign’s next Deputy City Manager. Champaign has a long history of employing exceptionally strong and caring leaders and I look forward to building upon that legacy. I’m excited to take on this opportunity to work with the City Manager, the Mayor and Council, and City staff in this new position and look forward to continuing to have a meaningful impact on the lives of Champaign’s residents.”
Rabel has served the City of Champaign for more than three years and currently serves as the City’s Assistant Director of Human Resources. Prior to that, she also served as the City’s Assistant City Attorney. Before joining the City, Rabel worked at several private law firms, served as the City Administrator/General Counsel for the City of Canton, Illinois, and served as an Administrative Law Judge for the Illinois Labor Relations Board.
Rabel holds a Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago (now the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law), a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and an Associate of Arts degree from Spoon River College in Canton.