Sam LaPaille is a Senior Vice President on the State Government Relations team.

Prior to Forbes Tate, Sam LaPaille served as the Senior Deputy Chief of Staff for Federal Affairs at the Office of the Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker. In this capacity, he served as the State’s principal liaison to key federal partners including Illinois’ Congressional Delegation, the White House, and federal departments & agencies, making sure the State’s federal priorities were properly represented in legislative and policymaking decisions on Capitol Hill. Additionally, Sam maintained relationships and communication with other states that shared similar federal-level goals, such as identifying common issues and forming multi-state strategic partnerships to better amplify advocacy efforts with various federal decision-makers.

Sam began his time with the Illinois Governor’s Federal Affairs Office in 2019 as a Legislative Aide before assuming the role of First Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff in 2020 and ultimately was tapped to lead Governor Pritzker’s DC office in the spring of 2022. During his time leading Governor Pritzker’s federal affairs team and also serving as Illinois’ designated Infrastructure Coordinator, Sam spearheaded Illinois’ federal funding strategy and was a key player in bringing home hundreds of millions of dollars worth of federal discretionary grant awards to projects across the state. 

Most notably, Sam focused on securing funding opportunities made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Notable BIL wins that Sam helped deliver for Illinois’ infrastructure needs included nearly $100M for Chicago Union Station, $95M for Illinois’ I-290, $52M for Route 9 in Bloomington, and over $290M for the CREATE rail program. Sam furthered Illinois’ nation-leading clean energy goals by helping the state secure significant IRA funding awards, including over $200M in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund dollars and a $430M Climate Pollution Reduction Grant award. 

Additionally, Sam also led advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill related to Illinois’ ambitious quantum computing agenda which helped bring federal quantum funding and initiatives to Illinois, including The Bloch EDA Tech Hub and the DARPA-Illinois Quantum Proving Ground.

Sam earned his undergraduate bachelor’s degree at the Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business. Although born in Chicago, Sam was raised in Potomac, MD, and considers the Washington, DC-area home. He currently resides in Kensington, MD with his wife, Ally, and their nine-year-old Maltipoo, Minnie.