Recently promoted to Library Director in July of 2024, Chet Brandt has been the Head Librarian at the Tri-City Public Library since it was created in
2010.

Chet has a master’s degree in history from the University of Illinois at Springfield and has worked in a variety of library settings during his work life. He worked a couple of different times at Lincoln Library in Springfield, beginning with an internship with the Sangamon Valley Collection when it moved into the current downtown building. After working several years at Brookens Library at Sangamon State University (now UIS), he became the founding director of the Illinois Early Childhood Intervention Clearinghouse, a project of the Illinois Public Health Association, for 23 years, where he developed a statewide resource center and lending library related to young children with disabilities and delays. The Clearinghouse still exists on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana.

Chet has taught classes in early childhood, history and political science at Lincoln Land Community College and Robert Morris University. He is the father of two adult children, Caitlin and Christan. He also lives with a Siberian Husky named Jake, who still enjoys taking him on regular walks, whether Chet wants to go or not. He loves reading books on history, historical fiction and mysteries and is a movie buff.