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CHICAGO (AP) -- Gov. Pat Quinn has appointed a former federal prosecutor as the state's new executive inspector general.

Quinn announced Ricardo Meza's appointment Sunday.

Meza is currently a legal counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Before that, he spent more than a decade in the U.S. Attorney's office.

He's an alum of Illinois State University and The John Marshall Law School.

Meza replaces an inspector general whose term expired in 2008.

The Office of Executive Inspector General is an independent agency that investigates Ethics Act violations and misconduct in state government, among other wrongdoing.

It also provides ethics training for certain state employees.

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Online:

www.inspectorgeneral.illinois.gov

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