Craig A. Backs, M.D., is a board-certified internist in private practice in Springfield. Dr. Backs earned his medical degree and completed his residency at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, then served as Chief of Medical Residents in the SIU Department of Internal Medicine from 1984-1985. He has also held the position of Clinical Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at SIU.

As an active member of ISMS since 1984, Dr. Backs’ involvement has included membership on both the Governmental Affairs Council and the Council on Economics. Among his other numerous leadership roles in organized medicine are his positions as Board Councilor, President, and Chairman of the Membership and Legislative Committees of the Illinois Society of Internal Medicine. He also served as Board member, President, and Utilization Review Committee Chairman of the Foundation for Medical Care of Central Illinois. His professional memberships include the AMA and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Locally, Dr. Backs has been an active member of the Sangamon County Medical Society since 1984, serving as a Director from 1994 to 2000, as President in 1999, and as a Delegate to ISMS from 1995 to 2003. He has held medical staff positions at St. John’s, where he served as President from 1994 to 1996, and at Doctors Hospital, where he served on the Executive Committee and as President from 2000 to 2002.

Dr. Backs’ term as ISMS president began on April 16, 2005 and will run through April 2006.