This is the place to go to learn about Chicago Metro updates on members on the move, newsy notes, etc. Check back here to learn the latest updates about Chapter issues.
Want to share some news? Send us an email and we will post it! apwa@benesch.com.
May 3, 2013
Second Annual Women in Local Government Legacy Conference
Please Share this with Women Managers in Your Organization Who May be Interested in Attending!
Register Today at http://tinyurl.com/2013LegacyConference
Brochure: http://www.ilcma.org/DocumentCenter/View/2203
In April 2011, a group of 10 local government professionals, currently working in the public and private sector, came together and conducted a brainstorming session to begin a dialogue on women in local government in Illinois. A follow-up workshop was held in May, 2011.
The group began under the title of "The Legacy Project" - focusing on their legacy as leaders (http://www.legacyprojectnow.org/). The core questions before them centered on the following themes:
How can we help attract, mentor and retain women in local government?
How can we encourage students to pursue a career in local government management?
How can we help diversify the profession and encourage more minority representation?
The women emerged from the meetings with ideals, ideas, and action plans about their legacies- captured by the purpose statement of "Advancing Women in Local Government." Goals and programs were also discussed in detail, especially those relating to the chosen core
values:
Share - knowledge and expertise
Mentor - women in local government
Diversify - the profession to encourage greater minority involvement
The conference will serve as a forum for learning, connecting, and advancing the knowledge that supports the collective legacy of women in local government management. For complete information visit http://www.ilcma.org/DocumentCenter/View/2203 .
SAME 6th Annual Boat and River Cruise
Join our sister organization SAME for their 6th annual boat and river cruise A Fundraiser to Benefit Veterans and Military Families
Thursday August 2nd , 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Boarding 6:45 p.m. at Chicago River Taxi dock, across from Union Station --- Complimentary Food and Beverages
Click here to download the form
June 19, 2012 - Congrats New Dad Scott!!
We just got word that Scott and Lynn Threewitt welcomed their first child into the world this morning @ 1:42 AM after a VERY long day, it started around 7:00 yesterday morning. Please join us in congratulating them. They had a baby boy – Grant Byron Threewitt. Everyone is doing OK but are very tired.
April 30, 2012 - Retirements!!!!
Lots of retirements announced...
- Marty Buehler, Lake County Engineer is retiring at the end of May. Paula Trigg, former Lake Branch officer, will serve in the Acting County Engineer role.
- Our old friend David Barber, now Director of Public Works in Peoria, IL is retiring May 31 and headed back to Ohio.
- Diane O'Keefe, IDOT Region 1 Engineer is also retiring May 31
Congrats and best wishes to all!
April 27, 2012
On behalf of the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), APWA is soliciting volunteers to serve on the ISI Economics Committee. This committee is responsible for making the business case for sustainability and developing metrics for evaluating the economic benefits of sustainable infrastructure projects. A key role of the Committee is to develop metrics over the next eighteen months that make the case to both the public and private sector investment communities that sustainable infrastructure development is good business and economically justifiable, in addition to being socially responsible.
This is an excellent opportunity to get involved with the development of EnvisionTM , the ISI rating tool, and we encourage APWA members to volunteer.
The Economics Committee will conduct its business by conference call with some additional work outside of the calls to review materials, prepare documents, etc. Further details on the Committee and its charge will be provided by ISI and the Economics Committee Chair John Williams of Impact Infrastructure.
John Williams is Chairman and CEO of Impact Infrastructure, LLC, based in New York. Impact Infrastructure is an independent third party provider of clearing house services for the socially responsible investing community and high impact infrastructure projects. Williams also chairs the Clinton Global Initiative Infrastructure Finance Work Group, serves on the adjunct facility at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and is a member of the Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory Board at Harvard's Graduate School of Design. Prior to founding Impact Infrastructure, LLC, Williams retired from a 25-year career at HDR including 16 years as a principal owner.
If you are interested in volunteering for this Committee, please contact Julia Anastasio at janastasio@apwa.net or 202-218-6750. The first organizational conference call of the Economics Committee will occur on May 2, 2012.
April 11, 2012
Several upcoming FEMA courses currently have openings within the next 6 months. The courses and vacancies are listed below. Any public works professional would benefit from one or more of these courses. Remember, all expenses are reimbursed to your agency except salaries and meals. Please consider registering for one of these important educational opportunities. If interested, visit www.training.fema.gov for more information and registration details.
E900 IEMC/All Hazards: Preparedness & Response
6/11-14/12 1 vacancy
E901 IEMC/All Hazards: Recovery & Mitigation
7/23-26/12 28 vacancies
E915 IEMC: Homeland Security Preparedness & Response
8/20-23/12 43 vacancies
April 4, 2012
APWA joins ASCE in a legislative visit day on April 17, 2012.
Please join your public and private sector peers for a day of meeting with State Elected Officials to discuss public infrastructure. The Illinois Section of ASCE has scheduled their 5th Annual Spring Legislative Trip to Springfield. This year the event is being co-hosted by the Chicago Metro Chapter of APWA.
Tentative Itinerary
- 11:30am - Lunch in Springfield with State Officials (IDOT and/or IDNR-OWR are invited) at the Sangamo Club (227 East Adams Street Springfield, IL)
- Afternoon visits with elected officials at the State Capitol
- 5:30pm - Evening cocktail reception with elected officials and their staff at the Sangamo Club
RSVP your interest in attending/interest in ride-sharing/suggestions for legislative issues to discuss to:
Nan Newlon, Legislative Committee Chair, Chicago Metro Chapter APWA nnewlon@downers.us
March 9, 2012
- Dave Lawry joins the Village of Wauconda as Director of Public Works. Way to go Dave!
January 19, 2012
- Read Past President George Crombie's inspiring speech at the Chicago Metro Chapter Holiday Party
- Read the Region V January Newsletter
- Chicago Metro Volunteers at Chicago Food Bank
January 13, 2012
Member acheivements:
- Randy Jessen elected to Will County Stormwater Committee: Our very own Randy Jessen form the Village of Plainfield was elected as Secretary for the Will County Stormwater Committee. The term will run until Jan 2013. Way to go Randy!
- Larry Lux received Top APWA Award: For those of you who were not in Denver in attendance at the Awards ceremony, our own Larry Lux was very pleasantly surprised by President George Crombie when he selected Larry for the Presidential Achievement Award. George kept his selection a secret from everyone except his wife (even the APWA staffers did not know), and only told Vydas the day before to ensure that Larry would remain at the ceremony.
Click here to read the speech George made when he provided the award to Larry, and finished the presentation by calling Larry “Mr. Public Works.” It epitomizes Larry and his vast experience in the public works field and his devotion to APWA. This award was changed from the former Honorary Membership Award and is considered to be the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an APWA member. Bob Miller received the very first Presidential award several years ago from Tom Trice.
- Jen Hughes takes Chicago by Storm!: The Chicago Storm took third place in the Women's Baseball National Championship held November 12-15 in Ft. Myers, Florida. Our very own Jennifer Hughes, Director of Public Works for the Village of Lincolnshire and Chapter Treasurer, hit .338 in six games. Jenn is the catcher and team's clean-up hitter.
Every Day Counts Exchange Webinar The Illinois Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration are hosting an Every Day Counts (EDC) Exchange Webinar. The topic for the February 16, 2012 webinar will be Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil (GRS). Webinar locations include Collinsville, Schaumburg and Springfield. If you are interested in attending, please fill out the attached enrollment form and e-mail to Amy.Neale@illinois.gov or fax to 217/785-7296.
December 21, 2011
Municipal Ash Management Survey for 2011
As municipal foresters, it is important to know how other communities are handling the emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation. Large numbers of ash trees have been affected in Illinois since the introduction of EAB in 2006. Many communities have adopted different management options; and aside from anecdotal personal communication, the results of different tactics have not yet been recorded, summarized, or analyzed on a regional level. Surveying municipal foresters for implemented management techniques, success rates, and costs, will result in a summary and compilation of findings that support planning the most cost effective and efficient management in the future. The results of this survey will be available in two different formats. The survey participants (municipalities) will receive all of the data including the names of the other participants and their results. This is so municipal foresters can contact one another regarding management plan outcomes. The public survey results will include the data, but the names of municipalities will not be published. The public can therefore see what is being done, but this will prevent the results from being used for marketing purposes. Note that this is the same survey currently being distributed by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus as part of their EAB grant application. The results of the Municipal Mayors Caucus survey will be shared with The Morton Arboretum, so grant applicants do not need to submit another survey online. The online survey is open now and will close on January 15, 2012 and the results will be made available February 15, 2012. The survey participants will receive an email with all of the results, while the public data will be made available through The Morton Arboretum website and other industry-based publications. The goal of this project is to create a longitudinal dataset through multi-year surveys of EAB management tactics used in Illinois. These results will be used to aid in decision making in already infested locations and help uninfested communities to plan ahead. Directions: - Survey closes January 15, 2012 - All of the questions are listed below so you can gather the necessary data before you begin. -The survey can be printed through your web browser, but cannot be saved with your answers. - If you do not have an answer for a required question please enter 'N/A' in the field or leave a comment at the very end. - If necessary, the 'other' answer boxes can be filled in with multiple word answers. - If you have questions about the online survey contact Stephanie Adams at The Morton Arboretum (sadams@mortonarb.org or 630-719-7946) You're invited to fill out the form Municipal Ash Management Survey for 2011. To fill it out, visit: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGl0UGtNRVVROUptZE1oS1BYQVFYamc6MQ
August 22, 2011
Have you heard the latest?
Scott Threwitt has joined the staff at Plainfield as a staff engineer. Congrats Scott!
Michelle Lipinski, President of Rubino Engineering and Chapter Membership Committee Co-chair, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Supermom was back at work in about an hour! Congrats Michelle and family.
Check out all of our active members on national committees.
July 11, 2011
Join our sister organization Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) in an event to support the military on August 4. See info below:
Click here for the registration form: SAME Cruise.
May 4, 2011
T.J. Moore has been hired as the Director of Public Works in DeKalb. Congrats TJ!
Jeff Smith from the City of Peoria has been selected as Top Ten Public Works Leader by APWA! Click here for information on the celebration on May 17!
Partner Organization News:
American Society of Civil Engineers:
March 25, 2011
And the winner is.....
Kane County Division of Transportation was the winner of this year's coveted Public Works Excellence Award for the Stearns Road Bridge Corridor.
The ribbon cutting was held on December 15, 2010, with Congressman Denny Hastert and FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez heralding the project as "a new era of sustainability in transportation projects". Check out the project website at www.stearnsroad.com.
Congratulations Kane County!
March 23, 2011 Update...
Glen Andler Retires
Glen Andler, longtime Public Works Director for the Village of Mount Prospect, is retiring. Glen has been a tireless supporter of APWA Chicago Metro - having served as Chapter President, Snow Plow Roadeo Champion, pioneer in creating a Public Works Open House, and many, many other activities. He was honored by the Chapter for his service with the Robert Retondo Award, and then went on to win the coveted National Swearingen Award which recoginizes outstanding service to an APWA Chapter. Join Glen to celebrate his retirement on April 7.
Click here for the information sheet.
Who will win the Public Works Excellence Award?
Tomorrow is the much awaited announcement of the Public Works Excellence Award. It is chosen from among the Chapter Project of the Year Awardees, and is a surprise announcement at the Chapter Awards Luncheon. Check back here to see who secured this coveted award!
Past recipients include:
2004 Village of Lincolnshire North Park
2005 Kane County Brewster Creek Dam Restoration
2006 City of Lake Forest WTP Membrane Rehabilitation
2007 City of Chicago Chicago Avenue Pumping Station
2008 Village of Oak Park Oak Park Public Works Center
2009 City of Geneva Water Treatment Facility
2010 Chicago Park District Fountain of Time
February 20, 2011 Update...
Members on the move:
On the move can mean changed jobs, retired, promoted. Send us details and we will post them!
- Dennis Bowe is retiring after 38 years of service to the Village of Arlington Heights. A party will be held February 25, 2011. Click here for the flyer.
- Joe Carraci has joined the Village of Bensenville as DPW
- Ed Kalina, Chapter Awards Co- Chair, has joined Fuhrman Engineering
Partner Organization News:
Illinois Concrete Pipe Association Educational Seminar - March 3, 2011 - Ashton Place, Willowbrook, IL
The seminar includes a continental breakfast (starting at 7:00 AM), syllabus, Concrete Pipe Design Manual on disk, and a certificate for 4 PDHs. For further information, contact Glenn Clayton at 630-673-0140 or icpamd@aol.com. Click here for a registration form.
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