New manager comes to Hawthorn Woods

Hawthorn Woods continues to fill open positions at village hall, with the latest hire coming in the village administrator job.

The village announced Tuesday that James Bassett of Bourbonnais will take over the position previously held by Jim Krischke.

"(Bassett) will be relocating into the area and he is eager to meet our residents and assist us in moving forward to continue to grow our community," Hawthorn Woods Mayor Keith Hunt said in a press release.

Bassett comes to Hawthorn Woods from Pingree Grove, where the village board officially accepted his resignation Monday. He served as the village manager who had overseen development in the town for nearly eight years.

Bassett and Pingree Grove mutually parted ways in November amid concerns over his 200-mile-a-day commute from Bourbonnais. Bassett had been working from home since then to finish some projects.

"I will miss working with the department heads and administrative staff more than I can possibly say," Bassett wrote in his resignation letter to Pingree Grove. "Be proud of them, because they are an outstanding group of public servants."

Bassett is due to start Feb. 1 in Hawthorn Woods.

Hawthorn Woods has been without a village administrator since Krischke left in October to accept a position in Missouri.

Krischke served as village administrator for two years and, before that, as mayor of Lake Zurich for eight years.

Hawthorn Woods is still seeking a replacement for former Finance Director Nancy Caine, who left Nov. 26 to take a job as accounting supervisor for the village of River Forest.

Hawthorn Woods recently filled an open assistant public works director position with Jim Maiworm, who came to the village from an assistant public works job in Cary.

In the village announcement, Hunt praised Bassett's experience and said the village was looking forward to his arrival.

"(Bassett) will guide the planned development in progress and will help the village continue to look for new business and construction that fits within the scope of our community," Hunt said.