Administrator's retirement means more changes for Itasca

Itasca Village Administrator David Williams has announced his retirement after nine years with the village, adding to a series of major changes at the top levels of Itasca government.

Williams, 63, said he is proud of his time in Itasca and specifically enjoyed working with Village President Claudia "Gigi" Gruber.

But with Gruber's decision not to run for re-election this April, along with the death of longtime Trustee Ron Putzell last month and the April retirement of Village Clerk Carole Schreiber, Williams said he feels now is an ideal time to move on.

"I made a commitment to the mayor and I made a commitment to the village," he said.

"When you make a commitment to Gigi Gruber, it's hard to break it. She's such an innovative mayor and has improved Itasca with her outside-the-box thinking. It would have been impossible for me to leave the village as long as she's mayor."

Williams plans to leave his post April 28, which also is the date the DuPage County Election Commission plans to certify the results of the spring elections.

Before coming to Itasca, Williams worked with the Illinois State Police for 30 years, serving 10 of those as a colonel and department director. Following a roughly two-year stay as director of a law enforcement and government institute with the University of Illinois, Williams came to Itasca in 2000.

He said his path from law enforcement to village administration was unusual, but he was embraced by the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, where he now serves on the board or directors and several committees.

"I was a little bit of a stranger and they accepted me immediately and I've learned so much from them," he said.

During Williams' tenure in Itasca the village experienced significant changes, including the design and completion of its new village hall and police department and the start of construction on the Itasca Riverwalk. The village also reached major compromises with outside entities, including a battle with the Illinois Department of Transportation over the widening of local portions of Irving Park Road to five lanes.

"Our relationship with IDOT might have started out as contentious, but I believe we reached a good compromise, protecting residential portions from widening, and now we consider them a partner," Williams said.

Much of the credit for Itasca's harmony with state and regional agencies such as IDOT and the DuPage County Board goes to Williams, said Gruber. She also said he's responsible for building partnerships between Itasca's own department heads.

"He has earned respect with agencies we didn't necessarily have relationships with before," Gruber said. "I always say we're small, but we have a large presence and a lot of that is because of Dave."

After he steps down in Itasca, Williams plans to move with his wife, Roberta, to their home in North Carolina, which they built 11 years ago and have only used as a vacation home so far. As a gift to Roberta, Williams turned in his resignation letter on her birthday.

"She sacrificed a lot of her priorities so I could keep playing in the sandbox," Williams said. "I think it's time I focused on her."

Itasca officials have not yet discussed how they will replace Williams or whether they will hire a search firm to choose his successor.