Libertyville banker named to Cook Memorial library board

A banker with ties to the Cook Memorial Public Library District's two largest communities is that board's newest member.

Tom Milowski, who lives in Libertyville and is a vice president at Amcore Bank in Vernon Hills, was appointed to the board during a specially scheduled meeting this week.

He replaces Aaron Lawlor, who resigned this spring to fill a vacancy on the Lake County Board. Lawlor also had served as the Cook Memorial board's president, a chair now occupied by Bonnie Quirke.

Milowski, 44, was one of five applicants for the volunteer job. He will serve until spring 2011 and then can run for election.

A two-time candidate for the Libertyville Elementary District 70 board, Milowski said he sought the library post because he was interested in how the panel had financed its current $14 million construction plan.

That project calls for construction of a new library in Vernon Hills and the expansion of the historic library in downtown Libertyville. The work is being done simultaneously, but Milowski said he might have pushed for consecutive projects, had he been on the board when the decision was made.

"Hindsight is 20/20," he said. "My primary goal is to really get up to speed on both of the construction (projects)."

Board member Ann E. Oakley was particularly impressed with Milowski's financial background. Government agencies throughout the suburbs are concerned about their cash flow because of the recession, and she hopes Milowski will help keep Cook Memorial on solid ground.

"He has a good sense of that type of thing," Oakley said.

Milowski's previous bids for elected office reflect a desire to serve the community, Quirke said. That drive came across in his closed-door interviews with the Cook Memorial trustees, she said.

Milowski is not the first banker to serve on the panel. Former member Steve Risley, who served on the panel from 2001 to 2007, worked at a Libertyville bank during his tenure.