New Councilman Hinterlong ready to preserve city's past

When it comes to Naperville, Paul Hinterlong has built it, lived in it, dug it up and will now help shape its future.

Hinterlong, a sixth-generation Napervillian, is one of two new Naperville city councilmen who took their seats in May.

Born and raised here, the 43-year-old says he grew up watching the city's tradesmen. Coupled with living on a farm on Knoch Knolls Road, his career path became clear from a young age.

"I wanted to work with my hands," he said. "I grew up on the farm and did a lot of manual stuff and I knew I wasn't cut out to sit behind a desk all day. I just knew it. I wanted to build things, work with my hands and build Naperville."

After graduating from Naperville North High School in 1983, Hinterlong took classes at the College of DuPage, then went on to a plumbing and pipe-fitting apprenticeship school to train to become a plumber.

Throughout his career he has worked on both residential and commercial plumbing, and worked on projects such as Neuqua Valley High School, several North Central College buildings, the Netzley House near Moser Tower and the 95th Street Library.

His plumbing prowess isn't just limited to new construction. As a hobby, Hinterlong assists Tom Majewski with digging up privies around town. The old outhouses have proven to be a treasure trove of artifacts from the early days of Naperville.

"You don't realize what you've been walking over or what's in your back yard," he said. "I never believed it until I watched him one day, but then I was hooked."

Whatever pieces of old Naperville can't be found in a privy, he finds through another hobby - going to garage sales in search of antiques.

In his spare time he also fishes, kayaks, golfs and plays softball. A bachelor with no kids, Hinterlong says he is "married to Naperville."

Like many elected officials, his community involvement began with his homeowners association, but the seeds of volunteerism were planted long before. Hinterlong says he remembers being 15 years old and being in awe of the community involvement that went into putting together the sesquicentennial celebration.

"This was a huge event and everyone in town seemed like they were involved in some way," he recalls. "It was really cool, they were on it together and it was like one big party for everybody."

He has since served as vice president and president of the Westside Homeowners Association, associate director and director of the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation, and a member of the city's plan commission.

He also has been part of numerous committees and stakeholder groups, such as the Naperville Comprehensive Transportation Plan Work Group, Downtown DuPage River Trail Stakeholder Group, Centennial Park Skate Park Facility Citizen Committee, Naperville 175th Birthday Heritage Committee, Centennial Beach 75th and Naperville Park District 40th Anniversary Aquathon Committee and many more.

"Once you put that first step in - it took 10 years for them to suck me in, but I just have a problem saying no," he said with a smile.

He figured the natural next step would be to run for city council in the April election. The experience, he said, was both brutal and overwhelming because of the size of the city.

But Hinterlong was victorious, one of two newcomers and two incumbents to win 4-year seats from among a field of 13.

He said he thinks he can provide a unique perspective to the council because of his blue collar career that brings with it an ability to understand things others may not be quite as familiar with, such as blueprints, plat maps and stormwater diagrams.

"I think having that diversity on the council will help in the long run, even though we're not seeing much development right now," he said.

Hinterlong said he didn't enter the race with just one or two key issues to push but an overall desire to keep improving the city his family has called home for so many generations.

"I just came in to continue to keep Naperville affordable, have the best bang for our taxpayer buck," he said, "and keep it as one of the best places to live in the nation."