Hoffman Estates' longest-serving village manager to retire
Jim Norris, Hoffman Estates' village manager of the past 22 years, announced Wednesday he will retire in early November after 40 years in public management.
He is the longest-serving village manager in Hoffman Estates' 60-year history.
Norris started his career in local government as an intern in Western Springs, before becoming administrative assistant to the Palatine village manager and later being promoted to assistant village manager.
Norris then moved over to Schaumburg, where he served as assistant manager before being appointed city manager of Gladstone, Missouri. a suburb of Kansas City, in 1988.
Norris returned to the Northwest suburbs to take the Hoffman Estates post in 1998.
He cites economic development as a key component of his tenure in Hoffman Estates, from the evolution of the Prairie Stone Business Park - including its growth into hospitality, retail and entertainment uses - to the current preparations to transform the former AT&T headquarters into the mixed-use Bell Works "metroburb."
"Jim has been a champion for our residents and businesses, as well as a regional leader in advocating for intergovernmental cooperation and pension reform," Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod said in a written statement. "Jim's management has been critical to providing the high quality services our village enjoys."
The village board's senior trustee of 28 years, Karen Mills, also released a statement on Norris' service.
"I participated in hiring Jim, and it's been very clear over the past 22 years that we picked the right person for the job," she wrote. "Jim has brought us forward over these years to help make this village a strong and vital force in the Northwest suburbs. Jim will be greatly missed by the village board, his staff and residents."
Norris expressed gratitude to the village where he spent the entire latter half of his career.
"I have been honored to serve the residents and businesses of Hoffman Estates over the past 22 years," he said. "I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the village board, the village department heads and staff, and I am proud of the part I have played in the success the village has experienced during this time."
Norris acknowledged that responding to the financial ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic will be a big part of his last six months with the village. But it will be in addition to working with a couple of new development opportunities that recently approached the village. Those likely will be part of the solution, he said.
Though a one-year budget deficit is anticipated that would exceed that of the first year of the Great Recession, the village is better positioned to weather it due to the recent string of good years, he said.
"It's a validation of why municipalities have reserves," Norris added.
In addition to his service to Hoffman Estates and a number of the organizations and agencies to which it belongs, Norris has served as an adjunct professor of public administration at his alma mater, Northern Illinois University. He also has served as an adjunct instructor at Northwestern University in Evanston and at Park College in Kansas City.
Neither a successor nor a succession plan were immediately announced by the village Wednesday.