00:00:00.009 - 00:00:19.059

Today is December 12th 2023. This is Lisa Mueller interviewing Brian McGuire at Poplar Creek Public Library. So what is your name? So my name is Brian McGuire. When did you move to Hanover Park? And how long did you live there? My family moved to Hanover Park

00:00:19.069 - 00:00:37.939

uh in the early seventies, actually, uh 1972 1973 right around there. Uh I was uh three years old uh when we arrived in Hanover Park and I lived there until uh I got married, which was uh uh when I turned 27. So just about 24 years

00:00:37.950 - 00:00:55.639

in Hanover Park. Give or take. Do you know why your family moved to Hanover Park? I do. My parents were living in the city and Hanover Park was an up and coming suburb of the Chicago land area and offered um offered a great housing at low

00:00:55.650 - 00:01:12.269

prices with plenty of open space and the promise of a of a growing small community uh attracted my parents and the fact that Hanover Park was on the, at that time, the Milwaukee Road railroad line. Um my father could take the train downtown to work and

00:01:12.279 - 00:01:26.849

my mother was able to have the car to shuffle us kids to, uh, whatever we needed, but more likely to go grocery shopping and things like that. And what did you do for fun in the area when you were a kid and teenager? What places in

00:01:26.860 - 00:01:41.800

Hanover Park or the area did you go to, in order to hang out with friends? See live music, go out to eat or anything else? Sure. You know, I, I think I can divide that up into phases when I was younger. The past time revolved around

00:01:41.809 - 00:01:58.419

a couple of things. One was activities at the Hanover Park Park District. I have very vivid memories of being in their Tiny Tot program, uh, which at that time was held at the Ahlstrand Field house as well as their fieldhouse on uh, Longmeadow Drive

00:01:58.839 - 00:02:14.360

and Tiny Tots met a couple of times a week, I think for an hour, uh really probably gave my mother a break, uh, from dealing with, with one of her children. And, um, but we were always enrolled in Park District programming. I do remember that.

00:02:14.679 - 00:02:30.800

And as, uh, that gave way, uh, tiny Tots gave way to swim lessons, which gave way to hanging out at Rinne pool. And I had, you know, Rinne pool in the summer was a big hangout for just about everybody who lived anywhere near it. I live

00:02:30.809 - 00:02:47.679

just around the corner. All the pool was at the Ahlstrand Park and was uh on Catalpa. I grew up on Magnolia Street, which is just one block over. So it was an easy walk. And uh so many memories of my mother taking us over there.

00:02:48.089 - 00:03:03.490

And then that gave way to all of my siblings and I all worked at the Hanover Park Park District in some capacity or other all of us at the pool. At one time, I was started out as a concession stand person, went on to be a

00:03:03.500 - 00:03:20.940

lifeguard. And uh I have a sister who was a lifeguard and pool manager and another sister who worked in the concession stand as well. And that, uh like I said, and then that gave way to open gym uh at the park district, which was just, you

00:03:20.949 - 00:03:35.949

would pay money so you could shoot baskets and play, uh pick up basketball. And that led to the park district offering me the job to run open gym uh as a, as a high school kid. Um So, uh the park district played, played a lot into

00:03:35.960 - 00:03:52.029

it, but also we used to go to the uh Poplar Creek library, which at that time was uh again when we were younger. Uh I remember the library when it was on Streamwood Boulevard in the strip mall across from what used to be main street roller

00:03:52.039 - 00:04:09.419

rink. And uh now is, is home to a, I believe a church. Uh And so, uh that was a weekly trip uh to check out books as a kid. And then once this, I remember the, the opening of the present day facility uh in the passage

00:04:09.429 - 00:04:27.670

of the referendum that led to that and the excitement uh in the community that the uh Poplar Creek was joining. The, the big boys of uh Gail Borden in Schaumburg Township with a brand new library facility. Um And then I, we would ride our bikes here

00:04:27.679 - 00:04:45.299

as kids to check out books and return books. And I had a paper route. And what I remember is I used to have to pay my paper route. Uh The Elgin courier used to come to the library on Saturday morning and have all the news carriers

00:04:45.429 - 00:05:03.690

come in to pay their bills um for uh their paper routes. So, and then uh some other things we used to do is when I was, again, when I was young, I remember Hanover Park building the Hanover Park Park District community Center. And so that uh

00:05:03.700 - 00:05:18.290

became uh they used to do outside stage presentations at that facility. Now, they only did it for a couple of years. Um And then as my memory serves me, correct, the Park District got in a little financial trouble and all that stuff, but they used to have

00:05:18.299 - 00:05:36.119

outdoor concerts. And uh they also uh some uh local theater that they used to do uh on their stage that overlooked their uh the creek that surrounded the, the moat that surrounded the building also in the winter time, uh Everybody in the neighborhood would go sledding

00:05:36.600 - 00:05:52.260

at the community uh park. At that time, we all thought the sled hill was a mountain. Um So I'm not sure if we grew or, or it shrunk, but, uh, that the winter time was, uh, always spent at the sled hill and it seems like we

00:05:52.269 - 00:06:06.970

got more snow back then. So that was a popular place to, uh, for parents to throw their kids out to and have us, uh, come back in a couple of hours and as I got older where we would go for, for live music and things like

00:06:06.980 - 00:06:22.329

that was, uh, you know, Poplar Creek came into Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, uh, was a popular venue to go to, uh, once you got to the age where you would go for concerts and, and things like that. Um, I remember, uh, you asked

00:06:22.339 - 00:06:35.829

about, uh, places you would eat out at and eating out was a very big ordeal, uh, in a big, uh, special thing back then. It was not as common as it was today. But, uh, I remember, uh, a restaurant in Hanover Park called the Pizza Joint,

00:06:36.010 - 00:06:56.820

which was at the park and shop, uh, shopping center. Uh, and that was a, a popular place on, uh, weekends to, uh, go in, uh, in part because, uh, they, they showed old time movies, uh, in the back um, while you were eating your pizza, you

00:06:56.829 - 00:07:11.019

know, silent movies. Um, but would, that would entertain the kids? My mom and dad and, uh, maybe a neighbor or two would, would socialize and we would all watch these movies. So the pizza joint was a, uh, was a popular place to go to Tri Village

00:07:11.029 - 00:07:28.859

Drive in, uh, which was on Irving Park Road. Uh, another popular place, uh, now home to a strip mall. But uh Tri Village was a popular uh hamburger joint, hot dog, you know, quick food access. Um That was there for years. I want to say that

00:07:28.869 - 00:07:43.010

left in the late eighties, but that was a popular place to go as well as a restaurant that started out as Saint George and the Dragon and then changed to the Full House at, again at the intersection of Barrington and Irving. And that uh that's now

00:07:43.019 - 00:08:00.250

a bank location. And uh but th those are popular restaurants uh to go to in Hanover Park. And also uh there was a, what we would commonly call a Greek joint a you know, it serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. And the dinner menu was about seven

00:08:00.260 - 00:08:14.429

pages. You can get just about anything you wanted there. But that was called Lakewood on uh route on Lake Street on Route 20. And I remember being fascinated as a kid and as I got older that it was open 24 hours, you could always go into

00:08:14.440 - 00:08:28.190

Lakewood and get, uh, get something to eat, uh, or a cup of coffee as you got older. And it was a big hangout for the, for, uh, you know, police officers because there weren't a lot of options for them to eat on a 24 hour cycle.

00:08:28.200 - 00:08:44.049

So it was not uncommon to see a police officer having their, their late dinner or, or, or lunch at Lakewood. But, uh, yeah, so those are kind of the the restaurants that I remember going to and things like that. Did you go to school in Hanover

00:08:44.059 - 00:09:01.880

Park? I did initially, I attended Ontarioville grade school from kindergarten uh up until fifth grade and uh have a lot of good memories of Ontarioville most uh in, in fifth grade one that stands out is that uh in fifth grade, we, we had a couple of

00:09:01.890 - 00:09:18.580

teachers that were big on American history. And so we performed the musical 1776 as fifth graders. Uh and I was pleased to land the role of John Dickinson who had the second most speaking lines in the play. And uh but that was an annual tradition in

00:09:18.590 - 00:09:42.640

Ontarioville that the fifth grade class would put on the performance of 1776. And uh so I remember that, I also remember the, when the school district would plow uh the, the lots at Ontarioville and the playground itself, they would create this huge pile of snow.

00:09:42.950 - 00:09:54.320

And one of our favorite things to do was go out and play king of the Hill, uh, which was basically kids would get to the top of the hill and throw everybody else off the hill. Um, I'm sure they're not allowed to play that game, uh,

00:09:54.330 - 00:10:14.719

anymore, but we spent, uh, many winners tumbling down the hill at Ontarioville school. Um, but, uh, a very fond memories of, uh, the teachers at, uh, at the school as well as the um it was interesting for me because when I went to Ontarioville, my mother

00:10:14.729 - 00:10:32.929

was the school Crossing Guard. And so uh it was a unique perspective because she knew all the teachers and the principal very well. Uh Usually to report some shenanigans that some kid had done on the way uh on the way home. But uh so, uh but

00:10:32.940 - 00:10:46.840

then in uh sixth grade, my parents sent me to Saint Joseph's school in Elgin um in preparation to go to Saint Edward's High school. And at that time, uh it was much easier to get into Saint Edward's High School if you came from one of their

00:10:46.849 - 00:11:05.820

feeder parish schools. So that uh carted me off to Saint Joseph's. Did you, I guess, um probably Ontario had been, sorry, I just think about Ontario now. Um It had probably been incorporated into Hanover Park by the time you're older. Um Do you remember going to

00:11:05.830 - 00:11:23.049

see the old buildings? Sure. Sure. I remember very well. The signs for unincorporated Ontarioville and the fact that that was, I was, was fascinated as a kid that that was not part of Hanover Park. So I remember the uh the old buildings, the dairy that

00:11:23.059 - 00:11:39.669

was down there and there was a couple of other old buildings, some of them are still there that have been remade into uh other uses. Um But certainly because I remember in Hanover Park, uh that currently you now go under a viaduct to uh when you're

00:11:39.679 - 00:11:56.179

on uh Barrington Road as it changes into County Farm. Well, when I was growing up, you actually had to go either around under the viaduct that's over Lake Street. Uh right next to the, the one that's on County Farm, you would go under that. Um And

00:11:56.190 - 00:12:12.820

then there was a little cut through road to get over uh to Ontarioville or there was a railroad crossing down by what at that time was Hill-Behan lumber and the, and the train station then was nothing more than a shed. Uh, that people would stand

00:12:12.830 - 00:12:29.380

in to catch the, the train. And, but uh the reason I bring it up is you would cross at that crossing great uh to get to Ontarioville. And I, when I was a, a young kid, the fire department was actually called the Ontarioville Fire Protection District.

00:12:29.669 - 00:12:44.469

Um And again, growing up, I always thought that was interesting that uh the fire department was called Ontarioville, but we lived in Hanover Park. Um I probably asked my parents many times why the fire trucks had different names than the town to the point where I'm,

00:12:44.479 - 00:13:01.349

I'm sure they were tired of answering the question. But, uh, I do remember Ontarioville. Well, what celebrations or parades did you enjoy while growing up in Hanover Park? Well, I, I actually the, the first, uh, celebration that I remember actually took place in Streamwood. Uh, and

00:13:01.359 - 00:13:22.030

that was the Streamwood fourth of July Fest and parade. My father was director of Hanover Park's Civil Defense Unit, which then, uh morphed into the Hanover Township emergency or I'm sorry, Hanover Park Emergency Services and Disaster Agency that, uh, unit would always participate in the, in

00:13:22.039 - 00:13:43.630

the Streamwood parade. And then after the parade, there was a big celebration held at the Streamwood Community Center on uh Bartlett Road, um, where you would, you would, everybody would grill out in the park and they would have some games and, uh, I, I have a

00:13:43.640 - 00:13:57.599

distinct memories. I was just reminiscing with it with a former park commissioner about this, that they had a, a St- uh, uh, a train that ran on the, on a, on a track that, that, you know, kids could sit in and it would drive and it

00:13:57.609 - 00:14:15.140

was, uh, obviously gas powered. But a, again, that was a Fourth of July staple that, uh, you would go there and grill out and enjoy time with family and friends and then participate in whatever activities they had going on in the parking lot. And then we would

00:14:15.150 - 00:14:36.330

all cross the street to the church and sit on a hill and watch fireworks go off uh at the Fourth of July. Then that would be followed. A week later, always a week later, Hanover Park on the Saturday after the Fourth would hold what used to

00:14:36.340 - 00:14:57.260

be called, I am an American Day and it was kind of a manufactured Hanover Park holiday done by the American Legion. And the commander of the American Legion was uh was instrumental in organizing this parade. And again, everybody in Hanover Park would come out to watch

00:14:57.270 - 00:15:12.950

the parade. And uh that would, again, you would generally go to somebody's house or people would come over to your house for a barbecue. And what I remember about the parade, both parades, both Streamwood and, and Hanover Park is that the fire department would always be

00:15:12.960 - 00:15:28.219

in the back of the parade and the fire department would then spray water on everybody at the end of the parade. And in Hanover Park, that would cause the water pressure to fall because of uh many residents would then do battle with the fire department with

00:15:28.229 - 00:15:43.059

their garden hoses. And the uh at that time, the village was on well water. And so, but the all- everybody drawing the water at the same time would usually cause issues with the water system in town. But uh the parade, the I am an American day

00:15:43.070 - 00:16:02.640

parade was a, was a staple for many years in Hanover Park. And Hanover Park used to do. Uh Also uh they used to have a festival called Harvest Fest and Harvest Fest. Uh I remember as a kid started out as a two day event, Saturday and

00:16:02.650 - 00:16:17.950

Sunday that was held in the parking lot of the Hanover Park Park District Community Park just off of Walnut. That festival then grew to a three day festival and this was big and small little Hanover Park when they went to three days in the, they would

00:16:17.960 - 00:16:37.690

do Friday and Friday was really a chili uh supper to raise money for the Hanover Park Women's Club. I believe I was the sponsor of the dinner. And then they would have a uh a watermelon eating contest and uh uh associated with it. And then you

00:16:37.700 - 00:16:57.229

would have uh bands and things like that on Saturday and Sunday. Um And then eventually the uh festival just became a three day festival with uh some uh you know, a moonwalk and a couple of kiddy rides and the organizations in town, uh all raising money

00:16:57.239 - 00:17:14.079

at the festival, either selling food or, or have operating a game or something like that. And they were all, there were a couple of carnivals uh that, that were held by different organizations uh in Hanover Park to uh they were often held in the parking lot

00:17:14.089 - 00:17:29.188

of the park, uh the park and shop uh, at Walnut and Barrington or at the Tradewinds shopping center at Barrington and Irving. And, and those were always, that was always a big deal when you got to go to the carnival and, uh, ride the rides. And

00:17:29.198 - 00:17:44.149

I want to say the carnival would come maybe once or twice a year in Hanover Park would be sponsored by one of the organizations. Could I ask what or what the, the civil defense unit was that... Sure, the civil defense unit was a, was the

00:17:44.159 - 00:18:05.560

auxiliary police force in Hanover Park. Uh The members were sworn police officers, but auxiliary officers and civil defense had come out of the concept of uh actually the, the Cold War. Um And so, uh but by, by the seventies, it kind of transformed into a AAA

00:18:06.050 - 00:18:23.020

department to augment police and fire departments and uh be ready to respond in times of disaster. But in Hanover Park, it was primarily, you know, obviously the Cold War stuff. Uh They did a little bit of that. Uh But by that time, by the seventies that

00:18:23.030 - 00:18:37.270

had all gone out of vogue and, but they would um assist the police department, they would augment the police department, either the police department would call them out at times. Uh What, what I most remember the police department calling them out for was when the viaduct

00:18:37.280 - 00:18:56.579

would flood after just about every rainstorm in the early seventies uh over over Lake Street. Um they would uh go out and in direct traffic there. And then if there was a uh on the weekends or any special events in Hanover Park, uh because, yeah, you

00:18:56.589 - 00:19:15.270

have to remember back then most, well, all the villages, you know, the police departments were very small. I mean, uh you just didn't have many officers. And so the auxiliary police is how they supplemented. And so on the weekends, the uh civil offense, uh auxiliary police

00:19:15.280 - 00:19:32.910

officers would patrol the village um to augment the patrols by the police department and they would check the parks, check uh shopping centers to make sure doors were shut. But they were, they were, they were, were sworn police officers and had full authority. But uh yes,

00:19:32.920 - 00:19:44.719

and, and then they would uh if there was a fire call, they would respond to the fire call to assist the fire department. So they were kind of a little bit of both and then they used to do um a lot of public education on tornado

00:19:44.729 - 00:20:05.709

safety. Why are you interested in joining village boards and joining community organizations? What was the impetus for you to get involved in village and township life? Well, uh as uh as I stated earlier, my father had been the director of civil defense and emergency services and

00:20:05.770 - 00:20:24.319

uh disaster for the village of Hanover Park. As well as my mother had been very, my mother had been an election judge and she had been a room mother. Uh well, I was a kid uh for uh most of my grade school uh time. And, and

00:20:24.329 - 00:20:37.079

so it was just kind of something we were raised with, which was, you know, to be involved in the community. And, and it was kind of what we were brought up to, uh uh that, that was part of being a, a active member of your community

00:20:37.089 - 00:20:52.939

and what was expected. And so when I uh was a freshman in high school, my father ran for mayor of Hanover Park. He was not successful. Um But that kind of opened my eyes to the political uh side of things and just gave me a taste

00:20:52.949 - 00:21:14.199

of, of running an election and campaigning and public issues of the day. And so I think that's when that, uh you know, that got into my veins. And uh when I went off to, when I came home from college in the early nineties, um it was

00:21:14.209 - 00:21:36.449

just a natural thing to do to join a uh a village commission. And the late uh Sonya uh Crawshaw, who uh the branch of the libraries named after in Hanover Park, appointed me uh to the Hanover Park Plan Commission. And so I served on the Plan

00:21:36.459 - 00:21:54.160

Commission for a little while and then the township elections rolled around and I uh had contemplated running for the Hanover Park Park District. Um But a couple of people including my father had told me to to look at the, look at the township and that might

00:21:54.170 - 00:22:10.839

be a better, a better run. Um in part, because at that time, I had great aspirations in politics and thought I would uh you know, run for other things. And uh and everybody agreed that the township because it's a general purpose government um as opposed to

00:22:10.849 - 00:22:29.180

a special district would give me more uh budget experience and public policy experience. And so that's uh uh that's what caused me to uh get involved in the village, which then got me involved in the uh in the township. And I uh ran for the township

00:22:29.189 - 00:22:48.140

in uh 1993. And I was elected trustee of Hanover Township at the time. Uh I was 22 and it made me the youngest elected official in Illinois for all of about, I think till, for six months till somebody got appointed who was younger uh somewhere. But

00:22:48.150 - 00:23:06.760

uh it was a, the township was uh not very active at that time and I had kind of thought that there was a bigger role for the township to play. Um And fortunately for me, the voters agreed and uh elected me to township trustee. And what

00:23:06.770 - 00:23:23.180

is your current position as a Hanover township elected official? And what are your duties in this position? So my current position is I serve as the Hanover township supervisor. And in that role, uh there's a couple of, of uh chief duties, one is I serve as

00:23:23.189 - 00:23:40.130

the CEO of the township and that involves, you know, working closely with the township administrator to make sure things are running smoothly and citizens are receiving the services that uh they expect from the township as well as serving as the uh a sounding board for the

00:23:40.140 - 00:23:59.420

township administrator of where the elected officials uh stand on things. And so uh the uh as and also in that position, I serve as a township treasurer. So I sign all the checks. I am responsible for uh making sure that uh township funds are deposited in

00:23:59.430 - 00:24:17.030

various local uh institutions set uh play a role in setting the tax rate for the township and all those things that, that you would expect the chief executive uh of of any company uh to be doing. And then I chair the township board. Um and one

00:24:17.040 - 00:24:36.670

thing that's unique to the township supervisor that's different from a mayor is that the township supervisor is a voting member of the board on all issues. So then uh the supervisor also oversees what's called general assistance um or welfare assistance at the township level. That uh

00:24:36.680 - 00:24:58.560

function is solely under the jurisdiction of the township supervisor. The township board has very little input and how that program operates um or how it is administered. Um Most of that falls uh to the township supervisor um as well as uh I also have uh the

00:24:58.569 - 00:25:17.520

I appoint the township's emergency services director and serve. Uh The emergency services director serves at my pleasure. Again, similar to the general assistance, the board, once the board approves the budget, it kind of moves over to the supervisor to oversee the operation of the department. The

00:25:17.530 - 00:25:33.569

uh but again, the key to having a successful township is uh making sure everybody gets along. Um So obviously, we involve the trustees um as much as they want to be involved in those things. And I think it helps having served as a trustee uh that

00:25:33.579 - 00:25:46.859

I'm able to do a little bit of that uh because I know what it's like to be in that position. And uh so we keep them informed and involve them uh in, in, in the entire operations of the township. What are your common questions? You get

00:25:46.869 - 00:26:07.319

asked from the community in your position as Hanover Township supervisor? Sure. So I get asked a lot about um the uh youth and family services uh that are provided by the township. Um The township provides family counseling as well as a host of preventative services. Uh

00:26:07.329 - 00:26:23.770

We run a uh an open gym program uh that provides after school programming and programming during now the summer and over holidays. Uh uh at the schools, it started off literally as an open gym program where that was what that was the program. Uh And it

00:26:23.780 - 00:26:44.010

expanded to some arts and crafts and things for folks that aren't, don't want to participate in the athletic component. And we also uh get a lot of questions on uh senior programming. Uh Hanover Township has a very large senior uh program where we do dial a

00:26:44.020 - 00:27:05.170

ride, uh transportation services. We also have a, a nutrition program that provides meals in a, in a, in very similar to a restaurant at the senior center and home delivered meals. We also provide social services um for seniors. So think of helping them navigate through Medicaid

00:27:05.180 - 00:27:22.959

or Medicare, uh helping them with their uh Medicare part b, their taxes, you name it the whatever questions they might have, they usually come to the township with. And so people perceive that I know all aspects of that, uh which I certainly do not, but I

00:27:22.969 - 00:27:40.109

usually refer them to the right person in the senior services. And a lot of times people want to know what township government does and so that I could ask that a lot. Um and couldn't we combine a couple of special districts, you know, uh into the

00:27:40.119 - 00:27:56.489

township? So we didn't have as much government. So, but uh usually uh folks are, are asking questions about the services we provide. Um And how they access those. Um The other popular question is people do like to call uh when maybe a relative has received a

00:27:56.500 - 00:28:10.819

traffic citation or something because they think we run the police department or the courts. Um So you often have to educate them that we don't have anything to do with that you are in or have been on commissions and boards of such varying topics. How do

00:28:10.829 - 00:28:24.219

you educate yourself on how to serve on these boards and know what the people of Streamwood or Hanover Township want? I know you said that you do refer to other people. Is there an education that you can get? Sure. Um, well, one of the, uh, I

00:28:24.229 - 00:28:42.300

think one of the first things um that is important for somebody when they first get elected is all of, you know, whether you're elected Park Commissioner, a township official or a village official. We have state associations um and county associations that provide training for newly elected

00:28:42.310 - 00:28:58.630

officials. So you can learn what is your job and what's not your job, um which is always, you know, there's a little bit of a learning curve for anybody who first uh starts something new. But then I think it's important to remain accessible to residents so

00:28:58.640 - 00:29:14.550

that they can reach out to you with their concerns and, and listen to what they think. Uh you know, so that they can talk to you about what they, what their thoughts are on issues of the day or services that they want to have provided. And

00:29:14.560 - 00:29:30.660

I think that's uh you know, that's probably the biggest way you stay educated and in touch with your constituency is by being accessible. And that's why you'll see uh local officials again, whether you're the school board, the park uh board, the township, you'll see us at

00:29:30.670 - 00:29:54.050

community events, parades, uh festivals, um community meetings and oftentimes at informational fairs that uh organizations will host or sometimes our own local governments will host a and that's the, and just uh listening to what the residents have to say. But then balancing that with what the,

00:29:54.099 - 00:30:10.119

you know, just because um you know, four people want something in a community doesn't necessarily mean that uh that's what the community wants or uh that, that's what the local government should be doing. Um But I, but I think it's important to stay uh to stay

00:30:10.130 - 00:30:28.939

open and accessible to people. And uh and I meet with constituents on a regular basis. Uh at the township, the uh the township post um is like uh most uh other local government post, it's not a full time job. All of the low area local officials

00:30:28.949 - 00:30:43.280

um uh you know, do not pay their mortgages off of uh if they are compensated um for their local government service, uh they most definitely will need another job if they want to uh have a roof over their head. And so it, it's uh it's a

00:30:43.290 - 00:30:56.150

part time official position and so a lot of evening meetings with people and in weekends. Um but uh and I, and I think that's one of the things people are usually most shocked by is that they find out that, oh, what do you mean? You're not

00:30:56.160 - 00:31:11.150

sitting in the supervisor's office, uh, you know, uh, from 9 to 5. Uh, but, uh, you know, they just assume it's like the city of Chicago. Um, and everybody elected has a full time job and a very large staff to take care of constituent issues. Um,

00:31:11.160 - 00:31:27.189

and in the suburbs, that's just not the way things work. What accomplishments are you proud of in your time as Hanover township supervisor or as Hanover township trustee. You know, I think one of the things I'm most proud of as a township trustee, we'll start there

00:31:27.199 - 00:31:44.739

is there's two uh uh programs that, that were started uh on my initiative as a trustee. One is I talked about earlier, the open gym program. And the uh second one that uh we started uh when I was a township trustee was the, was the township

00:31:44.750 - 00:32:01.219

newsletter and the township had a newsletter sometime back before I was elected. Um but it discontinued it because they didn't think it was important. Um And so we, we brought the uh the newsletter back. Um And the, the third thing is a township trustee was we

00:32:01.229 - 00:32:20.890

started tutoring at the township. And the, and it was really based on my belief that kids get into trouble once they, they start to fall behind in school. And if somebody doesn't understand math or, or any other subject, they tend to fall off the grid. And

00:32:22.010 - 00:32:38.449

if you can uh spend a little uh effort and in money and keeping the, the student uh in keeping up progress with the rest of the class, it'll probably pay off down the line uh by, they will remain uh at least uh attentive in school. Um,

00:32:38.459 - 00:32:55.359

and their chances for success are, are much better. Um, so I, I certainly uh look, look to those while I was trustee of some of my major accomplishments. And then as township supervisor, one of, one of the things uh I I'm proud to say is Hanover

00:32:55.369 - 00:33:13.459

Township is looked upon as the number one township in the state. And that is um that's not just me bragging, which I'm happy to do. Um but we constantly receive awards. Uh Our staff receive awards, our departments receive awards, our programs receive awards. Our officials are

00:33:13.469 - 00:33:30.109

recognized for uh the excellent work that they do. And I joked that Hanover Township is one of the few townships that you uh when you're out knocking on doors in each election that I'm not gonna say everybody on the street knows what the township is, but

00:33:30.119 - 00:33:44.250

you're going to meet at least one person who does uh on the street or has either come over for a service or know somebody that has received service from Hanover Township. And, and, and I think that uh you know, that that's been the greatest thing to

00:33:44.260 - 00:34:06.109

see as township supervisor. The other accomplishment is, you know, when I came into supervise as supervisor, we discovered that there had been uh theft uh from the general assistance funds uh by a former employee. And we uh we pursued that very vigorously that uh former employee

00:34:06.119 - 00:34:21.570

was sentenced to prison time. Uh And we also recovered some of the funds by going after the bond of my predecessor, um which was at the time was considered radical. And, but uh we had been advised by, by council that this was the right thing to

00:34:21.580 - 00:34:37.350

do and really uh justified to do so. And so we settled with the bond company and received some of those funds back. But, you know, we calculated that uh that uh quite a large sum of money. Uh just uh as a matter of fact, it, it

00:34:37.360 - 00:34:52.429

got to be so large that the State's Attorney's office asked us to stop sending them information because it wasn't going to change the charges. And every time we sent them something, the state's attorney investigators would have to come out and verify what we had sent them.

00:34:52.439 - 00:35:12.620

And, and so we, we didn't do that. And the uh and that led us to really revamp how we approached the food pantry and general assistance in Hanover Township. And so what used to be all part time employees hired by the supervisor. And in my case,

00:35:12.629 - 00:35:31.500

my, my predecessor, we took a different approach and we eliminated those positions and went to volunteers in the food pantry. And now Hanover Township's food pantry is open uh six days a week, which is one of the most uh available food pantries in the northwest suburbs.

00:35:31.939 - 00:35:47.270

And uh we saved all that money uh that we were paying staff to staff the food pantry, which allows us then to use that money for other things. And so that, that is a, that is a huge accomplishment and, and uh was not one that was

00:35:47.280 - 00:36:02.510

easily fought. My predecessor was a very popular politician and some people thought it was not right or proper to pursue those things. Time, uh time has justified them and, and show that we did the right things. Uh So I'm very proud of that and I'm also

00:36:02.520 - 00:36:21.250

proud of the fact that the township consolidated its Highway Department Commission. Uh the, the highway department used to be a separate governmental entity in Hanover Township. Some time back, the legislature changed the law and allowed for referendums to be run to combine that local government with

00:36:21.260 - 00:36:37.469

the township itself. We ran that referendum and we ran that referendum with the sitting highway commissioner support. So think about that, the guy who held the job, actively supported us eliminating the job. And so that stuff doesn't, doesn't just happen. Uh And so we were, uh

00:36:37.479 - 00:36:48.860

we were pleased by that. I think it's been a good accomplishment. Uh not just for me, uh but for the entire board because we've reduced the tax rate. Um And, and, and it's one of those, we can point to, to say people have really saved some

00:36:48.870 - 00:37:08.280

real money here. This isn't uh ten cents here or five cents there. So those are some of the uh accomplishments and, and, and the last I would tell you that seeing Hanover Township as a integral part of the local government of the area is, is, is,

00:37:08.290 - 00:37:25.879

is, is probably the overall reaching accomplishment. Um We work very closely with all of our villages, our park districts, the school district, the uh the city of Elgin all ver- very closely. And uh are I always like to say we're at the table when decisions and

00:37:25.889 - 00:37:43.959

discussions are being held and are considered a partner uh for those local governments and, and that, and that's probably the most gratifying because it's not um oh you know, oh yeah, there's a township over there, but many of the villages are not heavily engaged in social

00:37:43.969 - 00:38:00.419

services because that's the township's role and they're aware of what we do and they just refer the residents to the township, which is the way it should work. Your bio says you were an on call firefighter for the village of Streamwood. Can you discuss your firefighting

00:38:00.429 - 00:38:15.520

background and what duties, what your duties were as an on call firefighter? Sure, again, this is, I think one of the changes that has occurred as time has marched on in the area. But when I got on as a, I was trying to remember when I

00:38:15.530 - 00:38:28.199

got on as a paid on call firefighter. And I want to say it was 1994 and that I served from '94 to '97 as a village of Streamwood paid on call firefighter. And, uh, after that, I went on to serve on the village on the Bartlett,

00:38:28.209 - 00:38:45.439

uh fire protection district as a paid on call firefighter. But the duties of a, of a paid on call firefighter were very similar to that of a full time firefighter, except that we carried pagers. And when there was an emergency, the pagers would go off and

00:38:45.449 - 00:39:03.679

the full time, uh, staff would respond and then, uh, paid on call, staff would come to respond. Either additional equipment, if it were a house fire or if we had a number of ambulances go out, we'd come back to backfield to make sure there was somebody

00:39:03.689 - 00:39:20.300

there to answer a medical call. We also work shifts in the firehouse with the full time firefighters. And, and you were required to do, I, I think, uh, I think you were required to do three shifts or four shifts a month. Uh, I, I don't recall

00:39:20.310 - 00:39:35.169

the exact number and over time, uh, even in my short three years that, uh, while I was there, we stopped carrying pagers and it was really just to supplement the full time staffing on the, uh, at the fire department. Uh, so you would be the, uh,

00:39:35.179 - 00:39:49.120

an additional firefighter either on the ambulance or on the engine, depending on your, your training level. And so the, uh, the duties were, uh, like I say, were the same, uh, we were just, we were just a little different in the fact that, uh, you know,

00:39:49.129 - 00:40:05.010

we weren't at the firehouse every day. Are there any other, um, changes to the fire departments that you want, would want to discuss? Sure. You know, I, I, well, I would tell you, you know, when, uh, back then the, uh Streamwood Fire Department had always had

00:40:05.020 - 00:40:23.929

full time people but had been, uh largely supplemented by paid on call firefighters. Today. The village of Streamwood has no paid on call or volunteer firefighters. It's all full time firefighters. So that's, that's a big change. And of course, you know, that was driven by call

00:40:23.939 - 00:40:42.530

volume, uh, as the village got larger, it just made sense and was more practical to have uh full time firefighters. And that was also driven by EMS as, as the ambulance calls increased, it just made more sense that those were, were, were that you would need

00:40:42.540 - 00:40:59.620

more people to staff the ambulances and things like that than a volunteer operation would, would provide. But, uh, some of the changes that I saw during my firefighting career, if I include my time with Streamwood and Bartlett, and I was also on the volunteer fire department

00:40:59.629 - 00:41:21.489

when I was in college was, you know, uh, firefighters went from wearing three quarter boots, uh, they were rubber boots that were pulled up in long coats and in the eighties and nineties really, in the nineties, those kind of went out and, uh, what, uh, is

00:41:21.500 - 00:41:41.719

called commonly called today, Bunker Gear with pants and coats became the norm to totally encapsulate the firefighter and protect them. Also, when I first got on the fire service, you know, it was not, uh, uncommon for, you know, on minor fires for firefighters not to put

00:41:41.729 - 00:41:56.570

air packs on. And, um, it was also kind of a badge of honor to, you know, be able to, uh, tough it out and be a smoke eater and things like that. Well, then, of course, we learned that the, as, uh, as time marched on that,

00:41:56.580 - 00:42:13.370

that smoke was filled with deadly toxins and, uh, uh, firefighters started to pop up with cancer. And, uh, so fire departments now it's pretty mandatory that everybody, uh, wears an air pack, uh, when they're going into a, uh, into a fire. Um, and they checked to

00:42:13.379 - 00:42:30.629

see the CO level before they let people take them off and that was all, uh, so I saw all that stuff, uh, come down. The other thing I, I saw change was, uh, fire engines and fire trucks used to have open cabs. Um, so, uh, while

00:42:30.639 - 00:42:45.469

the, while the driver and the, and the officer seat were under a roof, um, and enclosed inside the guy, the two firefighters that might ride on the back were, uh, we had a roof over our head but that was, it, it was very cold in the

00:42:45.479 - 00:42:57.959

winter and very hot in the summer. And, uh, and you had a, a bar, uh, that came later that was supposed to hold you in if you were, uh, you know, knocked around and safety belts, uh, came in. But when I started, you know, there were,

00:42:57.969 - 00:43:14.870

there were not, certainly were not safety belts um that people actually wore, I mean, that later though the, the regulations caught up and everybody was belted and now all firefighters are in close cabs. Um So that, that's been another big change to come. And, but I

00:43:14.879 - 00:43:32.939

think one of the biggest changes that, that you see in, in the area is the cooperation amongst the different communities, fire departments. And I don't know, I, I would tell you that that was not always the case that uh departments, maybe it didn't always work

00:43:32.949 - 00:43:51.260

the best together and you didn't always call for help when you needed it. But those things went out of, of, of uh uh vogue and now, you know, the departments work very well together. They, they respond automatically to each other's fire calls and things like that,

00:43:51.270 - 00:44:09.540

certainly providing more manpower quicker to a scene. So, but a lot of changes in the fire service. Did you have any dalmatians ever when you were? No, you know, I, I never uh uh neither Streamwood nor, uh, Bartlett while I was on, had a, had a

00:44:09.810 - 00:44:25.830

firehouse dogs. Now, the fire department I, I was on in college had a dalmatian, uh, fire dog for a short time but, you know, dogs, uh, uh, tend not to work out well in the firehouse. Uh, because, uh, as you might imagine, it always comes down

00:44:25.840 - 00:44:41.590

to who's taking care of the dog and who's making sure they're getting to the vet and things like that. Um, but, uh, the, uh, no, so it never, uh, but I did have, when I worked at Streamwood, uh, at the Streamwood Fire Station on Park Boulevard,

00:44:41.840 - 00:44:58.389

we did have a pole that, uh, we, we actually would slide down, uh, uh, when a call came in, uh, that would take us from the second floor to the, to the apparatus for quickly. Did anybody ever fall off of that? No, no, no. Uh, you

00:44:58.399 - 00:45:12.899

know, nobody, uh, not to my knowledge. I don't believe we ever had anybody, uh, uh, fall off or hurt themselves. Were there any moments that stand out to you as an on call firefighter that you can remember? You know, I, I've, you know, there were, uh,

00:45:13.000 - 00:45:29.689

you know, there were calls that we went on. Um, and, well, I certainly don't have any stories of, you know, climbing up to the seventh floor and rescuing some woman, uh, or, or, or man, you know, uh, out of a window or anything like that certainly

00:45:29.699 - 00:45:46.340

was on a lot of car accident scenes and a lot of, uh, medical calls and a few fires, one of the fires that stands out to me, uh, that I responded to as a Streamwood firefighter but was in Hanover Park was, uh, in the, uh, early

00:45:46.350 - 00:46:05.300

nineties, mid nineties, uh, in Norbert Pools, uh, in Hanover Park again at the, uh, park and shop strip mall, which by then might have changed names, um, as from the shopping mall standpoint, but, uh Norbert Pools burned. Um, and I remember going to that fire uh

00:46:05.310 - 00:46:22.050

as a Streamwood firefighter uh to assist Hanover Park. Um, and that was, that was definitely considered one of the larger fires of the year. I remember, uh, we were in the back and they, uh, we were taking a line in the back door and the wall

00:46:22.060 - 00:46:41.419

of the, uh, building began to buckle. Um, and so the, uh, uh, long story short, the, the wall actually collapsed partially. Um, fortunately, nobody was hurt but, uh, that stopped us from advancing that hose line any further. And, uh, they had us do something else as

00:46:41.429 - 00:47:00.959

I recall. But, uh, uh that is, uh certainly, uh one of uh, one of the big memory, another big fire was when I was on Bartlett. Uh we had the fire in uh the Bridlewood subdivision which was way up on uh off of Shoe Factory Road

00:47:00.969 - 00:47:18.639

because Bartlett provides the fire protection to the unincorporated residents, uh, of Hanover Township. Very large house fire. I think we were there most of the night and then countless other, uh, house fires. I, I will tell you a funny story. Two little stories. When I was

00:47:18.649 - 00:47:33.629

on the Streamwood Fire Department. I was very excited when they told me, uh, that I was going to drive the fire engine and thought I'd really, you know, I had progressed and made it, but I was never a very good algebra student in college or in

00:47:33.639 - 00:47:48.790

high school. And, uh, I, uh, to protect my own, uh, uh, self, I won't tell folks how many times I took basic college algebra, but it was more than once. And so when I left college, I thought I would never see algebra again a day in

00:47:48.800 - 00:48:01.399

my life. Well, one of the things when you drive a fire engine is you have to know how to operate a pump and you have to be able to compute friction loss, um, in order to compensate for how much hose has been laid for, uh, how

00:48:01.409 - 00:48:13.010

many floors the firefighters are going up with the hose. And so you do a formula and it tells you what you should pump at. So when I walked into the class and the instructor who at that time was the, uh, deputy chief of the fire department

00:48:13.020 - 00:48:26.219

wrote three algebraic formulas on the board and told me I needed to commit these to memory. And learn how to do these. I wanted to cry and really lost all my interest in driving the fire engine. After that, I was able to commit those to memory.

00:48:26.229 - 00:48:41.070

And so I was able to drive, but I remember one of the first calls I went on was, uh, actually the first, I think it was the first call I actually drove to. It was late at night. Uh, we'd been woken up, uh, for the report

00:48:41.080 - 00:48:58.770

of a mattress fire in the town homes off of Park Boulevard. So between, uh, Schaumburg Road and, uh, Bode Road. And so I'm excited and nervous all at the same time I get up, I get dressed and I go to start the fire engine and I

00:48:58.780 - 00:49:14.129

wait for the lieutenant to get on and the, uh, firefighter on the back and the lieutenant tells me to go and we go and I quickly realized I had forgotten to put my glasses on. And, uh, it was also a very foggy night, very foggy night.

00:49:14.139 - 00:49:29.020

Uh, you couldn't, even if I had my glasses on, it would have been difficult to see but not having them made it even more, uh, challenging. And so as we would come up to every intersection, every road sign, you know, I would slow down cause I

00:49:29.030 - 00:49:40.229

had to get up, you know, we'd have to get up close for me to be able to read this sign. And finally, the officer, the lieutenant said, what is going on? And I, I said, well, I said we have a little problem. I, I don't have

00:49:40.239 - 00:49:53.530

my glasses on. I can't read the street signs to which he had some choice words of encouragement. Um And uh, so he read the street signs and we, we got there and put it was a, a mattress fire and put it out. But I've always remembered

00:49:53.540 - 00:50:09.360

that and never forgot my glasses the rest of the time and my uh firefighting uh paid on call career. And so, and, and the other moments is that just the camaraderie of being on the fire department was always fun and uh enjoyed uh most of the

00:50:09.370 - 00:50:32.459

people I worked with. Uh what is your favorite memory of living in Hanover Park? You know, my favorite memory of living in Hanover Park would be the, you know, it was the uh stereotypical seventies, eighties, uh suburban life. Uh You know, uh you knew everybody on

00:50:32.469 - 00:50:50.409

the street, you knew, uh uh all the neighbors knew everybody. Now, you might not know them very well, but you knew who lived in what house and uh all the, all the kids on the block, you know, socialized together. And, um, and so, uh you, you

00:50:50.419 - 00:51:08.800

certainly had a sense of community and I remember that the strong community organizations that made up Hanover Park, the Jaycees, the Women's Club. I remember my mother uh being in a Bunco group that would meet, uh, every month and, and the, the fact that you

00:51:08.810 - 00:51:30.179

knew that you lived in a smaller town and although they used to commonly call Bartlett and Hanover Park and Streamwood with the tri villages, the, uh, all the towns were small, you know, under, you know, under 8000 people, um, together they probably had maybe 12,000 if

00:51:30.189 - 00:51:46.000

you put them all together at that time. And so you had that and you felt very safe. You know, this is before kids pictures on milk cartons and things like that and before the 24 hour news cycle. So you, you just felt safe. Um Now whether

00:51:46.010 - 00:51:59.840

we were any safer than we are today, who knows? But, uh you felt that way. And so that's a very good memory and because my parents were involved in the village, you know, I, I knew, uh I knew the mayors, I knew uh many of the

00:51:59.850 - 00:52:18.429

trustees. And so those, uh and again, uh because, uh there wasn't that many, you know, there wasn't that many people in the town. So you just knew new folks and you just had a sense of community and today, I'm sure families still have that, but, you

00:52:18.439 - 00:52:34.010

know, things have changed. We've, uh uh even in my own, you know, my own home doesn't probably reflect any of those things today. You know, we're driving kids to, you know, we, we drove our kids to sporting things and we had travel baseball and swimming and

00:52:34.020 - 00:52:45.719

all those things and those things just didn't exist. You know, if you were lucky, you, you know, your parents put you on the Park District team and you played the seven games that, uh, were part of that or you swam the seven swim meets and that

00:52:45.729 - 00:53:01.790

was that. So, uh, but fond memories of growing up in Hanover Park and, and going up to, uh, I think 1, 1 of my favorite memories is uh going up to the Tradewinds Theater to pay for a movie with Pepsi bottle caps. Um I, I don't

00:53:01.800 - 00:53:14.600

know why that was obviously they serve Pepsi at the movie theater. So Pepsi had to be the sponsor of the, uh the gimmick, but you would go see some movies that had run years ago, but we thought it was great because we were going to the

00:53:14.610 - 00:53:31.360

movies and paying with bottle caps. And I remember uh collecting Pepsi bottle caps at home. My parents drank Pepsi. I remember combing uh the uh garbage cans uh at the park for bottle caps so that my buddy could get in or what, what have you. Um

00:53:31.370 - 00:53:50.780

So good memory and also uh softball games going with my father to watch softball at the Hanover Park Park District, which was right across from our street. And we thought the town had really arrived when they got lights on the softball field that, you know, this

00:53:50.790 - 00:54:09.479

was, this was the big time. And so I, I remember softball teams playing with, you know, an old Streamwood business, uh, Villa Capri, uh, sponsoring, uh, uh, softball teams. All the local businesses, you know, tow companies, bars, restaurants would sponsor these teams and they'd play with

00:54:09.489 - 00:54:22.310

the, you know, on their backs. They didn't have their names. They had the name of the, the business that was sponsoring the team. So, just good memories of that. Now, I'm sure it wasn't nearly as good at the time, but certainly looking back it, uh, it

00:54:22.320 - 00:54:39.489

seemed like, uh, it was a great way to spend an evening. Are there any other, um, Hanover Streamwood or Hanover Township memories you'd like to discuss or anything else you'd like to discuss, you know, I think, um, you know, that, uh, and, and I said this

00:54:39.500 - 00:54:58.000

before, I think Hanover Park and Streamwood were great places to grow up. I think the, uh, I certainly remember the, uh, my mother going out to campaign for school referendums, um, because, you know, uh, the area just grew so quickly. Um, and if you look at

00:54:58.010 - 00:55:17.040

the population change from 19, uh, from the early seventies to the nineties, um, in the eighties, I mean, uh, it, it, I mean, I think the towns were, were doubling in size on a regular basis. And so you saw a lot of growth and you saw

00:55:17.050 - 00:55:33.659

that, you know, uh, when you arrived, the infrastructure hadn't quite caught, caught up to the housing development and, and I can remember that, uh, you know, uh, we, we had all the intrigue of small towns. I remember, I remember my parents talking about the, uh, that

00:55:33.669 - 00:55:53.530

they, a former Hanover Park mayor had gone to jail and then, uh, there was scandal in Streamwood because the village manager was, uh, was accused of wrongdoing. And the, uh, uh, you know, those were, those were, were big things, uh, at the time and I, I

00:55:53.540 - 00:56:06.629

couldn't even tell you what either of those people did. Um, other than I know that both of them, it didn't end well for either of them. But, uh, you know, it was interesting to watch the towns go through their growing pains to get to, to get

00:56:06.639 - 00:56:21.780

to where they are, uh, today. And I, and I'm sure that both the township in Hanover Park and Streamwood and Barlett, you know, the best days are, are, are yet to come. And, uh, although there's, uh, the only constant is change so it probably won't be

00:56:21.790 - 00:56:37.300

the way that I think, you know, I remember it. But the, uh, but I think all the communities are, are, um, certainly, uh, well, well run and professional staffs and, and you look at how even the Poplar Creek Library, uh, as I said earlier, I remember

00:56:37.310 - 00:56:51.080

going to the, uh, location on Streamwood Boulevard and thinking the neatest thing in the world was that they had a book drop that you put books in through the wall and they magically would return. Little did I know that they were connected to the same book

00:56:51.090 - 00:57:07.979

drop that was inside and, you know, to see, not uh not only the new facility here uh when it first was built with the addition, uh and the renovations uh that have been done. Uh You know, I think our uh nuc the, the all the park

00:57:07.989 - 00:57:22.520

districts have community centers uh and all of those things that, that, that growth brings. And so I, I think that it's been, it's been great to watch all that and be part of it in some cases. So a great place to grow up and a great

00:57:22.530 - 00:57:34.389

place to raise a family. Well, thank you so much for your time, Brian. We really appreciate it. So, thank you so much. Listen, I'm happy to be included and wish you all the success as you put the program together.