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West Chicago hires community development director

The City of West Chicago said it hired Tom Dabareiner as director of community development.

Dabareiner will lead the multifaceted department which is responsible for planning and zoning, code enforcement, commercial and residential permitting and economic development.

He has a Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay.

Formerly the director of community development at the city of Bloomington, Dabareiner brings experience in team-building across professional disciplines. While in Bloomington, he created and implemented an award-winning comprehensive plan in cooperation with the regional planning commission. He was also successful in instituting a customer service performance program that led to a 74 percent improvement in plan review times.

"The experience and expertise that Tom brings to the role of director of community development will serve the city well as we continue to focus on the four overarching goals of the West Chicago strategic plan; economic development, city image, intergovernmental collaboration, and community-building," said West Chicago City Administrator Michael Guttman.

The plan, which was created in 2016 through public input, charts a course for West Chicago's continued growth and improvement, while remaining true to its core values of being a diverse, family-friendly suburb, with a rich history as a railroad community.

Having an established road map, especially one created by a wide cross-section of the community, contributed to Dabareiner's enthusiasm for the position. "I am excited to have been given the opportunity to join such a progressive community, one that clearly knows and embraces its history, traditions, challenges, and collective vision for the future," he said about his hire.

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