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Kane County honors longtime transportation director Carl Schleager; Northern Illinois Food Bank describes rising demand
Summary
Carl Schleager, director of the Kane County Division of Transportation, retired after 28 years; the board presented recognition. Northern Illinois Food Bank accepted the proclamation on National Poverty Awareness Month and reported a 30% increase in monthly families served compared with pre-pandemic levels.
Kane County recognized Carl Schleager at the Jan. 14 county-board meeting for nearly 28 years of service as director of the Division of Transportation and county engineer. Schleager was presented a commemorative plaque and thanked board members and staff during brief remarks.
Board members highlighted large infrastructure projects completed under his tenure, including the Stearns Road Corridor and the Longmeadow Parkway Corridor, both cited by Schleager as multi‑year, multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar efforts that improved mobility and public safety. "Two of them stand out to me… both were 5-mile corridors, new bridge over the Fox River, and each cost about $200,000,000," Schleager said.
The board also hosted a representative of Northern Illinois Food Bank, which accepted the National Poverty Awareness Month proclamation and described ongoing needs. Robert Desioed, senior manager of public policy and benefits, said the food bank serves roughly 70,000 families per month in Kane County and that need is roughly 30% higher than before the pandemic. He noted the food bank purchases much of the food it distributes and therefore is affected by rising food costs; he urged the board to consider careful public policy and to recognize the role of state and federal funding in supporting hunger-relief operations.
Why it matters: The transportation director’s retirement marks a leadership change in a department that manages major capital projects; the food-bank presentation underscored persistent demand for food assistance even as the board debated a poverty-awareness proclamation earlier in the meeting.
What comes next: The board and county staff will proceed with transition planning for the transportation division and continue coordination with local nonprofit partners on food-security issues.
