Glen Ellyn Names New Public Works Director

The named its new public works director.

Julius Hansen comes to Glen Ellyn with more than 20 years of experience. He currently heads La Grange Park's Public Works Department. Before taking that position in 2002, Hansen served the residents of Elmhurst.

In this role, Hansen will oversee a department of 28 full-time employees to maintain the village's infrastructure and equipment. Hansen received his bachelor's degree from Lewis University before earning his master's degree in public administration at Northern Illinois University. 

The village used a recruiting firm to find a suitable candidate. The firm considered about 65 candidates before whittling it down to a round of 10. Village Manager Mark Franz said Hansen was the top choice because of his previous experiences and because he was "ready to embrace new ideas and lead the department forward on a number of different fronts."

Hansen will step into his new role on Nov. 29 and talked to Patch for a Q&A.   

Q. Why Glen Ellyn?
A. The village itself has a lot of character and I’m just very impressed with the reputation of Glen Ellyn. The work is similar to what I do now and I like being a director of public works.

Q. What got you interested in the public works field?
A. I was originally in the military and I was an engineer at the time. In the military you build things, you construct things, you operate heavy construction equipment, so there were some similarities between my military training and public works. I enjoyed operating equipment, I enjoy building things and I enjoy working together in a team environment, and that’s very much what public works is about.

Q. What are some key issues that you think need to be addressed in Glen Ellyn?
A. My focus is going to be delivering services to the residents and trying to make sure that the snow removal operation goes efficiently as possible. I need to learn the streets, learn the village and learn the town and the equipment. The employees can teach me their way of doing things. I think that there’s going to be some incremental changes that we try to improve on.

Q. What perspective or expertise do you bring to Glen Ellyn?
A. I think I bring experience being in public works. I’ve been in leadership positions for over 20 years. I think I’ve done a lot of different things in public works--from capital projects, to operations, to providing services to residents. I think that I’ve got a lot of experience and leadership and I think I have some good problem solving skills. I don’t really give up easily, I always try to find a solution. I really like doing what I do. I think having that entusiasm brings a lot to an organization.

Q. What did the GE staff tell you would be some of the most important projects, or your first projects?
A. They did mention the street paving project that is going to involve Hawthorne. They thought that I would be involved in that, that would be my first street project. It seems that the engineers that work for the village do a great job. Doing that paving program, I would feel that working with them is going to be a great thing to focus in on. That’s going to be a challenge. That’s probably going to be a more difficult street paving project for my first one. I just feel that this is going to be a great opportunity for me, I’m going to work hard to do that best job that I can for the village. Being a part of the management team is going to be a great opportunity for me and I just want to make the most of it. I hope that we can serve the residents in a way that they’re use to and exceed their expectations in the future.