Illinois Public Service Institute celebrates 10 years of training excellence for public works professionals Larry Lux, PWLF President, Lux Advisors, Ltd Plainfield, Illinois Member, APWA Top Ten Review Committee
n October 2011, the Illinois Public Service Institute (IPSI) celebrated its 10th Anniversary of service to the public works profession. From an initial class of 43 people in 2002, the Institute has consistently grown to the point where there are now approximately 140 people annually in the pipeline working towards graduation. The first graduating class was in 2004. To date nearly 300 people have graduated from the program. APWA membership is not required to attend IPSI. The program is a three-year adult education model training program that provides leadership and management training that is specifically designed for public employees. The course itself is divided into three one-week sessions (one week per year for three years) that focuses on leadership development, service excellence and supervisory skills. The overall course contains 120 classroom hours of training and exercises. Getting away from the workplace is an important element of the program and, therefore, the course is offered at the Keller Conference Center in Effingham, Illinois (South Central). This location was specifically chosen so that it was far enough away from the major population centers of Illinois to avoid the urge to travel back and forth every day, but still located close enough to allow a return home in a few hours or less should 16 APWA Reporter
January 2012
an emergency arise. IPSI contracts with several nearby hotels so that the students spend most of their week together as a group which adds immensely to the networking opportunities and success of the program. This strategy allows for maximum commitment and focus on the training itself. The success of the program is evident from the fact that many local and county government agencies in Illinois now indicate a preference for IPSI graduates in their personnel recruitment advertisements.
History IPSI was originated in 2002 as a discussion initiated by the Illinois Chapter. The proposal was to form a partnership between the Illinois and Chicago Metro Chapters of APWA for the purpose of providing training to all levels of public employees and to prepare them for advancement in their public careers. The initial partnership agreement established a Management Committee consisting of eight members, one person designated as the “official” chapter contact plus three others designated from each chapter. It was
2011 Advisory Committee, left to right: John Heinz, Village of Libertyville (Chicago Metro Chapter); Larry Lux, Lux Advisors, Ltd. (Chicago Metro Chapter); Jeffrey Smith, City of Peoria (Illinois Chapter); Bob Scott, City of Decatur (Class of 2010); Roland White, City of Champaign (Illinois Chapter); Richard Berning, City of Springfield, retired (Illinois Chapter); Doug Paulus, Hampton, Lenzini & Renwick Engineers (Chicago Metro Chapter); Tony Torres, Village of Bolingbrook (Class of 2009); Larry Coloni, Village of Forsyth (Illinois Chapter); Kelly Amidei, Village of Libertyville (Illinois Assistant Municipal Managers Assn.); Allen Persons, Village of Plainfield (Illinois Section, American Water Works Assn.); Cindy Fowler, Bollinger, Lach & Assoc. Engineers (Class of 2008)
