Kane County Development Department Records, 1950-1980 | Northern Illinois University
Arrangement
The collection is organized into four series: Department Administration, Planning Programs and Studies, Planning Aids and Legislation, and Other Planning Agencies and Organizations.
The Planning Programs and Studies series. This series is arranged into eight subject subseries. Subjects covered are Zoning, Transportation, Water, Sanitation, Soil, Social Programs, General Development, and Published Studies. The last subseries, Published Studies, has been arranged chronologically.
Administrative/Biographical History
In June of 1957, the Kane County Board of Supervisors resolved to set up a committee of three men. This committee was charged with the duty of developing an overall county plan. It was meant to work with the Building and Zoning Committee whose chairman was Mr. Carl Carlson. A year later, in September 1958, the Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that created the Kane County Regional Planning Commission. The commission consisted of twelve men and reported to the Planning Committee. Carl Carlson became the county’s first planning director. The commission was in charge of development for the whole county. In 1962, the Board of Supervisors established set rules and procedures for the election of planning commission officers and commission membership guidelines. The 1958 resolution, however, marks the establishment of what today is the Kane County Development Department.
Carl Carlson was planning director only for two years. In 1960, Mr. Thornton "Tony" Ware was hired to replace Mr. Carlson. Thornton Ware came from the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission and remained Kane County’s Planning director until 1968. Mr. Carlson remained with the department as chief planner and assistant to the director. Mr. Frank Olson, who started with the department as a draftsman, eventually became chief planner and, then, planning director after Mr. Ware retired.
Kane County is part of the Chicago Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. It had been paying the Chicago Planning Commission a yearly fee to be included in their plans, when the Board of Supervisors was persuaded to establish a county planning commission. Contact with Chicago area developers continued, especially after Thornton Ware was hired. Mr. Paul Opperman and Mr. Matthew Rockwell, both executive directors of the NIPC, are correspondents whose letters are found throughout the collection.
Subjects (links to similar collections)Aurora (Ill.)
Batavia (Ill.)
Blackberry Center
Burlington (Ill.)
Carpentersville (Ill.)
Cook County (Ill.)
DeKalb County (Ill)
Dundee (Ill.)
DuPage County (Ill)
Economic development.
Elburn (Ill)
Elgin (Ill.)
Flood control.
Fox River Valley (Wis. and Ill.)
Geneva (Ill.)
Gilberts (Ill.)
Hampshire (Ill.)
Hospitals
Kane County (Ill)
Kane County Development Department
Kaneland (Ill.)
Kendall County (Ill)
Lake County (Ill)
Land use
Maple Park (Ill.)
McHenry County (Ill)
Middlebury (Ill.)
Montgomery (Ill.)
Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission
Northfield (Ill.)
Sanitary engineering.
Sewage disposal.
Sleepy Hollow (Ill.)
Soil conservation
St. Charles (Ill.)
Suburbs
Sugar Grove (Ill.)
Transportation
Valley View (Ill.)
Water conservation
Wayne (Ill.)
West Valley (Ill.)
Winnebago County (Ill)
Administrative InformationMr. Phil Bus, Director, and Mr. Jim Plonczynski of the Kane County Development Department donated informational files of past directors to the Northern Illinois Regional History Center on July 13, 1983.
The material in this collection came from the background and informational files of two directors of the Kane County Development Department, Thornton “Tony” Ware and Frank Olson. In general, the material covers the years between 1960 and 1980. However, some of the files date as far back as 1957 and the creation of the department.
Department Administration deals with the business and staff workings in the Development Department. Such information as annual reports, budgets, and correspondence to the county clerk about salaries and promotions is included in this series. Folder one has resolutions and short histories summarizing the establishment of the department. Also, in this folder are memoranda containing statements of development policy.
The bulk of the collection is in the Planning Programs and Studies series. This series is arranged into eight subject subseries. Subjects covered are Zoning, Transportation, Water, Sanitation, Soil, Social Programs, General Development, and Published Studies. Zoning for cities in Kane County are followed by county zoning ordinances and policies. Counties other than Kane are included. Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS) progress reports can be found in the Transportation subseries. A cassette tape recording of a 1968 airport zoning commission meeting is included in the airport zoning folder. Flood mapping and water supply information are in the Water subseries. The open-file reports contain maps. Maps for some areas outside of Kane County are included in this subseries. Sanitation covers sewer system plans and refuse disposal plans. Land use and conservation materials are in the Soil subseries. The term Open Space refers to land set aside for park and recreational purposes. All other interests are covered in the Social Programs subseries. This includes information on hospitals, schools, pollution, and civil defense. Minutes of the Kane County Planning Commission are in the General Development subseries. Also in this subseries are comprehensive planning studies conducted for various cities and the county of Kane. The county study was a four year program of reevaluation and reports. It was accomplished with the aid of Barton-Aschman consultants. The last subseries, Published Studies, has been arranged chronologically.
The third series, Planning Aids and Legislation, contains pamphlets and books on how to plan for development and what grants are available to fund such planning.
In Other Planning Agencies and Organizations, Federal agencies are followed by state agencies concerned with planning and development. In the case of the Board of Economic Development, which becomes the Department of Business and Economic Development, its interests do not change, although the name does. Minutes of Lake and McHenry Counties’ planning commissions are in this series. The Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission makes up the bulk of this series. Records for the NIPC include annual meeting minutes, minutes of advisory committees, copies of the commissioner’s report and the NIPC Planning Legislation Bulletin. The series ends with newsletters from the regional chapter of the American Institute of Planners (AIP) and the National Association of Counties (NACO). For more information on the NIPC and its activities, the Regional History Center does have that organization’s records in a separate collection.
The addendum includes department files and correspondence, city and town reports and plans, the West Valley/Blackberry Project, and NIPC and other agencies reports.