Simon appoints Lemont, Coal Valley citizens to military committee

SPRINGFIELD – Lt. Governor Sheila Simon appointed two residents with job creation experience to her Interagency Military Base Support and Economic Development committee today with unanimous support from the committee's members.

The two new volunteers, who hail from southwest suburban Chicago and the Quad Cities region, will join the committee in advocating for the retention and reuse of Illinois’ military bases and working to strengthen the regional economies near military installations.

“These new members represent a wealth of economic development experience that will bring new perspectives to our work,” said Simon, chairwoman of the military base committee, during its quarterly meeting in Springfield. “I’m pleased to welcome Rick Kwasneski and Paul Rumler to our team.”

Kwasneski, of Lemont, and Rumler, of Coal Valley, join six other public members, representatives from various state agencies and four members of the General Assembly on the committee. The committee’s public members draw upon their experiences from an array of career fields – including economic development, education, government and the military – to serve the state.

Kwasneski is a former village trustee and mayor of Lemont, who is the executive director of the Joliet Arsenal Development Authority. The Authority is responsible for overseeing the development of 3,000 acres at the former Joliet Arsenal into two industrial parks. In his role as executive director, Kwasneski is responsible for implementing policies and directives of the Authority. Kwasneski is also involved with the Will County Center for Economic Development, the Association of Defense Communities and the Council for Urban Economic Development.

Rumler attended Black Hawk College in Moline before graduating from Georgia State University and working in Washington for the federal government. More recently Rumler has served on the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce, helping implement the Chamber’s strategic plan and advocating for policy decisions. Rumler was the executive director for the Quad Cities Passenger Rail Coalition which secured federal, state, and local funds to complete Chicago to Quad Cities passenger rail by 2015. Rumler is currently the executive vice president for the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Rock Island Arsenal Alliance.