Welcome to the Southwest Branch!
2025/26 Executive Members
| President Jonathan Kjellman, P.E. HDR, Inc.  |
Vice President Sean Brady, P.E. True North Consultants  |
Treasurer Joe Nordman, P.E. City of Joliet  |
Secretary Ben Fox, P.E. HR Green, Inc.  |
Past President Owen Dean, P.E. City of Joliet  |
Save the Date:
November 5th, 2025Will County Division of Transportation Update |
December 12th, 2025Southwest Branch Holiday Party |
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Presenter: Eric Wesel, P.E., Design Manager Eric has over 30 years of experience with municipalities, consultants and Will County. He started with Will County as the permit engineer and is currently the Phase II Project Manager for the Division of Transportation. Eric’s duties include managing roadway improvement projects including plan reviews of right-of-way acquisition and contact administration. Join us as we welcome Eric Wesel, P.E., Phase II Project Manager for the Will County Division of Transportation to discuss:
Will County DOT – Design & Construction Updates – APWA Chicago Metro Chapter |
The Southwest Branch– APWA and the South Suburban Water Works Association are teaming up to bring you a National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation–themed Holiday Party that’s guaranteed to be the most fun you’ll have all season. Friday, December 12, 2025 Silver Lake Country Club | 14700 S 82nd Ave, Orland Park, IL 60462 Registration beginning on Monday, October 27th at the following link! Reserve your table by Sunday, November 23rd. Be sure to grab your spot early—the Griswold house fills up fast. Let’s make this a holiday to remember—no burnt turkeys or squirrel chases required!
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2025/26 Southwest Branch Scholarship Application
The Southwest Branch Student Scholarship is open for all full-time college students within the SW Branch area in an applicable area of study to apply. The application for the Fall 2025 Semester is now closed. Award recipients for the Fall 2025 semester were announced on May 21st, 2025. The application deadline for the Spring 2026 Semester is November 7th, 2025! See below for the application.
2025 SW Branch Scholarship Application
2025 Southwest Branch Public Works Project of the Year
The 2025 Southwest Branch Awards Banquet took place on February 19, 2025. Award winners include the following:
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Pfeiffer Road Extension (Transportation, less than $5M) Village of Frankfort |
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127th Street Bridge Over the DuPage River (Disaster or Emergency Construction/Repair, less than $5M) Village of Plainfield |
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Transforming Joliet: The Path to Sewer System Excellence (Environment, $25M to $75M) City of Joliet |
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Post 21 Potable Water Booster Pump Station (Environment, less than $5M) Village of Tinley Park |
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Doug Kissel, Wastewater Superintendent (Samuel A. Greely Award) Village of Plainfield |
Congratulations to all the award winners!
Schedule of Topics for 2025
Monthly Meetings (1st Wednesday of the Month)
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January 22nd – Sidewalk Litigation February 12th – Southwest Branch Awards Banquet March 21st – YP Public Works Brewery Takeover April 2nd – Issues During Construction (GFT) May 7th – Intelligent Transportation Systems Educational Event June – Southwest Branch Golf Outing at Silver Lake Country Club |
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August 6th – Demo and Product Fair August 17th – 20th – PWX 2025 Chicago September 3rd – City of Joliet Bluff Street Lining (RJN Group, Inc.) October 1st – Metra Update (Metra) November 5th – Will County DOT Update (WCDOT) December 12th – Southwest Branch Holiday Party |
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2025/2026 Southwest Branch Committee Chairs |
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| Committee | Chair / Co-Chairs | Contact |
| Awards | Alex Alejandro (Hancock) | aalejandro@ehancock.com |
| Scholarship | Eric Wesel (WCDOT) & Eric Neubauer (HDR) | ekwcepe1@att.net & eric.neubauer@hdrinc.com |
| Membership | Tim Juskiewicz (Burns and McDonnell) | tjuskiewicz@burnsmcd.com |
| Education | Abby McMann (Baxter and Woodman) | amcmann@baxterwoodman.com |
| Golf Outing | Don Cassier (SEECO) | cassier@seeco.com |
| Audit | “The Past Presidents” | odean@joliet.gov |
| Public Outreach | Arlan Schattke (Village of Plainfield) | aschattke@goplainfield.com |
| Young Professionals | Trevor Cannon (CBBEL) | tcannon@cbbel.com |
| Website | Trevor Cannon (CBBEL) | tcannon@cbbel.com |
| Demo Days | Owen Dean (City of Joliet) | odean@joliet.gov |
| Holiday Party | Mark Siefert (Baxter and Woodman) | msiefert@baxterwoodman.com |
| Officer – Past President | Owen Dean (City of Joliet) | odean@joliet.gov |
2025 Event Highlights
October 2025 – Metra Update (Metra):
Thank you very much Scott Schiemann, Chief Engineering Officer with Metra for presenting on current and planned system enhancements, highlighting the ongoing efforts to modernize Chicagoland’s commuter rail network. Scott reviewed the $366 million 2025 Capital Program, which funds investments in rolling stock, infrastructure, signals and communications, facilities and equipment, stations and parking, and support activities. Additionally, Scott discussed Metra’s broader initiatives to improve reliability, safety, and the customer experience.
September 2025 – City of Joliet Bluff Street Lining (RJN Group, Inc.):
Thank you very much Patrick Hulsebosch and Luis Vasquez, Sr. Construction Manager with RJN Group, Inc. for presenting on issues encountered during construction and lessons learned for the City of Joliet’s Bluff Street Interceptor Rehabilitation project. Patrick discussed the design process and alternatives considered for the lining project. Luis reviewed conflicts encountered during construction, including IDOT right-of-way limitations, challenges in determination of active service connections, excavations within areas of shallow bedrock and high-water tables in close proximity to the Des Plaines River, the importance of construction oversight during all phases of construction, and the ways in which issues were resolved in timely and cost-effective fashion.
August 2025 – Demo and Product Fair:
Thank you to all who attended the Southwest Branch 12th Annual Demo and Product Fair at the Joliet Eastside WWTP on August 6th, 2025! Vendors showcased their products and provided public works staff with the opportunity to learn more about their products as well as how they could help their community.
June 2025 – Southwest Branch Golf Outing at Silver Lake Country Club:
Thank you to all who attended our 2025 SW Branch Golf Outing! With quite the rainy day in the forecast, we want to thank our members who showed up, be it to golf or to catch up with fellow APWA folks. We had 112 in attendance, with around 80 who toughed it out in the rain to play 1 to 9 holes! The SW Branch hopes to see you at next year’s golf outing and wishes you a great summer ahead.
May 2025 – Intelligent Transportation Systems Educational Event:
Thank you very much Tom Szabo with Atlas Technical Consultants for diving into Centralized Traffic Signal Management System (CTMS) design and Arterial Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in the Will County area. Tom reviewed Will County Division of Transportation’s innovative program aimed at upgrading existing traffic signal systems, including advancements in centralized traffic signal management, modern communication technologies, new design requirements, and integration of advanced monitoring tools that are both practical and effective.
April 2025 – Issues During Construction (Gannett Fleming – Transystems):
Thank you very much Zachary Pucel with Gannett Fleming – TranSystems for presenting on issues encountered during construction and lessons learned. Zachary discussed a multitude of recent conflicts encountered on projects this past year, including right-of-way limitations, piles in soils where bedrock was significantly deeper than anticipated, and additional scenarios, and the ways in which these issues were resolved in timely and cost-effective fashion.
March 2025 – YP Public Works Brewery Takeover:
Thank you to all who attended the YP-organized happy hour, hosted at Werk Force Brewing in Plainfield. Around 30 attendees came to the event, and many folks were coming as new attendees or who had not attended recently. It was a great outing drawing from both the public sector and private sector membership bases, and folks introduced themselves to new faces or caught up with familiar ones.
January 2025 – Sidewalk Litigation:
Thank you very much Hannah Lamore with Mahoney, Silverman & Cross, LLC for presenting on tools for municipalities in cases of civil litigation regarding sidewalks. Hannah discussed the various aspects of litigation in cases of sidewalk trip-and-fall injuries, and the tools available to local governments to manage such cases, as well as applicable case history on municipal liability.
2024 Highlights
December 2024:
Thank you to the membership of the APWA SW Branch and the South Suburban Water Works Assocation for making this year’s holiday party a great success! Many raffle prizes were won, parlor games were played, and memories were made. The SW Branch looks forward to the next year of luncheons and presentation on pertinent topics for our membership.
November 2024:
Thank you very much Eric Wesel with the Will County Division of Transportation for presenting on the upcoming design and construction projects for the county. Eric reviewed the wide range projects in store for 2025, including road resurfacing, reconstruction, grade separation, PEL locations, I.T.S. locations, and much more at one of the branch’s higher-attendance lunches of the year.
October 2024:
Thank you very much Mark Teschke with Baxter & Woodman for presenting on ArcGIS programs and GIS in general. Mark reviewed the current practice for utilizing GIS tools, as well as modern, streamlined methods of updating GIS in real-time for projects under construction. Additionally, Mark discussed how GIS programs are paired with aerial and aquatic drones to survey bodies of water for both municipal and public use.
September 2024:
Thank you very much Austin Ridgely with HLR Inc. for presenting on drone surveying and the benefits of the technology. Austin discussed the different sensors used by drones, and what to consider for your project needs and financial constraints when determining the best drone technology for the task at hand. Additionally, Austin reviewed the benefits and challenges of drone surveying with respect to current technology, the regulatory environment, and how the data is utilized.
August 2024:
The Southwest Branch hosted the 11th annual Demo and Product Fair at the Joliet Eastside WWTP on August 7th, 2024. This event provided an opportunity for vendors to showcase their products and have public works staff learn more about these products as well as how they could help their community. There were 30 vendors, 8 presentations/demonstrations, and over 150 attendees.
June 2024:
Southwest Branch had the first APWA Golf Outing of the year which was successful in raising funds for branch’s scholarship fund. The Southwest Branch also awarded scholarships to very deserving applicants. Thank to Don Cassier for planning a very successful Golf Outing and Jonathan Kjellman for coordinating the scholarships.
May 2024:
Thank you very much Thano Tziforos, Matthew Moorehouse with American Surveying & Engineering and Reid Magner with Bravo Company Engineering for presenting on subsurface utility engineering (SUE) and the various options for equipment and methods. The speakers discussed how accurate mapping is produced from subsurface utility engineering, as well as the challenges associated with underground conflicts encountered during exploration.
April 2024:
Thank you very much Jonathan Shuptar with the V3 Companies for presenting on the benefits and challenges of soil management for engineering projects. Jonathan reviewed the general process for CCDD soil certification, the highlights of clean fill regulations, and how to manage impacts to the project as well as the process for handling failed soils.
March 2024:
Thank you very much Patrick Hulsebosch with RJN Group for presenting force main inspection. Patrick explored the benefits of screening level assessments to inspect force mains as a fiscally prudent and effective approach to identifying areas of defect within force main pipelines.
February 2024:
On February 7th, the APWA SW Branch held the 2024 Awards Banquet at the Patrick Haley Mansion. Thank you to all members that attended this event to recognize the award-winning projects from the SW Branch.
January 2024:
Thank you very much Hugh O’Hara with the Will County Governmental League for presenting on the 2024 state and federal legislative items of pertinence to the field of public works. Hugh also discussed the financial outlook of Illinois for the year ahead and associated impacts to local funding.
Thank you for visiting this web page!
Please contact Jonathan Kjellman at Jonathan.kjellman@hdrinc.com if you have any comments/questions.
