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Special recognition of Michael Warner for his service to Lake County.
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SPECIAL RECOGNITION
WHEREAS, Michael "Mike" Warner, recognized throughout the state and nationwide for his expertise, has devoted his career serving to Lake County's Stormwater Management Commission (SMC). With more than 26 years of service at SMC, Mike's profound impact has been felt by the thousands of community members he has helped during his tenure; and
WHEREAS, Mike graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor's in Civil Engineering; and
WHEREAS, his illustrious career with Lake County SMC began on March 24, 1994 as a principal engineer. His hard work was quickly recognized, and Mike was promoted to Chief Engineer and finally to Executive Director in 2006, a position he has held though the announcement of his retirement, which will be effective on December 18, 2020; and
WHEREAS, he has led SMC with professionalism and dignity and has established the department as innovative, transparent, service orientated and forward thinking. With his guidance, Lake County has been a leader in the region, improving water quality, reducing flood damages, and restoring and enhancing the natural drainage system; and
WHEREAS, since 1998, Mike has helped obtain 13 federal and state grant awards totaling $22 million for SMCs floodplain buyout program, which was used to purchase 200 properties; and
WHEREAS, Mike and his team have worked tirelessly to implement a new Capital Improvement Program, which identifies and partially funds projects that resolve multi-jurisdictional drainage and flood damages as well as preserves and improves water quality. He has worked diligently with county and state officials to fund big projects that will improve regional stormwater infrastructure long-term, which resulted in $2.1 million for Fiscal Year 2020 from the Lake County Board and $125 million from the State of Illinois; and
WHEREAS, Mike is committed to improv...
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