Richard A. Kwasneski

Richard “Rick” Kwasneski served the Village of Lemont for 16 years as Mayor and Village Trustee. He is the President of KCS Consulting, a firm that concentrates in real estate brokerage/development, economic development and public/stakeholder relations. As Executive Director of the Joliet Arsenal Development Authority, he has been instrumental on redeveloping the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant into North America’s largest inland port, which has become a model for military base redevelopment. 

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Public Transit Association (APTA). Within the APTA Board, he is also a member of the Research Communication Advocacy Council, the Zero Emissions Committee, and the Transit Board Member Committee. He formerly served on the APTA Board’s Executive Committee.  He is a Director of the Will County Center for Economic Development (CED), and a member of their Freight Advisory Committee. He also serves on the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) Policy Committee as a Board Member.

He served as a member of the Association of Defense Communities (ADC), and Co-Chairman of the LRA Director’s Council, Council for Urban Economic Development. He also served as Chairman of the Heritage Corridor I-355 Planning Council, as a member of the I-55 Corridor Planning Council, and as a former Director of the Workforce Development Council of Will County. Kwasneski served as a Director of the Will County Governmental League and as Chairman of their Governmental Affairs Committee. He has served on the Three Rivers Manufacturers Association Community Advisory Board and was a member of the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, the Southwest Conference of Local Governments, the Southwest Council of Mayors, Commissioner of the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission (NIPC), and a member of the Water Resources Committee. Kwasneski has also served as a member of the Chicago Area Transportation Study Intermodal Task Force, the Three Rivers Manufacturers Association Governmental Affairs Committee, the Illinois Brownfield Association-Government Affairs Committee, and a staff liaison to the President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.

Kwasneski is a graduate of Lewis University, majoring in Business Administration. He resides in Lemont and is married and has four children. 

On Pace’s board of Directors, he serves as Chairman, representing the entire six-county region. He had previously served as the Southwest Suburban Cook County representative to the Pace board from 2002-06. He has served as Chairman since 2006.