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For a long time, McHenry County in northeastern Illinois was the most populated county in the United States without direct interstate access. Highways like the Interstate 90 (I-90) passed just outside its borders, so the population of just over 300,000 was forced to rely on slower routes and state highways instead.
As the Director of Transportation and County Engineer for McHenry County Division of Transportation, Joseph Korpalski Jr understands the negative impact a lack of direct interstate access can have on communities, particularly in terms of development and economic impact.
That’s why the opening of the I-90 Illinois Route 23 interchange on 23 December 2019 was the best Christmas present he could have asked for.
“Things change so rapidly, and we’re in a high-growth community.”
McHenry County funded 25 percent of the project, while the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority funded 50 percent, and the Illinois Department of Transportation put forward the remaining 25 percent.
“It’s one of our success stories and an example of what collaboration can do,” Korpalski tells The CEO Magazine.
Korpalski knows that McHenry County is in a fortunate position to have multiple funding sources, but it’s not always enough.
“We need to work with our federal and state partners, too,” he explains.
With his County Engineer hat on, he has been part of the congressional delegation that travels to Washington, DC annually to lobby for funding for projects.
“It’s helped us advance what we’re able to do in McHenry County,” he explains.
Not all those projects revolve around fixing bridges and roads either.
“We’re unique in that we’re expanding beyond cars, with a greater emphasis on public transport, pedestrian infrastructure and cycling to offer people more travel options,” he says.
In 2012, it started its own countrywide transit and paratransit system from scratch to better serve local residents, replacing a disparate, unreliable dial-a-ride network. Along with improving regional mobility and allowing residents better access to healthcare, shopping and jobs, among other activities, the program has positioned McHenry County as a regional leader in transit.
It’s just one of the changes Korpalski has seen since he joined McHenry County in 2001 as its sixth county engineer. When he started, the department was experiencing a higher rate of leadership turnover than it wanted. Now, he says, the culture is like a family.
“We have people who have left, thinking the grass was greener, and they end up asking to come back,” he says. “That speaks volumes to what we have here right now. Our team right now is the best that it’s ever been.”
Korpalski oversees a team of 65 people and is aware that, since the public sector doesn’t have the financial resources or the agility of the private sector, he has to find other ways to create opportunities for his team through internal growth.
“We constantly evaluate our organization and structure, looking at what we need to change and what talent we need to seek out both internally and externally to make us better,” he says.
“Our team right now is the best that it’s ever been.”
The team has grown by a third since he started and this has allowed the department to tackle major infrastructure projects like widening roads.
Right now, as part of Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s Rebuild Illinois capital program, tens of millions have been funneled into road and bridge projects, including resurfacing and American Disability Association improvements, bridge joint replacement and resurfacing and draining improvements set to be completed by 2026.
Still, even as large as the department is, he can’t hire all the expertise he needs, so it’s key to work with partners such as Gallagher Asphalt and consulting engineers Baxter & Woodman.
Consultants have become almost an extension of his staff to help with design work and project management. Communication with surrounding counties is also crucial to share data and plans, which allows them to plan for the future, too.
“Things change so rapidly, and we’re in a high-growth community,” he says.
Community is at the heart of everything for Korpalski, who was born and raised in Illinois. His parents, who were childhood sweethearts and knew each other for 66 years until his father passed away last year, taught him that relationships were everything – and it’s a lesson he’s brought over to the business world.
After leaving the state to go to college at the University of Wisconsin – a deliberate move to leave his comfort zone and seek out new experiences – he returned home for a summer internship at the Illinois Department of Transportation, graduating into a full-time role in 1991.
As a project manager, he was exposed early on to large, complex transportation projects, working in what was called the consultant studies unit.
“I didn’t necessarily do the work; I managed the work that was being done,” he says.
What he loved most about the role was working with consultants to ensure the job was completed and fostering individual relationships along the way.
Yet he was frustrated that the projects he was working on weren’t receiving the necessary funding to see the light of day soon boiled over, and that pushed him into the role he has today.
“We’re unique in that we’re expanding beyond cars.”
What he enjoys the most are the leadership and management aspects, including liaising with elected officials.
“I’ve been very fortunate from where I started to where we are today to have a great relationship with our county board or elected officials, whether in the county itself or our municipalities or our townships,” he says.
He’s cultivated a space where the Division of Transportation has become the go-to department in McHenry County.
“I want to lead a department that helps people out and is the first place people reach out to when they have questions,” he explains. “That’s really helped with the trust that we have here, and I think that’s why we have been so successful.”
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