Dupage Policy Journal

The Wheaton city council says goodbye to a longtime member and friend.

At their February 6th city council meeting, the Wheaton city council and city staff said goodbye to Jim Knippen, a longtime friend and city attorney. Knippen is a part of Walsh, Knippen and Cetina, the firm that has represented the city for over 45 years. Knippen himself has worked as the city’s representative for over 20 years. He and his wife Tallya are lifelong residents of the Wheaton area along with their three children, and he is an avid outdoorsman who loves mountain biking and fly fishing.

“He truly cares about the questions and issues that affect this city,” Michael Dzugen, city manager, said during the meeting. “He wants to get it right because it’s his community. We are losing, certainly, a premier municipal attorney, with expertise in so many areas of municipal law. Luckily for us, he’s going to stick around for a little bit to finish up some major projects and will be available to our new in house attorney Dawn Didier. We certainly are going to miss you Jim but please know that your work helped shaped the community that you and Tally can continue to call home.”

The council uploaded a live stream of its public meeting to the city’s Vimeo.

The council discussed a construction project for the Du Page County Animal Services building.

Dzugen gave a special presentation at their meeting to celebrate Knippen’s well-deserved retirement. He complimented Jim’s dedication to his job and the vigor with which he attacks each question and issue presented to him. Dzugen recalled when he dove into research on a ditch in town and created a whole presentation on its history, helping the city prepare to take on a 110-year-old project. Mayor Phillip Suess presented Knippen with a plaque in his honor as a part of the special presentation. They also held a reception for him after the meeting to celebrate all his work over the past few decades.

The council will meet again at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at City Hall’s council chambers at 303 West Steet.

Knippen called out several city officials by name, thanking them for their support through the years he’s been here. They included Don Rose, Michael Dzugen, Bill Schultz, Mark Field and Bill Murphy and the police department, among many others. “Somebody asked me the other day what it feels like to retire and after serving in this position for 30 years, it’s very disorienting. It’s difficult, but one of the things that makes it easy is having been so well supported through the years by the staff of the city. It’s been an incredible professional experience, and it’s both professionally and personally edifying work. I enjoyed the professionalism, particularly of the city staff, there are a number of people here tonight that I consider to be municipal mentors in my life in terms of what I’ve learned about municipal government from them. And what I’ve learned about the interaction between the law and municipal government through their experience. And although we always try to apply the law in an objective fashion, understanding the background of a problem and the various solutions that could be executed were in large part informed by city staff.”