Former Mayor Paulus Talks About Lake Zurich's Past

Being mayor of Lake Zurich for 20 years (from 1969 to 1989), Henry Paulus has more than a few stories and anecdotes to impart about the inside political and business workings of the town for which he served  for a total of 28 years. A good measure of the former mayor’s lasting popularity is the town’s lakeside park, which bares his name.

Paulus spoke Sunday afternoon at the Ela Historical Society. It was a relatively informal affair, with a group of mainly old friends and acquaintances who came out to hear him speak about the town and the surrounding environs of Ela Township that he presided over for so long and knows so well.

Paulus is a Chicago transplant, born and raised on the north side of Chicago, where he attended St. Therese Catholic School, Lane Tech and Wright Junior College.

“We had some friends who were building an all-year-round house on Forest Lake,” recalled Paulus. “This was in 1953. We drove out here from the city to visit them. We liked it out here so much that my wife, Diane and I started looking around. We ended up buying a lot. We moved into our house in September, 1954.”

“I remember that we ate at the Hickory Pit, a restaurant that was on the lake, next to the old hotel," Paulus said. "And I remember that someone drowned in the lake that day."

After settling into Lake Zurich, Paulus worked as a route salesman for the old Tip Top Bakery, and then subsequently worked for Metropolitan Life and Allstate insurance companies. He described his introduction to local politics.

“I had what we used to call a ‘coffee’ with some of the political old-timers who were running for office. That’s how I got know some of these people,” recalled Paulus. “Then the next thing I know, I was asked if I’d like to become village clerk. So I said sure, why not? I had no idea what I was getting into. And it didn’t pay much; $10 a month.”

First elected in 1961, Paulus served as village clerk for more than seven years. Then, in 1968, he was approached by Al Salvi, whose son would later become a state representative, to run for mayor.

“He promised my wife and me a steak dinner,” explained Paulus. “We couldn’t afford a steak dinner, so Diane and I said sure.”

After Paulus won the election, much to his surprise, he recalled approaching the village board. “I said ‘OK, now what do we do?’ I hadn’t really counted on winning the election.”

Paulus soon got busy focusing on public works. “That became a big issue,” he said, “getting better water, digging new wells. We now have a total of six deep wells in Lake Zurich.”

The improvement of Lake Zurich’s water quality hit a responsive chord among many in the audience. Eventually, Bob Duprey, the recently retired assistant public works director, stood up and discussed the history of Lake Zurich’s water improvement efforts, as well as the numerous ways that water is treated and analyzed to insure maximum potability.

Duprey, a longtime Paulus associate, was first hired by him to work for the village as a young man in 1971. He would go on to supervise the design and construction of the five ionic exchange water plants that ensure and provide safe water for the town.

“The public water supply for Lake Zurich will be 100 years old as of January 2012,” explained Duprey. “Currently with the five treatment plants, the water is very soft.”

Duprey said that there are ongoing discussions to bring Lake Michigan water to Lake Zurich, which will most likely make its way to a referendum.

“Money is of course the big issue,” he explained. “253 million is the estimated cost.” Duprey explained that a consortium has been formed that includes Wauconda, Fox Lake and Lake Zurich, with a proposal to build a lake water filtration plant in Zion and then install 57 miles of pipeline.

The original plan years ago was to bring water by way of Mundelein after both Libertyville and Mundelein were converted to users of Lake Michigan water, said Paulus. The cost of piping in water from Mundelein was finally deemed too expensive, and the proposal was shelved. Duprey added that, ironically, Buffalo Grove and Libertyville are now discussing digging wells for back-up systems.

Paulus said that when he took office in May, 1968, he had to immediately deal with payday. He discovered that there was no money in the town treasury to pay employees.

“I went to the bank across the street. They told me that they would advance me the money for three months and then we’d see where we were at. That really got to me, so I decided that wouldn’t happen again. When I left office, the town had $6 million dollars in the bank.”

Fiscal responsibility led to another hot-button topic in Lake Zurich: the redevelopment of the downtown area. Paulus offered his historical perspective about the project.

“I remember what we were originally planning on using the TIF money for,” said Paulus, referring to the tax increment fund, money that is pooled into the village coffers based on the anticipated future gains in property value. “The TIF money was originally intended to improve the water quality for the downtown area. Then people started talking about more than just the water; they started discussing redoing the entire downtown area.”

On a lighter note, someone in the audience asked Paulus about the history of Hackney's restaurant, on the corner of Rand and Old Rand Roads.

"Before it became Hackney's, it was called Poppy's Alpine Bar," recalled Paulus. "The mob burned him down because  he wouldn't buy his booze from them. I remember that Poppy had these giant hands — they were twice as big as mine."

There was then an animated discussion by several people about when Hackney's took over the spot. The general consensus was that it was sometime in the early 1970s.

Paulus remembers a vow that he made to his wife. "I told Diane that when it wasn’t fun being mayor anymore that I’d get out. Well, the last two years weren’t fun anymore, so that’s exactly what I did.”

When asked about what changed for him, Paulus had a ready answer. “The constituents changed. There was a lot of nitpicking. It just wasn’t how it had once been anymore.”

Paulus maintains a position on the Ela Township zoning board, and with his myriad contacts from a lifetime of friendships in the local business and political communities, he is still very much active in the goings-on of Lake Zurich and will continue to keep an ear on the tracks.