James H. Norris

Jim Norris, M.P.A., joined the Center for Governmental Studies in December 2020. He served from 1998 to 2020 as the Village Manager of the Village of Hoffman Estates, IL. Previously, Jim served as the City Manager of Gladstone, MO; the Assistant Village Manager of Schaumburg, IL, and Palatine, IL; and as an intern for the Village of Western Springs, IL. He is a member of the International City/County Management Association, a member and past president of the Illinois City/County Management Association, and a member and past president of the Chicago Metropolitan Managers Association.

Jim served as the chairperson of the Executive Board of the Northwest Suburban Municipal Joint Action Water Agency, chair of the Northwest Central Dispatch Joint Emergency Management Agency, vice chair of the Executive Committee of the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County, and he was on the board and a past chair of the Northwest Central Dispatch Agency. Jim has a B.A. in history from the University of Missouri, St. Louis, and a Master of Public Administration from NIU.

As an instructor in NIU’s Public Administration Department, he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses related to public administration and state and local government. Jim has previously taught in the Master’s in Public Policy program at Northwestern University and the Master’s of Public Affairs program at Park College.