By Lisa Smith
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Saturday, April 22, 2006

Urban planning was Salvatore “Sam” Santell’s life.

The Wasco resident was renowned in planning circles for his work on Kane County’s 2020 and 2030 land use plans and the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission’s 2040 Regional Framework Plan.

But the longtime professional also was dedicated to sharing with everyday folks exactly how planners’ work could affect their quality of life, his colleagues said.

Santell died Wednesday of a heart attack. He was 51.

Next week he was going to visit San Antonio with his colleagues to accept the American Planning Association’s 2006 “outstanding planning award,” which recognized NIPC’s 2040 plan.

The culmination of 200 workshops with residents and government officials in the Chicago metropolitan area, the plan served as a “blueprint” for how the region should address population and job growth through the year 2040, according to Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Timothy W. Martin.

Santell spent much of his time at NIPC leading the team that completed the plan, published in September. He became the planning director at NIPC, part of the Regional Planning Board, in November 2004 after leaving Kane County.

He was Kane County’s planning director for 13 years, starting in 1991. Previously, he was a St. Charles city planner, and before that he worked in Kentucky and Ohio.

He earned a master’s degree in city and regional planning from Ohio State University in 1979 after receiving his bachelor’s degrees in political science and social theory from Adrian College in Michigan.

His colleagues recalled him as an affable guy with a knack for avoiding technical jargon when visiting city councils and planning commissions to discuss planning.

“He could talk to the highest politician or the most common person. He could talk to their level and get them enthused,” said Mollie Millen, director of subdivision and zoning for Kane County’s development department. “That was one of his greatest gifts.”

Santell saw planning as a multidimensional discipline, said Tom Adams, NIPC president.

“His thought and, I think, the vision of our commission, is that it includes dealing with the environment, green space, transportation, land use, housing, education resources, economic development — almost anything that has an impact on this region,” Adams said.

Kane County Development Director Phil Bus, who hired Santell, called him a key member of the county’s development staff during a period of intense population growth.

Santell attracted friends easily, Bus said, because of his zest for life.

“Whoever met Sam was, I think, immediately taken by his enthusiasm and his friendly nature,” Bus said. “He just had a lot of enthusiasm for planning, for life, for his community.”

Bus often called Santell “the mayor of Wasco” because of his passion for the unincorporated area west of St. Charles.

Santell and his family often spent weekends and vacations at their second home in Wisconsin’s Amish country, an old log cabin that Santell had moved to the area from Minnesota.

He is survived by his wife, Beth, daughter, Megan, 22, and son, Stephen, 20.

Arrangements are pending at Conley Funeral Home in Elburn.