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Andrew Croessman resigns as Du Quoin clerk and finance director

The city of Du Quoin is going to need a new city clerk/finance director.

Andrew Croessman, credited by Mayor Guy Alongi and the city council with leading Du Quoin's return to financial stability, has resigned effective Feb. 19. He is moving to Austin, Texas to become the controller, and eventual chief financial officer, of a company that designs, engineers and completes major public works projects.

"I always wanted to go into business, especially the private sector," Croessman said Wednesday in his City Hall office. At 29, it will be his first permanent foray outside of Du Quoin, where he grew up and went to school.

"Once I get to Texas I think I'm going to fall it love with it," he added. "It's booming. There's opportunity there. I'm the type of person who likes to work 70, 80, 90 hours a week and people who like to work get rewarded down there."

It's also a lot warmer than Illinois.

"I'm not a winter person," Croessman says. "I hate the winter. I can never get warm."

In 2015, Croessman was 25 years old and the holder of bachelor's and master's degrees in economics, when newly-elected mayor Alongi tapped him on the shoulder. Alongi had known Andrew most of his life, and now the kid who had played games in his basement was working toward a doctorate in economics at SIU.

He convinced Croessman to come on board and help Chuck Novak and Pat Kattenbraker straighten out the city's financial processes, and go through the city's expenditures to eliminate waste.

What he found was a city having trouble meeting payroll.

"You couldn't tell what the financial situation of the city was because the computer couldn't produce it," he recalled. "When you don't know the amount of money you have, how do you manage it? They were taking money out of the cash drawer they received that day, depositing it that night and paying down bills with it the following day. That's how tight things were."

Still, he says, it's all water under the bridge. Croessman says he can leave Du Quoin now and be confident the city is on the right track, with good stewards.

On Monday, as a gesture of respect, nobody on the council moved to accept Croessman's resignation. It won't stop him from leaving, but it was a touching gesture.

"I know he'll do a fantastic job (in Texas)," Alongi said, adding that if things don't work out, Croessman will always have a job waiting for him in Alongi's administration.

Andrew is, the mayor said, flat out "the smartest individual I have ever worked with."

Croessman said he's grateful the city took a chance on a 25-year-old, and gave him a great opportunity. He admits to not being a "government guy," or very politically astute. Instead, he loves numbers and has a fascination with tax policy. Still, with their complementary talents, he and Alongi made it work for 4½ years.

Now, newly divorced and itching for a change of scenery and new challenges, Croessman is eager to start his new venture.

Alongi, meanwhile, said Wednesday that he and Finance Commissioner Jill Kirkpatrick expect to present a candidate to the city council on Jan. 27.

Croessman hopes so, because he'd like to have a couple weeks to work with the new person before he goes to Texas.

"I want it to go well," he said. "I still care about this town."