About Us
Who We Are
IRWA Chapter 12 is the Illinois chapter of the International Right of Way Association, proudly serving land acquisition professionals of Illinois since 1955.
Our members are land acquisition professionals who work in all facets of acquisition, management, and disposition or real property, and serve many sectors of industry and government, including:
Local, Regional, State, and National Government
Public Utilities
Energy
Commercial and Office Development
Transportation
Telecommunication
The land acquisition profession is an important one. The infrastructure associated with modern society: highways, airports, broadband fiber optic cables, skyscrapers, pipelines, all require real property.
Our History
On a vacation trip to California around 1955, Frank Kaplan, head of the Survey Division of the Cook County Highway Department, visited the California State Highway Department to investigate their operation. While there, he was introduced to Frank Balfour who was head of the California State Highway Right of Way Department and who had founded the Southern California Right of Way Agents Association in 1934. The organization evolved into the American Right of Way Association.
Upon returning, Kaplan discussed the meeting with Balfour and ARWA literature with Raymond J. Budinger, the head of the Land Procurement Division of the Cook County Highway Department who was Frank’s boss. Ray Budinger was interested. The first organizational meeting of Chapter 12 was held in Ray Budinger’s office on September 29, 1955. Fourteen men attended; all enthusiastically offered their services for any job. Budinger was elected President at a subsequent meeting. On October 31, 1955, the Charter meeting for Chapter 12 was held at the Bismark Hotel in Chicago. There were thirty-eight charter members and applicants. A year later the chapter had seventy-six names.
In 1957, the Third Annual Education Seminar was hosted by Chapter 12, and in 1968, the Fourteenth National Seminar was hosted by the Chapter at the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago. Chapter 12 has always stressed the educational needs of its members. In fact, Chapter 12 was one of the first chapters to present a course on “Negotiations” in 1966.
Today, IRWA Illinois Chapter 12 has approximately 160 members, and still strives to meet the educational needs of those members.
Meet the Officers
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Chapter PresidentDan Olson is the Manager of Field Research for Wheatland Title Company. Dan has served as a land title researcher for Wheatland since 1999. At Wheatland, he is responsible for the oversight of all land title researchers throughout the 102 counties in the State of Illinois. Dan’s research experience entails everything from a standard residential transaction to complex commercial, mineral and right of way transactions. Throughout his career, Dan has worked on countless right of way, utility and railroad projects.
Dan is a longtime resident of LaSalle County, Illinois. He enjoys spending his free time with his wife and two sons.
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President-ElectPrincipal Technical Consultant at ERM in Land & Right of Way/Land Services. Patty has been with ERM for over 11 years. Prior to working at ERM, she worked in the land surveying and civil engineering field for many years. She has been a member of the IRWA for over 10 years and this is her second time around participating on the Chapter Board. In her spare time, she enjoys taking her dogs on hikes and loves to travel.
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Vice PresidentJen Enger currently serves as the Right-of-Way Coordinator at Wheatland Title Company. She started with Wheatland in 2005 in the residential order department. She later worked in the Company’s imaging department until she took on the role as the Right-of-Way Coordinator in 2021. In this role, she is responsible for order intake, customer correspondence, and organization of the right of way projects involving everything from transportation and roadways to utility to energy projects. Jen resides in Sandwich, Illinois with her two children, Ty (12) and Lexi (11) and her fiancé, Daniel. She loves to be involved in her community including service as the Treasurer of the Sandwich Baseball Association Board. When she is not busy with work and family, she likes to go fishing for relaxation.
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SecretaryDeborah Love works for Ameren Illinois Company as a Senior Real Estate Agent in Effingham, Illinois. She began working for Ameren in 1998 as a customer service representative, claims support agent, and assistant to in Springfield OC management team. From 2001 to 2011 she worked as a Real Estate Agent in Springfield and Marion Illinois covering duties in property management, permits, research, and easement acquisition for electric and gas distribution. In 2012 Deborah transferred to the Real Estate Department in Effingham, Illinois and is currently working as a Senior Real Estate Agent handling gas and electric distribution projects. Deborah and her husband Willie have a blended family of 11 children ranging in age from 34 to 13. Deborah is involved in the local community and is currently participating on the Facilities Team working with the Unit 40 Superintendent and other leaders in the community for the benefit of improving the Unit 40 school system. Deborah enjoys several outdoor activities and spending time with her family.
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Treasurer