www.negociosnow.com
March 2022 13
Age: 39
Title: Public Services Bureau Chief
Name of Organization: city of
Evanston
In his job with the city of
Evanston, Edgar Cano is res-
ponsible for maintaining the
city's public infrastructure —
its parks, roads, street lights,
and refuse collection.
As a youth, while other kids
played with basketballs and
skateboards, Cano spent most
of his time "playing" with
sledgehammers and tools,
helping with and working for
his family's construction bu
-
siness. It is no surprise that
when he got older, he found
his calling in a different kind
of construction — infrastruc-
ture maintenance and public
service. At the city of Evans-
ton his formal title is public
services bureau chief. The less
formal title would be closer
to a problem solver regularly
deploying solutions to make
Evanston the most livable city.
He joined the city after
nearly a decade at the Illi-
nois Tollway. He began as an
equipment operator and was
promoted twice in four years,
ultimately become a mainte-
nance section manager where
he oversaw road maintenance
operations, including incident
response, snow and ice con-
trol, and construction. During
his tenure at the tollway, Cano
advocated for the advance-
ment and hiring of Latinos,
expanding its visibility to the
Hispanic community by parti-
cipating in job fairs and events.
Within 10 months of joining
the city of Evanston, Cano was
promoted to his current posi-
tion. He is most proud of the
changes and improvements
that he was able to implement
with the help of his staff, co-
lleagues, and elected officials.
He revamped city snow and ice
operations, introducing new
technology and focusing on
minimizing the environmen-
tal impacts associated with
deicing and plowing methods.
These improvements have
been recognized by the Ameri-
can Public Works Association,
which in 2022 selected the
city of Evanston as one of five
national winners of the Exce-
llence in Snow and Ice Control
Award. Awards aside, Cano
believes his most significant
achievement has been in the
mentoring and development
of his 85 staff members, in-
cluding division supervisors,
administrative personnel, and
field operators.
Edgar Cano
Service
leader
WORDS OF WISDOM:
"Y
ou can't climb the ladder of
success with your hands in
your pocket."
Arnold Schwarzenegger
