CENTRALIA, IL — A conditional offer has been made to Lowell Crow to become Centralia’s next City Manager. The offer is contingent upon the approval of the City Council who will hold a special meeting on the issue Wednesday.

Crow was selected after a nationwide recruitment effort that resulted in 44 resumes being submitted from 19 states and even Canada. Those 44 candidates were ultimately narrowed down to 6, who were all interviewed multiple times by the City Council over the course of the past month.

According to the City, Crow is an ICMA credentialed city manager with over 37 years of management and public sector experience. Most recently in 2017, he became the first City Manager of Freeport, Illinois when they moved to a Council Management form of government. In 2019 Crow received the ILCMA Service to the Profession award.

While in Freeport, he developed the first integrated Capital Plan and drove procurement of a new water treatment system in addition to many other successful capital improvement projects. Prior to being the City Manager in Freeport, Crow was the City Administrator of Monmouth, Illinois, and while there also served as the City’s Comptroller/Budget Officer.

His experience with economic development initiatives to recruit businesses resulted in over 400 jobs in that community. Crow served in the U.S. Navy as Commanding Officer of the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. He received a Bachelor of Science from the United States Naval Academy and Masters in Military Arts and Sciences from Marine Corp University.

He also has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.