He knows what he is doing. Bolingbrook was just named one of the top 100 in the nation by Money Magazine. The Village of Bolingbrook is #32 on the list and the 2nd highest community to be ranked out of Illinois!

When asked about how he does it this is what Mayor Roger Claar says during an interview with Joliet Magazine:

The key to success in any elective office, where you are elected to represent the people, is constituent services. How well I handle constituents and their requests for services or help, is how they will judge me. I think we’ve done a good job with constituent service. If a resident calls me, they get a quick answer, and swift resolution to the problem. We fix it, and I call to follow up to make sure it stays fixed. I’m very accessible. That door is closed maybe two or three times a year, other than that, it’s open all the time. My phone number is listed, and my direct number is on the web page, and if you call the office and I’m around, I’ll answer. You don’t have to go through three levels of people to get to me. Frankly, I won’t support anybody for public office that’s not willing to do the same. If I get one call at home a month, it’s a big month. People don’t bother you at home unless it’s an emergency, and then I hope they do call. Frankly, if you get too many calls at home, it means you’re either not doing your job right or you aren’t available enough.

What does it take to be like you?

I try to go to as many community events as I can. Many of my contemporaries or colleagues don’t do that in other communities. If there’s a major function such as a high school playoff game, I go because people feel much more comfortable approaching me at a social event with a question or problem. It can be very intimidating to come into City Hall to schedule an appointment to meet with the Mayor. People don’t know you, so they may be nervous, and concerned that their question may not be the right one or a smart one, so they just don’t bother. But, if people see me and a football game or tree lighting ceremony or village picnic or even shopping, they feel comfortable. They will say, “Excuse me mayor, do you mind if I ask a question?” Absolutely! That’s what I’m there for. If I wanted to avoid people, I could go to Jewel at nine at night, but I shop at peak hours so that people can see me and ask me questions. If I get to a point when I don’t feel comfortable doing that, then it’s time for me to get the hell out. I couldn’t do it. You need to let people know they can count on you if they need to.

How do you learn to be so open?
I wouldn’t say I learned from my family, I just enjoyed working with groups of people I started doing that in high school and college. I like the challenge of problems and solving the problems. The more unusual the problem, the more it gets my juices going to solve it. I get some strange phone calls, but you put together all of the knowledge experience you’ve gained. You ask for some suggestions and chase it until you even find someone who can help with problem. I like that challenge. One reason I like this position is because every phone call is different.

When do you think you’ll get tired of it?
I tell people, I’ve been doing this for 21 years and I hope that the day I get tired of it coincides with the end of the term. If I woke up and decided I couldn’t do it anymore in the middle of the term, it would be long two or three years. But I still like it, and I plan to run again in 2009.

What is a good way to be successful?
The key to be being successful in life is a good education. Unfortunately today, we have increasing dropout rates, and that’s pretty much of across the country. I tell kids all the time, what you learn they can’t take away from you. You can lose your job, your house, your wife, your car, but you can’t lose what you learn. Education is available to everybody; there are plenty of good higher education programs. If you get the right education, you can do anything you want in this country. Anyone saying otherwise is probably kidding themselves. I worked two or three jobs to get through college. Was if fun? No. But looking back on it, I’m glad I did it. It gave me a whole different respect for what I was able to do. In retrospect, I remember the fun parts more. Nobody paid my way. Anybody can do that if they want to. People come here looking for a job. Pick up any newspaper around, there’s ad after ad of people looking for people to go to work. Some people really don’t want to go to work. That’s unfortunate, but you have to work in this society to contribute back to the society. Some people choose to do that some people don’t. There’s givers, and there’s takers. I like to work with givers.

When you run again, what will you change?
I’ll just keep doing what we’re doing. I wouldn’t change anything, just make it better. We’ve got some more streets to put in, we’ve got some more infrastructure work to do, and we’ve got some more landscaping projects to do. I’m going to stay and work and make sure that retail continues to flourish. I’ll do what I can to make the hospital more successful. We’ll improve and expand the airport and make it safer. We want more opportunities for people to get higher education here, so we’re going to build an education center here so that people can continue their education after high school.
Bolingbrook is a unique community. I think we have lots of things going for us that other communities don’t, and I’m real proud to be mayor and part of the community. People all the time say, “Wow! I’ve been through your town. What a great looking city.” And it is, and it’s getting better every day.