Our History
Cottage Hill Operating Company is family-owned business providing school bus transportation services since 1951. The company was originally organized in 1951 by Rick Heine as Cottage Hill Leasing. Rick’s older brother Harold owned Heine Motors at the corner of Route 83 and St. Charles Road in Elmhurst where Kohls is currently located.
Sometime around May 15th, 1951 board members from District 88 approached Harold and asked if he would be willing to operate buses for the school district. At the time, District 88 was made up of Addison Trail, Willowbrook, and York High Schools.
Harold agreed and after a short period of time asked his younger brother Rick if he would run the buses. Rick who was born and raised in Elmhurst named his new company Cottage Hill Leasing after Elmhurst’s original town name Cottage Hill. Initially the buses were parked in the grass on the corner of Route 83 and St Charles Road.
In the early 1960’s Rick purchased property on St. Charles Road in Villa Park to operate the buses. He and his wife Neale lived in a house next to the bus company. In 1968 Rick and Neale retired and their son-in-law Bob Peacock assumed ownership as Cottage Hill Operating Company.
Bob successfully grew the company with regular and special education contracts in Addison, Elmhurst, Lombard, Villa Park and Westmont for 48 years. In 2016 he made the decision to pass the company to his children, who had all worked in the company for more than 30 years. Today Cottage Hill Operating Company employs over 90 people.
The bus terminal and administration offices are located in Villa Park, Illinois. The company has prided itself on providing the surrounding community with safe, reliable transportation since 1950.
Meet our dedicated team.
-
Kareemah Brooks
Safety Director
Kareemah has worked at Cottage Hill for 16+ years. She started working as a bus driver in 2006. This job was a perfect fit for her because it allowed her to still be a full-time mother. In 2015, she earned her license to be a 3rd Party Tester and was promoted to Safety Director. Her duties as Safety Director include, but are not limited to, safety training and renewing drivers’ school bus permits yearly. She also plans and hosts the special events for Cottage Hill.
-
Leeann Lawson
Charter Coordinator
Leeann began working for Cottage Hill in 2016 as a bus driver. Since then, she’s also been a trainer, a dispatcher, created routes for regular transportation, and has become a certified third-party tester for the company. Currently Leeann is the Charter Coordinator and works with our school districts as well as outside groups to charter buses for athletics, field trips, vocational outings, special needs programs, church groups and other special events. Leeann has a Management degree from DePaul University and homeschools her young daughter Savannah.
-
Diana Scott
Lead Dispatcher/Router
Diana is the newest addition to our Cottage Hill team and comes to us with 4 years of experience in busing and dispatching. In addition to that she also has 10 years of experience working with special needs students. She currently works as our head dispatcher and does routing for our SPED buses. Diana grew up locally and graduated from Glenbard West High School. She is an active member of her community working with the Medinah Shriners at various charity events and raising money for the Shriner Kids Hospital. She also participates in a local bowling league and enjoys spending time with her family.
-
Jill Francione
Assistant Manager
Jill joined the Cottage Hill team in the Spring of 2019. Her first priority is to ensure that students are being transported safely and efficiently. Her primary duties include overseeing the day-to-day operation of the bus yard, building and maintaining positive relationships with our customers and staff, and staying compliant with laws and maintenance. As a resident of the area, she has volunteered her time and involved herself in activities throughout this wonderful community raising her three children.
-
Robert Beck Jr
Director of Operations
Bob began his career at Cottage Hill in January 2016. His primary role is expanding on the vision while maintaining the core values of the company. Safe student transportation will always remain the companies first priority. With his previous employer UPS, he has gained over 25 years’ experience in management while successfully navigating several different roles. He has 3 kids Zack, Emilee and Joey and enjoys spending time with his family, sports and golfing.
