In 2024, Jim Huiskamp stepped away from a 20-year career at Blackhawk Bank & Trust, where he had served as President and CEO since 2014. Under his leadership, the bank experienced tremendous growth, nearly doubling in size from just over $1 billion to nearly $2 billion and achieving record-setting profits. Under his leadership the bank also reached never before seen levels of safety and soundness from our Federal, and State, Regulators, a challenge municipalities also face. Jim also played a vital role in supporting the regional financial community during the COVID-19 pandemic by quickly convening local bank and credit union leaders for weekly collaboration calls, ensuring coordinated and stable responses during a monumental time of uncertainty.

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Before his time in banking, Jim dedicated 10 years to education and coaching in the Keokuk Community School District. He began teaching high school special education students with behavioral disorders, then later taught Ancient History, Geography, and American History in a mainstream, middle school, classroom setting. His final five years in education were spent in alternative education. He also coached several sports, serving as Head Varsity Baseball or JV Coach for five years, Assistant Varsity Basketball Coach for two years, and Head Middle School Volleyball Coach for a full decade.

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Jim’s commitment to service is rooted in a deep sense of community and empathy. In the mid-1980s, he spent two summers living and volunteering in one of Chicago’s most underserved West Side neighborhoods, where he worked with children and the homeless, through Marillac House, living with five amazing nuns. This experience of living in an extremely dangerous and economically challenged community, shaped his lifelong dedication to inclusion and equity.

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Born in Keokuk, IA, Jim moved to Rock Island at the age of 5 and lived there until he left for college. He is a graduate of Alleman High School, earned dual major degrees in Philosophy and Sociology from Regis University in Denver, Colorado, a Master of Secondary Education with a concentration in History from Western Illinois University, and later, a diploma from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

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For the last 21 years, Jim has lived in Davenport; a place he shares with his partner Stephanie…cherishing time with his three children—Katherine, Jimmy, and Julia. In his free time, he enjoys racquetball, woodworking, writing, boating, and watching the river roll by.