Embattled Glen Ellyn leaders keep posts

Two Glen Ellyn department heads who seemed destined for demotion early Monday night retained their jobs after last-minute changes of heart by several village trustees.

The board rejected a motion 4 to 1 to demote Police Chief Phil Norton and Planning and Development Director Staci Hulseberg after 90 minutes of impassioned pleas from village residents, business owners and former board members. None spoke in support of the pair's removal.

Hulseberg broke into tears as the votes were tallied and the board's amended position became clear.

At the start of the meeting, the pair's fate seemed sealed: three of five trustees present read statements supporting the village manager's decision to demote them. His recommendation came from what the board said was an alleged improper personal relationship between the two employees.

As their formal votes were requested, though, Trustees James Comerford and Michelle Thorsell changed their earlier position, throwing the balance of the vote to retaining Hulseberg and Norton in their current jobs.

The room erupted in cheers, whoops and applause.

"I gained a lot more respect for my fellow trustees," board member Pete Ladesic said after the meeting. Ladesic had argued there was no evidence the two had violated anything in the employee manual and that they were valuable employees who weren't receiving due process.

Before the residents spoke, Village Attorney Stewart Diamond read a statement explaining the reasoning behind the proposed demotion.

Earlier this year, Norton and Hulseberg had "excessive workplace interaction" and sent text messages to each other during work hours. Those messages, he said, cost the village more than $1,000.

In his prepared statement at the start of the meeting, Trustee Comerford said the demotions were justified because the two employees had an increased expectation of leadership based on their roles, and that he had full confidence in Village Manager Steve Jones' recommendation to remove them from their jobs.

But in changing his position and actually casting his vote, Comerford said he agreed with everything he said earlier except the final statement about agreeing with Jones' decision.

Asked why he changed his mind, Comerford said it was the statement by a resident who pointed out how frequently Abraham Lincoln changed his position and explained it by saying he was wiser today than yesterday.

"I changed my mind," Comerford said.

Thorsell, who paused for an extended time before opposing the demotion, said after the special meeting that she was not happy about changing her vote. Her rationale for doing so was based on the speakers as a group.

"I did listen to the people," she said in a strained voice.

The matter has been brewing for more than four months in closed session meetings with the village board and only erupted into the public eye in October.

Trustee Timothy Armstrong, in his opening statement opposing the demotion said board members aren't "elected to be the moral arbiters of our village."

Ladesic said in his statement that the issue came to light only when one of the spouses contacted the village manager to say they'd found text messages between the two. Ladesic said he asked the village attorney if any laws had been broken of if the alleged relationship had affected the employees' work performance. In both cases, Ladesic said, he was told "no."

Keep: One trustee reluctantly changed vote