Ex-Kildeer trustee called new hire the 'last straw'

Three days after abruptly resigning from the Kildeer village board, Vern Scacci on Friday said his decision was prompted by the panel's hiring of the mayor's brother-in-law as the next village administrator.

"That was the straw that broke the camel's back," Scacci said of the board's decision to award Lake County Board member Michael Talbett the $100,000-a-year job. "I believe the board has lost the moral compass that it runs by."

Mayor Nandia Black, whose sister is Talbett's wife, could not be reached for comment Friday but defended the hiring earlier this week. She said Talbett - a Lake Zurich Republican who's served on the county board since 2000 - went through a proper interview process and has a wealth of government experience.

Trustee Ralph Liberatore, who was among the four trustees who voted to hire Talbett, insisted Talbett's familial relationship with the mayor wasn't a factor. Talbett simply was the best candidate for the job, Liberatore said.

"Maybe he's never been a village administrator, but he's done every aspect of that job except that job," Liberatore said.

Scacci was elected to a four-year term in 2007. He announced his resignation near the end of Tuesday night's meeting after Talbett was hired, and it was effective that night.

The board now must appoint a successor to finish his term.

Several factors contributed to his unexpected departure, Scacci said. All concerned Black and her allies on the board.

Scacci and Trustee Laura Stratman became a political minority after the April election, in which Black was promoted from trustee to mayor and three slatemates - Liberatore, Basel Tarabein and Barbara Stavropoulos - were elected to the village board.

Scacci objected to Black's consolidation of some village committees - a move he claimed resulted in he and Stratman being shut out of key posts.

Talbett's hiring pushed Scacci over the edge.

He insisted his displeasure had nothing to do with Talbett personally. Rather, he's upset about the process in which Talbett was chosen, particularly the board's decision to ignore the qualifications it had established with a search firm months earlier.

That firm recommended 13 candidates, and the board interviewed six hopefuls. A few dropped out and the board couldn't come to terms with its top choice.

Talbett was not among the 13 candidates. Black recommended him for the post only after a different county board member, Pam Newton of Long Grove, was named to an administrative post in Hawthorn Woods.

The board didn't like the seven remaining candidates recommended by the search firm, Liberatore said. Choosing any of them over Talbett "would've been a sacrifice," he said.

Scacci said trustees could've established new criteria for a new search.

He also had concerns about Talbett working for his sister-in-law. Relatives generally only work for each other in family-owned businesses, he said, and "Kildeer is not a family business."

In an interview earlier this week, Black insisted Talbett's "integrity is beyond reproach" and insisted he was the most qualified of all the candidates village leaders reviewed.

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