‘I didn’t resign’: Carpentersville board replacing village manager

Carpentersville trustees are turning to their village attorney to take over as village manager after firing the town's former top administrator.

Trustees are expected to appoint Brad Stewart as village manager during the village board meeting on Tuesday.

John O'Sullivan, who was hired as village manager in 2023, was let go more than a week ago. Tuesday's agenda includes a formal vote by trustees removing O'Sullivan as village manager.

O’Sullivan, who served as a village trustee before becoming village manager, confirmed he was fired after the board met behind closed doors on April 29. He said he cleared out his office the following day.

“Basically, the board did terminate me,” he said. “I didn’t resign.”

Acting Village Manager Carrie Cichon said the board did not take official action during the closed-door meeting. Rather, trustees "gave unanimous direction to move in a different direction with the manager position," she said.

According to the village board agenda for next week, trustees are expected to appoint Stewart as village manager, effective June 1. Cichon will remain the acting village manager until the end of May.

A village memo outlining the details notes that Stewart, who has served as village attorney for seven years, would be paid an annual salary of $199,500 and receive a $450-a-month car allowance.

Stewart would also receive an unspecified quarterly bonus for providing labor and employment law services. He requested a June 1 start date to transition out of his role as managing owner of his law firm.

O’Sullivan’s annual salary was $182,825, according to the village. He said he also received a $200-a-month car allowance.

O’Sullivan said he was surprised by his termination.

“I am not in agreement with the reason I was given,” he said. “I serve at the board’s pleasure, and their intent is to discharge me. I accept their decision, and I wish them well.”

In a written statement, Village President John Skillman said it was time for the village to move in a different direction.

“There are several pending initiatives that are vital to the continued growth of the community and, while we appreciate Mr. O’Sullivan’s service to the village, and have offered to retain him in a short-term consulting capacity for transitional efficiency, the board believes a different manager and management philosophy is critical at this time to advance these initiatives,” Skillman wrote. “We wish Mr. O’Sullivan nothing but the best in his future endeavors and appreciate his time with, and service to, the community.”

O’Sullivan was the longest-serving village trustee when he was hired as village manager. At the time, Skillman, who interviewed other people for the job before recommending O’Sullivan, said he was looking for someone who could stay in that post for the next five to seven years.

“At the time when John was hired as the village manager, honestly, I thought he was the best candidate for the job,” Trustee Humberto Garcia said this week. “At the beginning, he was doing his job …. but after a certain time, he just stopped doing it.”

O’Sullivan said he was told he was being let go because of a lack of communication and failure to complete continuing education courses.

“I found that not credible,” he said. “I made my living for 40 years as a sales guy. I found the notion that I was a poor communicator not credible.”