‘Moving in a new direction’: Carpentersville names new village manager
Carpentersville village trustees officially fired the town’s former village manager on Tuesday and hired the village attorney to fill the post.
The action comes two weeks after an April 29 closed-door meeting resulted in John O’Sullivan’s firing. The former village administrator confirmed last week his termination and said he cleared out his office on April 30.
Without discussion, trustees formally approved O’Sullivan’s removal. They then named Brad Stewart, who has served as the village attorney for seven years, as village manager, effective June 1.
“We’re moving in a new direction,” Village President John Skillman said after Tuesday’s meeting.
O’Sullivan, a former village trustee, was hired as village manager in 2023 at a salary of $155,000. At the time, Skillman said he was looking for someone who could stay on the job for five to seven years and believed O’Sullivan was the best candidate.
“At the time John was hired as the village manager, honestly, I thought he was the best candidate for the job,” Trustee Humberto Garcia said last week. “At the beginning, he was doing his job … but after a certain time, he just stopped doing it.”
Skillman Tuesday declined to elaborate on O’Sullivan’s performance other than to say there were “many incidents” involving job performance.
O’Sullivan was not at Tuesday’s meeting.
According to village documents, Stewart will be paid $199,500 and will get a $450-a-month car allowance. Stewart also will earn a quarterly bonus for providing legal services related to labor and employment law.
His bonus will be equal to one-third of the savings the village realizes by keeping those services in-house. Stewart estimates the town spends $40,000 to $45,000 to contract for those types of services.
According to the village’s website, O’Sullivan’s annual salary was $182,825, and he received a $250-a-month car allowance, village officials said.
Carpentersville leaders did not formally search for a new village manager before hiring Stewart. However, Skillman said he believes Stewart’s experience working in municipal law and with other municipalities will serve Carpentersville’s needs.
“We’re going to get that experience here in Carpentersville, finally, where we haven’t had it before,” Skillman said.
Village trustees mostly were quiet on the shakeup, with several declining to comment after the meeting.
“I liked John (O’Sullivan) personally, and I’m sad to see him go,” Trustee Jim Malone said.
However, he expressed support for the change.
“He’s (Stewart) been around for quite a while, and I think he’s going to do a great job,” Malone said.
The village has offered O’Sullivan a two-month consulting agreement at a rate of $5,000 each month. He was given 21 days to review the offer. But as of Tuesday, he had not yet responded, according to village officials.