Carpentersville hires new assistant village manager
Carpentersville has hired a new assistant village manager, a man with years of experience in municipal government and with a link to a previous village manager.
Before coming to Carpentersville, Joe Wade, 52, had been Morton Grove's village administrator for six years. Before that, he worked in Glenview for 20 years, holding the assistant village manager/personnel director position, among others.
Wade started training for the Carpentersville position with outgoing Assistant Village Manager Steve Jones on May 21 but won't be on his own until Monday. Jones' last day was Friday.
“I'm just really happy to be here and looking forward to working with everyone to help the community,” Wade said.
Wade's first boss in municipal government was Craig Anderson, Carpentersville's former village manager who retired in 2010 after seven years in the village.
In the early 1980s, Wade was Anderson's intern and administrative assistant over two years while both worked for Glenview; at the time, Anderson was its assistant village manager.
Like Jones, Wade is serving as assistant village manager, with the understanding he has the option to look for a village manager position elsewhere.
“But that's kind of out of sight, out of mind,” Wade said, adding that his focus is on Carpentersville.
Jones, 55, left Carpentersville to become Oswego's village administrator. His new job starts Monday.
Rather than advertising the vacancy, the village contacted five candidates on its own, focusing on people who have experience with business recruitment, retention, development and with tax increment financing districts.
Wade was hired after two rounds of interviews.
“Joe just really looked like he'd be the best fit for what we need in that position,” Village Manager J. Mark Rooney said, adding that he's known Wade professionally for 20 years. “His ability to articulate a vision ... of small entrepreneurship and fill in some vacant storefronts, he's willing to roll up his sleeves and do it.”
Wade lives in Glenview and will make $100,000 a year.