Hours after the abrupt retirement of Oak Lawn’s longtime village manager, officials said they were in no rush to hire a replacement and wanted to ensure whoever succeeds Larry Deetjen has the qualifications and experience to carry on his work.
Deetjen, 70, announced his retirement Tuesday, shortly before a special meeting where officials had planned to discuss his future with the village in light of his recent arrest in connection with a hit-and-run crash that critically injured a pedestrian.
In a statement announcing his retirement, Deetjen thanked residents, employees and other village stakeholders and pledged to help the mayor and trustees as they transition to his eventual successor.
He called it a “unique and distinct honor” to serve Oak Lawn over his 12-plus years at the village’s helm and said he had “full confidence” that the village was in a position to continue moving forward.
“Your future as a Village to raise a family, work, play, shop, celebrate, and freely worship remains bright and exciting!” Deetjen said in the statement, which his attorney said Wednesday would serve as his only comment on his retirement.
Oak Lawn officials said Wednesday they were still grappling with Deetjen’s surprise announcement and had yet to formulate a plan for finding his permanent replacement.
In the interim, police Chief Randy Palmer, who for the past month has served as acting village manager in Deetjen’s absence, is likely to remain in that role for the remainder of the year, Mayor Sandra Bury said.
“Randy’s a very capable public servant,” Trustee Bud Stalker said. “I can’t tell you how long it’s going to take (to find a replacement), but however long it takes we know we have the services of Randy Palmer to help us out and we’ll find a way to get this done.”
Palmer did not immediately return a request for comment.
He assumed the role of acting village manager on Oct. 14 when the board placed Deetjen on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a police investigation
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into an Oct. 10 incident in which he struck a 48-year-old pedestrian while driving in Chicago Ridge and left the scene.The victim, who police said was homeless but who has family, was found unconscious just east of the roadway, Chicago Ridge police Chief Robert Pyznarski said. He suffered multiple fractures to his body and head, as well as brain swelling, according to police reports. Pyznarski said earlier this month that he’d heard the victim’s condition had not improved since the crash and that he’d been transferred from the hospital to a nursing home.
Deetjen later told police he’d known he hit something, but didn’t believe it was a person, assuming instead that he’d struck a “barrel or barricade,” according to a police report. A breathalyzer test showed no alcohol present in Deetjen’s system and an analysis of his cell phone found no call or text message activity around the time of the crash, the report states.
While Deetjen avoided felony charges, he is facing three misdemeanors for leaving the scene of an accident, failing to give information or render aid resulting in injury and failing to give information after striking a person.
Oak Lawn officials described the situation as a “tragedy” for all involved.
Despite the circumstances of Deetjen’s departure from the village, officials said they were pleased with the work he’d done over the years to move the community forward and help transform Oak Lawn into a “destination” where people want to live and businesses want to set up shop.
“As a new mayor it was a privilege to have a seasoned village manager who operated with integrity and with the best interest of the community always at the forefront,” said Bury, who was first elected in April 2013. “His legacy will be felt for generations moving forward and we are very appreciative of that.”
Stalker, a trustee since 2015, commended Deetjen for his dedication and energy, and the professionalism he brought to the job.
“He loved the village of Oak Lawn and he worked hard for the people of Oak Lawn,” Stalker said. “I was happy with the work that Larry Deetjen did and would be happy to find another village manager that fit the form as well as Larry.”
Trustee Terry Vorderer, who spent years as an Oak Lawn police officer before becoming a public official, said he’d miss Deetjen and respected his work as the village’s chief executive.
“I’ve been around the village for 50 years,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of village managers and I worked for a few of them, and they were all competent individuals, but I’ve come to have a great deal of respect for Larry’s ability to compartmentalize and get things done.”
Vorderer acknowledged that Deetjen could be stubborn and sometimes butted heads with others — his relationship with Oak Lawn’s firefighters union has been particularly caustic — but said he always did what he believed was in the best interest of the village.
“He was not a smoother, he was not a politician,” Vorderer said. “He was an administrator, a CEO, and he made a lot of tough decisions…
“When he walked in there would be some collateral damage, but when he was done the village was better off for his work.”
Officials said that whoever ultimately succeeds Deetjen would need to be a seasoned municipal executive with strong economic development bonafides.
“I think the most important thing is previous experience with a community at least as large as the village of Oak Lawn, if not larger,” Stalker said. “We’re moving through a period of great economic development. I think the person who gets selected will have to be a person who has dealt with that kind of change before.”
Vorderer said he’s looking for a village manager with some business sense, perhaps an engineering background to help understand the scope of Oak Lawn’s ongoing development projects and the people skills to be an effective leader and negotiator.
“Our new village manager will have his hands full the day he comes in,” he said. “But Oak Lawn will go on and we will find a competent, capable and professional person to steer the helm of our village.”
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