Carpentersville Village Board Trustee John O’Sullivan’s nameplate remained on the dais Tuesday night, but he’ll be playing a different role in the village as its new manager.
O’Sullivan thanked Village President John Skillman and the board for their confidence in him after trustees voted 5-0 to appoint him village manager. Trustee Maria Vela didn’t attend the meeting, and there was no board discussion before or after the vote.
“I will do my level best to serve the people of Carpentersville and my fellow co-workers with the dignity and respect that they’ve earned,” O’Sullivan said.
O’Sullivan’s transition to his new role had a bit of a confusing start when the board didn’t acknowledge his resignation at the meeting and his name was called during roll call and the vote for his appointment.
O’Sullivan sat in the audience and didn’t vote on any issue. His letter of resignation to the board was effective Monday.
Skillman said O’Sullivan’s name was not removed from the roll call due to a clerical issue that was resolved later in the meeting.
“He’s a leader in the community,” Skillman said. “He’s been a true, steadfast leader here, and everybody looks up to him in the village. That’s why he’s going to be a good fit.”
O’Sullivan’s appointment capped a whirlwind search for a new manager following the resignation of Eric Johnson, who held the post for nearly four years. He left in December to become the executive director of the Fox River Water Reclamation District.
Carpentersville’s last longtime village manager was Mark Rooney, who held the position from 2010 to 2018. His tenure was marked with controversy, including an argument with a village board candidate over comments Rooney made about the man’s intelligence and a Change.org petition calling for his removal.
The village board approved a proposed separation agreement with Rooney, but it was withdrawn when he stopped coming to work, according to published reports. He later sued the village, which reached a $220,000 settlement agreement with him in January 2020.
Skillman said he decided not to do a national search for Johnson’s replacement and instead interviewed local candidates. None of those candidates were “what we were looking for,” he said.
O’Sullivan joined Skillman during candidate interviews so when Skillman turned to him and said, “You gotta do this job for me,’ I knew what he meant,” O’Sullivan said.
He’s been on the board’s Audit and Finance Committee for a while and active in the community so taking the job “seemed like a natural thing to me,” O’Sullivan said.
“I was honored, obviously, to be asked. I think it’s a great challenge,” said O’Sullivan, who has a degree in political science from Loyola University Chicago.
It’s a challenge that he believes he has the skills to tackle, he said. While he may not have experience in managing the day-to-day operations of a village, his management style will mesh within village government, he said.
“People like to get clear direction, have clear goals and be treated with dignity and respect,” O’Sullivan said. “I keep repeating those words, but I think that’s the basic human condition.”
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.