A changing of the guard with the administration at the Clarendon Hills Fire Department has been completed.
Longtime Fire Chief Brian Leahy is one of four employees of the village’s fire department who was forced to step down, after the Village Board voted Dec. 18, 2023, to approve a mandatory retirement age of 65.
The measure to create the mandatory retirement age also affected Administrative Lt. Jim Weil, Capt. Dave Sobottke and Myles Laffey.
Village Manager Zach Creer said the new retirement age of 65 matches up with the state’s requirement for all full-time firefighters. Clarendon Hills works as a paid-on-call department; however, Leahy, 68, who has been chief since 1985, is a full-time employee.
Weil, Sobottke, and Laffey all retired, effective Feb. 1. Leahy and the village signed a separation agreement in mid-February.
Under that agreement, Leahy will resign his employment, effective 11:59 p.m. April 1. Between the Feb. 16 signing of the agreement and his April 1 resignation, Leahy will remain on paid administrative leave, with full compensation and benefits.
Village Manager Zach Creer said the legal issue is the reason why Leahy signed a separation agreement, while Weil, Sobotke, and Laffey already retired, in light of the village’s newly enacted retirement age.
“(It’s ) at-will employees (for the three who have retired ) vs a full-time firefighter (Leahy), which has lots of additional protections under state law,” Creer said. “The village wanted to avoid potential costly litigation. Payment will be made by the village insurance pool, IRMA (Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency).”
Dave Godek is serving as acting fire chief.
“The plan is to do a search for a new chief,” Creer said.
Meanwhile, a third-party investigation into possible policy violations at the fire department is expected to be completed soon, he said.
“The village received information about possible payroll abnormalities and policy violations in the fire department, particularly on callbacks,” Creer said.
He said the village hired Charles E Hervas, of Hervas, Condon & Bersani, to act as a third-party investigator related to the information received.
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.