Carol...thanks for the note. As was stated in a few newspapers, the final decision on this matter is going to be made very soon. I'll be able to talk more openly about the process and eventual conclusion once one has been reached. Sorry for the non-answer answer, but I will get back with you once this process is finished.

Carol....I wanted to make sure to fill you in on what happened. First, you should know that there are some things thank I simply can't discuss because they are related to personnel. I can tell you that the City Manager's contract (structured more than two years ago and a matter of public record) included an automatic 6-month severance payout if the City was to fire the City Manager. In other words, when the council voted 5-3 in open session to relieve the Manager of his duties (I was included in that majority) that 6-month severance package automatically applied. To pay anything less would be a breach of contract and grounds for a long ugly lawsuit.

To address your point....I wish we could have given a severance package that was more in line with today's economy. Sadly, doing so would have opened a legal mess that would have ended up costing the city a lot more. I can guarantee that this council will apply a lot more scrutiny to the contract of whomever takes the post.

Mike...honestly, there isn't much I'm am able to say. The City Manager has eight bosses(the aldermen), and in many respects each of those bosses has a different reason for voting the way they did. In other words, the five alderman (myself included) that voted to part ways with our former City Manager did so for different reasons. I will however share my rationale for voting the way I did. I voted to terminate the former City Manager for two reasons:

1) The Council and City Manager were moving in two very different directions. The leadership and management styles of the Council and the City Manager were not congruent and only resulted in a tense and unproductive atmosphere.

2) Following talk of resignation and the onslaught of confusion that followed, I did not see a clear way for the City Manager to assume control of the organization immediately.

This was not an easy decision, but I know it was the right one for the City. I hope that answers your question.

To Mike's question: I don't think the former City Manager wanted to leave the City. I think the Council thought a change was necessary and the City Manager wanted the option to resign instead of being fired. The Council allowed him the opportunity to offer his resignation and when that did not happen the Council made the change. I understand your confusion though...a number of variations on that story are floating around. That's the story from my perspective.

Tim: I can't get into the details due to the legal implications. We could see a defamation suit if I was to publicly discuss this in any detail. If you are interested please call me at 847.514.6318 and we can talk about it. I'm not trying to brush you off, but this forum is not the place. Thanks for understanding.