The chief's daughter denounced the move. But a trustee said liability was a concern.
|Updated Tue, Dec 19, 2023 at 6:33 am CT
CLARENDON HILLS, IL – The Clarendon Hills Village Board on Monday took its final vote to enact a mandatory retirement age of 65 for firefighters.
The measure took effect immediately.
It impacts four firefighters – Chief Brian Leahy, administrative Lt. Jim Weil, Capt. Dave Sobottke and Myles Laffey.
The 68-year-old Leahy was with the department for 52 years, serving as its chief since 1985, when Ronald Reagan was president. He was the fire department's only full-time employee.
In early November, Leahy and Weil were put on paid administrative leave. It apparently was connected with an investigation into possible problems with the fire department's compensation system.
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The board took its vote after residents objected. Leahy's daughter joined in the opposition. She gave an impassioned speech praising her father and recognizing the other three firefighters.
The 34-year-old Kristen Leahy said her father had been the chief since before she was alive. And she said he saved lives, including her own, when she had a seizure.
Beginning her speech, Leahy requested Village Manager Zach Creer, who was seen as the architect of the new policy, to look at her.
"You've taken the opportunity from him to retire with dignity," she told the board. "He deserved the opportunity to have the last ride home in the fire trucks that he helped this town get."
As she fought back tears, the daughter said, "He deserved to make a last call on that radio. He deserved to be able to say, 'This is 301. This is my 10-7, out of service.'"
She questioned the timing, with the vote a week before Christmas and the drama starting before Thanksgiving.
"What is going on right now that this needs to happen before January 1?" she said. "I could sit here all day and trash the logic and trash everything for the rationale about this."
Instead, she said she would ask everyone in the room to recognize the four firefighters' contributions to Clarendon Hills.
"We all know this board and this village president is not going to do that," Kristen Leahy said.
The audience gave the four firefighters a standing ovation. Village officials did as well.
Most of the audience at the Clarendon Hills Village Board meeting Monday applauded the four firefighters who were to be forced out through a new mandatory retirement policy. (David Giuliani/Patch)
Laffey was present, but the others were not.
During the board's discussion, Creer clarified the village's position on the mandatory retirement age. He said it was not a legal requirement.
"If that came across in the last meeting, I apologize because that is not the case," Creer said.
He also said many paid-on-call departments have no mandatory retirement age. Western Springs and Westmont are among them.
Trustee John Weicher acknowledged the timing of the policy was "atrocious."
But he said he supported the policy because of liability issues. He said firefighters' responsibilities include certain physical requirements.
Clarendon Hills resident Ann Scott and others encouraged the village to phase in the policy or have some type of grace period, perhaps 1½ to two years.
Scott said she did not like the way the policy was rolled out. Employees were officially told about it less than two months ago.
Weicher said he "completely understood the sentiment," but said the liability would remain if the policy were delayed.
Residents also questioned whether the department would have enough staffing, given the mandatory retirements.
Creer said the village had no immediate concern about staffing. Arguments to the contrary, he said, were "completely false" and a "red herring."
"We need to step back the rhetoric. We'll maintain a part-time department," he said.
At the same time, acting Fire Chief Dave Godek acknowledged the challenges.
"We have been trying to get paid-on-call staff for years," Godek said. "As we all know, this town has changed quite a bit. We don't have the blue-collar residents as much anymore."
The Village Board voted unanimously for the mandatory retirement age. The measure was part of a package of unrelated items, known as the "consent agenda."
The trustees were Weicher, Ralph DeAngelis, Mark Peterson, Steve Tuttle, Meredith Lannert and Omar Chaudhry.
As of early Tuesday morning, Leahy was still listed as the department's chief on the village's website.
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