From the Daily Southtown ...

Jones out as Oak Forest administrator?

"Steve Jones' run as Oak Forest city administrator has apparently come to an end after the city posted an ad for his position in a regional Web site this week.

City officials have made no announcement that Jones was leaving.

But the ad for his position appeared Thursday on the Illinois City/County Management Association Web site.

Friday, Jones said he would not discuss the matter with the SouthtownStar until Tuesday.

Sources say Jones is leaving to take a similar position in Glen Ellyn.

Glen Ellyn Village Clerk Andrea Draths said Friday the village board meeting agenda for Monday includes an item stating the board will consider hiring an new village manager. But she said she did not have information as to who the village is considering."

From the Oak Forest Website :

Economic development is a priority.

Extreme Makeover

Nice makeover. Clam will have some fun with this one.

Ted might also be busy.

Oak Forest also has a website that has community comments concerning local government.

Oak Forest - The Real Deal

and the city tried to sue the web hosting company to get info about the anonymous web master.

Oak Forest Sues to Find Critical Web Site's Creator

Do you think Steve Jones has checked out the Glen Ellyn Message Board?

But Ted's not anonymous, is he? I thought his avatar was his real picture. Next, you'll tell me that there is no Santa.

Oak Forest? I used to bowl there as a kid. What a dump! Man, I made a big mistake moving here. First, TBS who cites Berwyn as a reference and now a former manager of Oak Forest. I need a drink!

Bitter, Oak Forest is a dump......We used to play basketball as a kid against I think it was called arbor park middle school. The sooner we got out of there the better..

I hope he can do more than have the local KFC update their exterior, because he has a challenge here my friend.....

I've got a contractor who prefaces many of his cosmetic recommendations with the phrase, "That's how all the homes in Cicero and Berwyn do it, it looks great".

quote:

Originally posted by IMJ:
I hope he can do more than have the local KFC update their exterior, because he has a challenge here my friend.....

I cannot find a picture of Arvati's Pizza online to show the before and after KFC conversion in Glen Ellyn.

I will give you one example of a good commercial facelift. The Smokehouse Restaurant to Potbelly's was like removing the hairy wart on the tip of your nose. Potbelly's should be commended.....

I'd like to toss out two thoughts based on this thread...

1) I have had some dealings with the City Manager of Naperville, Peter Burchard. Change was afoot in Naperville before he came to town from Palatine (I think), but it is my view that Naperville owes a lot of credit for it's current business environment to Peter Burchard. Obviously, there are other indivduals and organizations who share in this credit, but this thread started out about the topic of Village Manager. That is a town that seems to be viable for a variety of businesses and perhaps we need to look at what is working there and decide if we want some of that too. If so, we should be doing it. Ideally, a Village Manager would play a key role in this "transformation".
If I were part of the search and interviewing process, I'd rank experience and/or skills in attracting and transforming businesses higher in priority than some of the administrative functions of the job.

2) As far as transformations go, have you ever wondered why the facades of buildings in communities like Lake Forest or Hinsdale look so nice architecturally? Compare our stretch of Roosevelt to their stretches of Ogden Ave. and Waukegan Rd. I think their's are nicer. Why is that? Ability to attract business and a strong Commercial Architectural Review Board and Code? Or is it possible that the CEO's/Sr. Execs. of a lot of the types of businesses that you would typically find along these types of corridors live in those towns and care about how the appearance of their business impacts the overall image of the town? I don't wish to imply anything negative towards our Architectural Review Board -- I'm just wondering how much leverage Glen Ellyn has in the dance of attracting businesses here over other towns and why this seems to work in some towns and not others.

quote:

Originally posted by littled:

... a strong Commercial Architectural Review Board and Code? ...I don't wish to imply anything negative towards our Architectural Review Board -- I'm just wondering how much leverage Glen Ellyn has in the dance of attracting businesses here over other towns and why this seems to work in some towns and not others.

Nothing to imply. It's famously weak and nothing more than a doormat.

Update to the Southtown Star article.

Jones out as Oak Forest administrator? - April 13

...

Oak Forest Mayor JoAnn Kelly did not respond to calls for comment.

Jones was hired in July 2005, not long after Kelly took office.

When he arrived, he was praised for his vast municipal experience and ability to get jobs done without micromanaging.

His legacy in Oak Forest will include completing the city's first comprehensive plan in 40 years and moving along the city's Gateway redevelopment project for the northwest corner of 159th Street and Cicero Avenue.

But he also was seen as aloof and arrogant by city employees. He was accused of playing dirty while recently negotiating contracts for police and clerical unions.

And he, along with Kelly, became the object of residents' scorn after the city forcibly annexed about 53 acres of residential property near the corner of 167th Street and Cicero Avenue.

...

Sour grapes. I'll wait to see how he performs here before leveling any criticism.

Though he sounds like my kind of guy. I am the very definition of aloof and arrogant.

quote:

Originally posted by KOAM:
But he also was seen as aloof and arrogant by city employees. He was accused of playing dirty while recently negotiating contracts for police and clerical unions.
...

Gee, I always thought that labor and management negotiations were a regular love boat. Who knew?

quote:

Originally posted by Clamato:
... before leveling any criticism.
... I am the very definition of aloof and arrogant.

At least your aloofness and arrogance is not also tinged with a propensity for British and Canadian alternate spellings.

LOLL!!

At least my propensity for British and Canadian alternate spellings is not tinged by aloofness and arrogance!

If it is true that the village board is hiring a new manager at the meeting tonight, kudos to them for their actions. Congratulations to him/her and best wishes to the new village manager for helping our village to reach its potential. This is good news!

4M
Done Deal. If you weren't watching, his Name is Steve Jones and he hails from Oak Forest. Actually he lives in LaGrange Park with his lovely wife and children.
He has indirectly met Clam and he has met a representative of the Preservation group.
Heck, what else does he need to know?
Should be a cake walk for him

Oh, I watched. Mr. Jones did a nice job of introducing himself. (And you wore a nice tie. ) Hope those trends continue... Congrats again to you and the board. Here's to "around" June 18th and welcome Steve Jones!