Fired 'Patronage' Hire Gets Severance Payout: Report

ALGONQUIN, IL – The 23-year-old Algonquin Township Deputy Highway Commissioner, who was recently fired from a second job he held as the chief of staff in the township supervisor's office, got a hefty severance payout following his firing. The Northwest Herald reports Ryan Provenzano's final paycheck totaled $7,245.

In January, Township Supervisor Charles Lutzow fired Provenzano from his full-time role as the chief of staff in his office where he earned $32 an hour and $63,000 a year, according to reporting earlier this year by the Northwest Herald. It's unclear why exactly he was fired. Provenzano was also employed – and remains employed – by the highway commission.

The Northwest Herald reports on the breakdown of money authorized for his final paycheck and why Lutzow decided to OK it:

About $2,600 of Provenzano’s last paycheck was characterized as a miscellaneous payment and represents two weeks of earnings – the equivalent of 80 hours at about $32.50 an hour. Supervisor Charles Lutzow authorized it as a severance for his former employee.
“That’s something I decided to do,” Lutzow told the Northwest Herald.

Provenzano has been criticized as a township hire made because of "patronage and cronyism." Ryan is the son of McHenry County board member Nick Provenzano who now works for U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, according to the Northwest Herald. He is the nephew of former Main Township Highway Commissioner Robert Provenzano. Ryan and his father helped Lutzow run his campaign for township supervisor.

As of recent weeks, Ryan Provenzano was still employed as the deputy highway commissioner for Algonquin Township. Provenzano provided an update regarding road crews efforts to clear roadways following a snowstorm in a video posted on the township's Facebook page on Feb. 17.

More via the Northwest Herald

Photo caption: Algonquin Township Offices/Photo credit: GoogleMaps