$6K Raise, Free Gas For Joliet City Manager Jim Capparelli?

JOLIET, IL — After making a salary of $192,000 to oversee the day-to-day operations of City Hall this past year, first-year Joliet City Manager Jim Capparelli is in line for a $6,000 raise to increase his annual salary to $198,000, according to his proposed employment contract for 2022.

Joliet's City Council will vote on Capparelli's contract at Tuesday night's meeting. The contract extension for another year also states Capparelli shall receive an unspecified vehicle allowance as is "currently codified" in the exempt employee compensation ordinance.

"In addition, the vehicle allowance shall include motor fuel from city-operated pumping stations at no charge, for Mr. Capparelli's personal vehicle that he regularly uses in the discharge of his official duties," the proposed contract agreement outlined.

A Joliet lawyer in private practice with Castle Law since 2013, Capparelli was hired as Joliet's first permanent city manager since 2018 during a 6-3 vote in early January.

Voting against hiring him were Mike Turk, Pat Mudron and Sherri Reardon.

Before Capparelli, Joliet went through several city managers. In 2017, Bloomington's city manager David Hales was given a three-year employment contract and a $215,000 starting salary, but after less than 11 months, Hales was given a severance payout of nearly $89,600 to depart Joliet.

Corporation counsel Marty Shanahan was appointed interim city manager, then eight months later, Shanahan was ousted as city manager and sent back to the legal department, where he was later fired by his replacement, interim city manager Steve Jones.

Jones remained interim city manager from July 2019 until August 2020 when he finally left Joliet. At that point, Jim Hock, who retired as Joliet's city manager in April 2017, came out of retirement from Michigan to serve as interim city manager for five months, leaving in early January.

Capparelli took over Joliet's City Hall on Jan. 11. He had no past city manager experience. Joliet Patch previously reported that he was in the Pentagon at the U.S. Department of Defense several years ago during his military career, where he became a colonel.

He also went to Airborne School, Jump Master School, Ranger School, and he has a combat infantryman badge and a parachutist badge.