Joliet City Manager Jim Capparelli: Council Voted To Get Rid Of Me

JOLIET, IL — The Joliet city manager's table will be empty at Tuesday night's meeting of the Joliet City Council because Jim Capparelli was notified by new Mayor Terry D'Arcy that the Council voted in closed session to end his employment, Capparelli told Joliet Patch.

In a statement to Patch, D'Arcy said Finance Director Kevin Sing will fill in as city manager in the interim.

At Monday night's pre-Council meeting, "the Council met in closed session and decided to ask for my resignation," Capparell said.

Capparelli said that D'Arcy relayed the news that the Council made the decision to end Capparelli's employment with Joliet. Capparelli said Tuesday marked his last official on the job.

"I wish my successor the best of luck," Capparelli said. "They're going to pay me out for my remaining time on my contract."

Capparelli's contract was due to expire on July 12.

Capparelli said he is not bitter or angry about the decision or how his employment came to an abrupt end.

"I was treated with respect and professionally," Capparelli said. "I have no complaints."

Working as Joliet's city manager, "was an awesome time and I couldn't be prouder of the work and all the things we got done."

As for Tuesday's regular Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Capparelli said he will not be there.

"I will not be at the city manager's chair," he said. "It will be nothing but a vacant memory."

In D'Arcy's statement, he said Capparelli "wanted to extend his contract beyond his end date of July 12th, and he was well aware the City was going to do a search for a City Manager and he was welcome to apply. He added, "The City Council made him an offer to continue working during the search. Mr. Capparelli made a counteroffer to the City Council and the offer was rejected."

On Tuesday morning, D'Arcy said, Capparelli submitted his resignation.

"He has told me on several occasions that he has other offers, so we thank him for his service and wish him well in his future endeavors," the mayor said.

In January 2021, Capparelli started to work for the city of Joliet as its first permanent city manager since David Hales was let go in October 2018. Before that, he worked as a lawyer in private practice at the Joliet law firm of Castle Law.

"I firmly believe the city mayor and the City Council have the right to pick whoever they want to have," Capparelli told Joliet Patch on Tuesday. "I'm not bitter. It's the way of the world."

As for his future, Capparelli said, "I'm going to take some time to decompress and explore my options. Clearly, I have a lot of opportunities. I'm going to take some time to think these things through."