La Grange Agency Head Left On Good Terms: Records

LA GRANGE, IL — The head of the La Grange-area 911 agency submitted his resignation letter just days after the agency's failure to active tornado sirens in June. But public records show that he apparently left on good terms.

Michael O'Connor became the executive director of the Lyons Township Area Communications Center, or LTACC, in December 2018. On June 29, he turned in his letter of resignation, initially to take effect July 23.

"It has been my utmost honor and privilege to serve in this position," O'Connor wrote.

O'Connor, whose salary was $130,000, later agreed to extend his time through Aug. 10. But after July 23, he was to be on call, monitoring emails and coming in on an as-needed basis, according to agency documents. The records also indicated O'Connor would serve as a consultant for the agency upon his departure.

In a July 30 memo to the center's employees, Julia Cedillo, chairwoman of the agency's board, said a get-together would be planned for O'Connor to say "good-bye and thank you."

"We will miss Mike and want to make sure that we wish him well on his next endeavor and recognize his contributions to the center," Cedillo said.

A flyer shows that a "farewell appreciation luncheon" was held Aug. 6 in the conference room at the La Grange Police Department.

Another party in O'Connor's honor was held July 23 at Kenny's Irish Pub in Countryside. A flyer advertising the celebration stated, "Thank you for your distinguished and loyal service."

For the time being, Jim Moldenhauer is serving as the interim executive director. The agency is paying a recruiting firm $23,000 to help find a new director.

In his final weeks, O'Connor suspended a dispatcher for two days for failing to sound sirens during a tornado warning. This followed an investigation into what happened, which Patch wrote about Aug. 9.

The 911 agency serves La Grange, La Grange Park, Western Springs and Countryside.

Before becoming executive director, O'Connor was the support services division manager for the Libertyville Police Department for nearly two decades, according to his LinkedIn page.