La Grange Fire Union Upset With Official: Letter

LA GRANGE, IL — The La Grange Fire Department's union complained about the village manager's behavior in a letter earlier this year, but the village president said this week an inquiry found nothing unethical.

Through a public records request, Patch obtained the February letter from the union to Village President Mark Kuchler and the Village Board. The union expressed its unhappiness with Village Manager Andrianna Peterson, who took the top job more than four years ago.

In a statement to Patch on Tuesday evening, Kuchler said the Village Board took "swift action" when it received the letter.

"The next business day, the Village reached out to the union saying an independent, third-party investigation was being launched," Kuchler said. "It is important to point out the investigation found no evidence of unethical behavior."

Asked for comment, Peterson said in an email that Kuchler's statement was all that the village was issuing for now.

In the Feb. 12 letter, Chris Conrad, president of the La Grange Firefighters Association IAFF Local 2338, said it was not easy to write about the issue, but it was necessary because of its seriousness. He said the union has seen a decline in overall morale within the fire department and others parts of the village.

"These observations and feelings stem from one person, Village President Andrianna Peterson," Conrad wrote. "We do not know if this news is old, shocking or not surprising to you. Though we do know and feel it must be brought to your attention before it worsens."

During the time of previous fire chiefs and the current one, Conrad said the union has seen an increase in Peterson's micromanagement, lack of respect for subordinates, control issues, dismissiveness, passive aggression, poor decision-making, lack of focus, unethical behavior and overall unprofessionalism.

Conrad said the behavior has increased to a breaking point and resulted in a "toxic workplace."

Peterson's actions also have resulted in poor morale and disappointment, causing members to question the purpose of their careers, Conrad said. Despite that, he said union members would remain caring, hardworking and selfless in their jobs.

The union said it had spoken with Fire Chief Terrence Vavra about the problem.

"Although he is unable to do much about the Village Manager's behavior and the negative results of it, he is empathetic to our concerns and feelings," Conrad said. "Unfortunately, Chief Vavra is in the same position as us, since he has often been the object of the Village Manager's unprofessional behavior as well."

Vavra did not return a message for comment early Tuesday evening.

Because the village manager is the human resources department, Conrad said, "we feel we have no one else to turn to for help or guidance in this matter. We wrote this letter not of scorn or disgruntlement."

Rather, he said the union wrote the letter because it cares about the village and its residents, visitors and businesses.

In September, the Village Board unanimously approved a new contract for Peterson, which gave her a 2.3 percent cost-of-living increase and a 2 percent merit increase. That hiked her pay to $182,200.

Before taking the helm, Peterson was La Grange's assistant village manager from 2006 to 2017. Before that, she was the village administrator in Berkeley from 1998 to 2006, according to her LinkedIn page.

Patch left a message with Conrad on Wednesday morning.