Oswego Village Administrator Looking to Hire New Economic Director

OSWEGO, IL — With the unexpected departure of the Village of Oswego’s economic development director, the village is looking to get the ball rolling on finding a replacement.

Oswego Village Administrator Dan Di Santo said he couldn’t comment on why Vijay Gadde is no longer with the village as the EDD, but said he and Community Development Director Rod Zenner are filling the position in the meantime.

Di Santo said he will likely be presenting the village board with a recommendation to proceed in the hiring of a new director and give the board other economic development options to consider.

“Some communities have consultants performing the duties, some communities have external economic development corporations, kind of public/private partnerships. That’s what Oswego used to have,” Di Santo said. “I’m certainly open to any alternative to in house.”

In the meantime, Di Santo said he is proceeding with putting together a job posting for a position until he’s directed to do differently. The goal is to have the post up by early May and someone in the position by August, depending on the candidate pool.

In an ideal candidate, Di Santo said the village will look for someone who can market the community to developers and prospective realtors.

“We’re looking for someone who has an aggressive approach and is in touch with current market trends and really knows how to sell,” Di Santo said.

Despite being without an economic development director, Di Santo said he doesn’t think the absence will be felt in any meaningful way throughout the village.

“Every project that we have on the horizon in terms of economic development I’ve had personal involvement in, as well as Rod,” Di Santo said.