Mundelein Village administrator John Lobaito’ | Contributed photo
Mundelein Village administrator John Lobaito’ | Contributed photo
Longtime Mundelein Village administrator John Lobaito’s sense of service to his hometown has only been heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Set to retire in June, the 15-year veteran administrator will stay on the job indefinitely as the pandemic and economic fallout stemming from it play out.
"It just wouldn't be right for me to leave under these circumstances," Lobaito told the Daily Herald. "Mundelein has been good to me ... and I want to make sure that when I leave, the community is in the best possible financial position going forward."
Lobaito’s last day was scheduled to be June 5, with village officials originally hoping to have tabbed a successor by April. All those plans went up in smoke with the emergence of the deadly virus.
"We can't even do face-to-face interviews at this moment," Trustee Ray Semple said. "It's really a terrible time to make this transition."
Mundelein Mayor Steve Lentz stresses keeping Lobaito on board through the crisis figures to be good for the village given his record of guiding the town through tough economic times, such as the Great Recession of 2008.
Under terms of the agreement, Lobaito will now be considered an independent contractor, compensated at a rate equal to what his salary was at the time of his scheduled retirement. With Lobaito no longer receiving employee benefits or health insurance, the village is expected to save as much as $4,000 a month.
Lentz said interviews for Lobaito’s replace will begin after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker eases statewide safety restrictions, hopefully sometime in June.
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