If it feels as if Oak Park’s economic development efforts have been stuck in neutral over the past 18 months, it is because they have been stymied by intense internal infighting among high-ranking staff and then the resignation of one leader and the firing of the other top development person.
Emily Egan was hired as Development Services director in January 2024. She lasted just over a year before she found safe haven as Wilmette’s economic development leader. In her February exit interview, a copy of which was obtained by Wednesday Journal through a Freedom of Information Act request, Egan pulled no punches. She called Oak Park’s village hall a “toxic work environment” and detailed her frustrations with Village Manager Kevin Jackson and specifically his management of Brandon Crawford, who in the course of his one year in Oak Park, was either Egan’s subordinate or later her peer with his newly invented Economic Vitality Administrator title.
Egan said in that document that she did not feel supported by Jackson as she worked to navigate conflicts with colleagues.
“Lack of support and/or belief of my side of the story when my supervisor was attempting to listen to challenges for myself and within my department due to specific interpersonal issues,” she wrote.
Jackson finally fired Crawford in late April. In both a performance-improvement plan document and ultimately in the termination letter, Jackson and Kira Tchang, the village’s HR director, skewered Crawford for an array of alleged failings as a leader and a colleague. Poor communication, lack of follow through, late or poorly done reports, lack of problem-solving ability, and a refusal to take ownership of the seemingly endless conflicts with colleagues were all noted.
On a specific topic, Crawford was criticized for not completing a report on how the village might create a TIF district to include the vacant eyesore that is the Mohr Concrete site on Harlem. Village President Vicki Scaman has recently suggested the village ought to buy the site.
While not mentioned, we’d add that Crawford ought to have faced consequences for overseeing the absolutely vapid consultant’s report on economic vitality. Purposeless but expensive drivel was our take.
Jackson owns the failure of Oak Park’s economic development infrastructure. Along with Scaman, they dismantled the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation. And despite long notice of Tammie Grossman’s retirement as Oak Park’s development guru, he built a new structure which has now imploded.
The newly remade Oak Park Village Board ought to have tough questions for Jackson. And even though the previous board recently extended his contract with a generous raise and added perks, it ought to institute some form of comprehensive peer review of his performance by his colleagues at village hall.
While we are reporting this week on the collapse of the economic development effort, there have been a troubling number of departures of department heads at village hall over the past year which we will be reporting on in the weeks to come.