I’m grateful to see Wednesday Journal finally reporting what has been an open secret at Oak Park Village Hall for years — the toxic work environment that has led to the departure of no less than nine senior staff members [Resignation and a firing undo Oak Park’s economic development efforts, News, May 28]. Now we’re seeing the beginning of an exodus of valued employees at all levels, some of whom have been with the village for years, others who only lasted a few months.
Before the election, Vicki Scaman optimistically attributed this turnover to a competitive job market and attractive new opportunities. We now know the real reason why so many staff members have chosen to make lateral moves and accept worse commutes, despite retaining strong personal ties to Oak Park.
These staffing challenges appear to have had a negative impact on the village’s ability to effectively manage its budget. Since the longtime CFO’s resignation in 2023, we have relied on a New York-based “interim” consultant to oversee village finances — a former colleague of Village Manager Kevin Jackson from his time in Long Beach, California. While a new finance director was hired in March 2025, her résumé suggests she has less than two years of municipal finance experience — an astonishingly thin background for someone tasked with overseeing a $150M+ budget.
Meanwhile, it appears that Oak Park has lost its 12-year streak of receiving the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. My friends in municipal finance tell me that the GFOA award isn’t just symbolic — it’s an industry standard that reflects best practices in budgeting, transparency, and communication. Losing it after more than a decade signals a decline in both internal capacity and public accountability, and has likely made it more difficult for the village to attract a qualified CFO.
And yet in February 2025, the board approved a 13% raise for Mr. Jackson — bringing his salary to $261,500. This latest agreement also granted him a take-home vehicle for personal use and a $100,000 housing loan, half of which was immediately forgiven. The remaining balance will be forgiven over five years, with the village also covering the associated tax burden each year. These kinds of perks are highly unusual in municipal government, especially in a community our size. Why on earth would someone whose salary is 142% higher than the median household income of Oak Park need a large “forgivable loan” (read: free money) and the government version of a company car for personal use?
In a pre-election interview, Trustee Jim Taglia articulated a framework for evaluating the village manager’s performance, outlining key criteria including: budget control, work culture, goal achievement, capital planning, efficient spending, technology implementation, transparency, and accessibility.
He noted, “A good village manager should have a solid understanding of village finances, a happy and productive staff, satisfied users of village services, a diverse staff, and a reputation of being responsive to the needs of our community members.”
By these measures, it is time for the board to ask serious questions about Village Manager Kevin Jackson’s leadership.
Sources:
Jim Taglia interview w/Activist Toolkit: https://www.activisttoolkit.org/james-taglia-2025-oak-park-village-trustee
Kevin Jackson raise: Wednesday Journal article, Feb. 20, 2025, https://www.oakpark.com/2025/02/20/oak-park-village-manager-salary-raise/
Board meeting for resolution: https://oak-park.granicus.com/player/clip/2720
Loss of GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, FY2024:
GFOA site shows 1,700+ governments receive the Award yearly, but FY 2024 winners list does not include the village of Oak Park: https://www.gfoa.org/budget-award-winners.
https://www.oak-park.us/Government/Finance-and-Budget/Budget-Summaries Oak Park’s official Budget Summaries page lists Adopted Budget PDFs from FY 2010 through FY 2023, with each file labeled indicating GFOA recognition to reflect the 12-year streak
Interim CFO: https://www.oakpark.com/2024/08/30/oak-park-chief-financial-officer/, board meeting to further extend her contract: https://oak-park.granicus.com/player/clip/2732
Finance Director resume: LinkedIn profile
Mike McLaughlin is an Oak Park resident.