July 08--Joe La Margo, Orland Park's deputy clerk and public information officer, has been appointed as assistant village manager.
La Margo, 45, replaces Ellen Baer, who resigned Tuesday after serving as assistant manager since 2003, the village announced Tuesday. Baer could not immediately be reached for comment but the village's announcement says she will continue working part-time during the transition, lasting at least through the end of 2015.
"Ellen ... has provided steady problem solving and leadership to our great organization from the beginning," Village Manager Paul Grimes said in the village's news release. "While she won't take credit for any of the many accomplishments achieved and problems resolved, she deserves credit for much of it."
La Margo began working for Orland Park in 2006 as deputy village clerk and began serving as its public information officer as well in 2012. His annual salary as assistant village manager will be $116,000.
"I am very happy to be given this opportunity, and I will do the best job I can," La Margo said. "Ellen Baer has been an excellent assistant village manager, she set the bar very high, and I'm hoping I can do the same."
Before coming to Orland Park, La Margo was chief deputy director at the accounting revenue department of the Illinois Secretary of State's office and previously served as deputy director of the Cook County Clerk's Department of Tax and Real Estate, according to the village.
Though much of his background has been in finance, La Margo said his real interest is in policy administration and strategic planning, something he focused on while working for Cook County and completing a master's degree in organizational leadership and public policy at Lewis University.
La Margo, originally from Alsip, said he first applied for assistant village manager after moving to Orland Park in 2002. At the time, he had no experience in municipal government and had not earned a graduate degree in public policy -- unlike Baer, who was hired for the position.
"The finance aspect is a great background, but working as public information officer really helped prepare me for this position, dealing with all different scenarios and departments," La Margo said.
Grimes said village officials did not look for outside candidates.
"We can never replace Ellen because she's been so good for so long, but Joe has done an excellent job, he's had increasing responsibility over the years, and as the public information officer he's been exposed to all aspects of what the village does," Grimes said. "It was kind of a natural fit, and I think Joe is more than qualified to step in."
La Margo, who lives in Orland Park with his wife and four children, is also the school board president in Orland District 135. He said the village's attorneys determined that there would be no conflict of interest for him to serve on the school board while assistant village manager.
La Margo said he will continue to abstain from any school board votes on village-related issues and remove himself from closed sessions while village issues are discussed.
lzumbach@tribpub.com
