Bury Appoints New Village Treasurer

Mayor Sandra Bury named a replacement for the departing village treasurer at Tuesday’s village board meeting, but not before accusations by some board members that she was springing the appointment on them..

Patrick O’Donnell, a 17-year, Oak Lawn-resident and finance professional, was named village treasurer, effective immediately. He is replacing Jim McGovern, who is moving out of the area.

Bury described O’Donnell, a former chief financial officer for Swiss-based UBS, as a “catch” for the village.

The village treasurer is responsible for overseeing village spending and balancing the budget.

“He has a reputation for brilliance and innovation,” the mayor said.

But Trustee Bob Streit (Dist. 3), reading from prepared remarks, said that village board members had no information about O’Donnell.

“I have heard a rumor that a big donor to the mayor’s campaign named Pat O’Donnell would be named treasurer,” Streit said. “I couldn’t confirm it by looking at my board packet because the mayor didn’t provide a resume allowing us to question him before giving our consent to the appointment.”

O’Donnell’s wife donated $2,500 to Bury’s mayoral campaign, which Bury funded largely herself, according to state records.

Streit said that O’Donnell lacked government finance experience. He also said O’Donnell was a friend of former trustee Tom Phelan (Dist. 6).

“We’ve seen these appointments being made without consultation and without the board being allowed to vet the candidates,” Streit said. “When this mayor and board were first elected, I said, ‘let’s see how they govern. So far it looks like everything is about rewarding your friends and supporters and retribution against non-supporters.”

Hammering at Bury’s campaign theme of transparency, Streit said that residents were witnessing the opposite.

Bury described O’Donnell as the former CIO of UBS, managing a yearly budget of $1.5 billion, with a staff of 6,000 working under him. O’Donnell also sits on the board of the New York Stock Exchange’s derivatives board.

As a defacto CIO for the City of Chicago, O’Donnell coordinated nearly $1 billion in annual technology expenditures, saving the city $55 million by restructuring. He also serves on the finance committee for Little Company of Mary Hospital in Evergreen Park.

“He’s imminently qualified for this position,” the mayor finished.

Trustee Carol Quinlan (Dist. 5) asked that the vote to appoint O’Donnell  be postponed.

“You obviously know who this gentleman is,” Quinlan said. “I know nothing about him and I really would like to have a resume.”

Trustees eventually voted to accept the mayor’s appointment for village treasurer, 4-2, with Streit and Quinlan casting the dissenting votes.

After the meeting, Bury said that O’Donnell came recommended by the former treasurer McGovern and Phelan.

Asked why a resume wasn’t provided to other board members, a reasonable request, Bury said she had only met with McGovern that morning.

Bury responded that it was important to bring O’Donnell up to speed quickly.

“One of the treasurer’s big responsibilities is the pension fund,” the mayor said. “The police and fire meetings are coming up. The treasurer would have to be prepped beforehand and be ready.”