Plainfield Administrator Search Continues After ​Special Meeting​

PLAINFIELD, IL — Plainfield Mayor John Argoudelis's decision to terminate village administrator Brian Murphy will stand — for now — despite the efforts of some board of trustee members to overturn the decision in a Tuesday afternoon special meeting.

Argoudelis announced in a Monday meeting that Murphy's contract, which came to an end on April 6, would not be extended. Murphy has served as village administrator for over a decade.

"I was elected as an agent of change," Argoudelis said. "I believe strongly it is very difficult to institute change if you have all the same players."

Ultimately, the mayor said, he determined Murphy was not the man for the job.

"I struggled with whether Brian was the right person to continue forward for us," he said. "I have chosen not to reappoint Brian because I really believe we need to conduct a national search, bring in a new set of eyes, so we can fulfill the promise we made to the voters of Plainfield so we can reexamine how Plainfield does business, top to bottom."

Several trustees pushed back against Argoudelis' decision, moving instead to meet at noon on Thursday to again discuss the administrator's removal.

On Thursday, four of the seven motions before the board were tabled after almost two hours of discussion alongside claims from some trustees that the meeting was a waste of their time and a disruption to their work day.

As it stands, former assistant village administrator Traci Pleckham is serving as interim village administrator.

Murphy had been Plainfield's top administrator since 2009. In 2017, the village board unanimously approved a new four-year contract for him at an annual salary of more than $170,000, plus a monthly car allowance of $600. His contract was valid until the last day of Village President Michael Collins' term, which ended in April 2021 after he decided against re-election.

Related: Plainfield Board OKs New Contract For Murphy