Ex-Elmhurst Official With Side Gig Collects Pension

ELMHURST, IL – A former Elmhurst official who repeatedly spent time during the work day on a side business is collecting a public pension.

Paul Burris retired last summer after leaving as Elmhurst's utility operations manager.

In 2016, Burris was hired at a salary of $120,000 and left at $162,822, a 35 percent increase over eight years, according to city documents.

Through a public records request, Patch obtained information on Burris' pension through the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund.

Burris, who retired at 58, now collects $6,554 a month, totaling nearly $79,000 a year. This followed three decades of government work.

During his career, Burris' total contributions to the pension fund amounted to $95,634, according to records.

In February 2024, Patch wrote a story about how Burris contacted the government clients of his side business hundreds of times during work hours. At least once, Burris used a piece of city equipment at a client's facility.

After the story, the city launched an investigation. In May 2024, the city reprimanded Burris for working on his side business, OTM Environmental, while he was on duty.

Burris contended he worked on his business on weekends, lunches, breaks and evenings of regular business days. The city arrived at a different conclusion.

"You exercised poor judgment by conducting your secondary employment during City of Elmhurst regular business hours, regardless of your exempt status," Stan Balicki, the city's public works director, said in a letter to Burris. "This conduct will not be tolerated as it discredits the City's admirable reputation and is not in the best interest of the city."