5 Ousted Clarendon Hills Firefighters Honored

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – The former Clarendon Hills fire chief and four other longtime firefighters who were ousted from the fire department were honored during an event Saturday.

"It was a tremendous turnout, 100 people total," former firefighter Peter Vexter said during a phone interview. "The focus was on the positivity on what they have done, celebrate them and recognize the sacrifices their families made."

The event was at Chuck's Southern Comforts Café in Darien.

In February, the village entered into a settlement with Fire Chief Brian Leahy for his departure. He was put on leave in November.

The other four former department members were administrative Lt. Jim Weil, Capt. Dave Sobottke and firefighters Myles Laffey and Bob Parsons.

Leahy started with the fire department in 1971 and took the helm in 1985, totaling 53 years.

Around the time Leahy was put on leave, the village proposed a retirement age of 65 for firefighters. The five former members were all over that age.

In the interview, Vexter, who served the department for two decades until 2018, said none of the five department members wanted to retire at this point.

The five firefighters' combined service amounted to 225 years, Vexter said.