Orland Fire Board OKs Hiring 11 New Firefighters

The Orland Fire Protection District is now one step away from adding a new roster of firefighters for the first time in five years.

In the last 15 months the Orland Fire Protection District has lost nine firefighters in different roles for a variety of reasons. Some have retired, others have been injured and others resigned under an array of circumstances, the most recent being former firefighter Dean Milenkovic. The Orland Fire Board of Trustees approved in a 3-1 vote Tuesday night to add 11 more firefighter-paramedics to the district, upping the personnel numbers from 97 active firefighters to 108. The district’s Board of Commissioners has the final call and may convene in a special meeting before their next scheduled meeting in August to decide whether to move forward with the hires or not. Orland Fire Chief Ken Brucki said the purpose is to keep 36 firefighters …

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Candidate for Orland Fire Chief Offered Job, But Not Announced

The next Orland Fire Protection District chief has been offered a contract, but now more negotiations could take place before the deal is sealed.

The Orland Fire Protection District Board of Trustees made their pick for a new fire chief, but who that person is won’t be announced until a contract is signed, according to the board president. The district board gave a go-ahead to present a contract to their top selected chief candidate, though negotiations could follow before the deal is done. The contract was approved with a 4-0 vote. Trustee Martin McGill did not attend Tuesday night’s meeting. The chief’s responsibilities have been upheld by Raymond Kay, a battalion chief with the district, since May 2011 when Bryant Krizik was put on administrative leave while an investigation was carried out. Krizik later retired amid allegations of inappropriate images on a district laptop, …

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frank

10:10 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012

That is good enough for me. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>   more ›

Suspended Fire Chief Agrees to Early Retirement, Avoiding Further Investigation

An attorney for Orland Fire Protection District Chief Bryant Krizik, who was put on paid leave this spring, said the chief was considering a lawsuit of his own.

Bryant Krizik, suspended Orland Fire Protection District chief, has decided not to back out of an early retirement agreement, sparing both sides from possible litigation as he officially steps down today. “It would be in the best interest of everybody if the agreement stood,” Karl Otteson, an attorney for the fire district, said Tuesday, and moved "forward with whatever the district thinks is the best thing to do with the chief's position." Krizik was placed on paid administrative leave in May pending the results of an investigation for misconduct. To date no specifics about that investigation have been released. However, at last week’s board meeting, reports of inappropriate material found on Krizik’s work computer surfaced. District …

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J.J.

7:36 am on Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Ok Walt, I assume you know these guys and are on this department. If that's the case, you should be ashamed of yourself. Orland FPD is just NOW a laughing stock, becasue of Krizik, what a joke. This department is a laughing stock becasue of employees like you who do nothing to improve the department and only sit in the background and bash your own department. I have never seen firemen so eager to…   more ›

Attorney: Agreement Between Krizik and Orland Fire District Does Not Say ‘No Wrong Doing Occurred’

Fire Chief Bryant Krizik has until Tuesday to choose to revoke the agreement and not retire.

An attorney representing the Orland Fire Protection District in negotiations with Fire Chief Bryant Krizik said that the agreement between Krizik and the district has a “non admission of liability by either side,” but that does not mean no misconduct was found. Attorney Karl Otteson stood before the district’s board of trustees at Tuesday night’s meeting and said that Krizik and the district chose to “professionally part ways” by Krizik retiring from service with the district. The agreement appeared to close three months that Krizik spent on paid administrative leave while he was under investigation for misconduct, though specifics as to why he was put on leave were not disclosed. After Tuesday’s meeting, reports of inappropriate material …

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Rear View

In the Rear View: Fire District Volleys and Football Season Begins

We look back at a week of parting ways, words possibly compromising those parting ways, crime reversal, cake, beer and pigskins.

MONDAY Orland Fire Administrative Assistant Resigns She's the first district employee to resign since the new board took oath and began cutting positions. Gwen Tam has not said why she chose to leave. Chowdown Showdown: Let 'Em Eat Cake — and a Whole Lot of It This week, we sent our taster out on a hunt for the best hunk of chocolate-y goodness baked into a cake. Got a better place than what we picked? Tell us in the comments. TUESDAY UPDATED: Krizik Takes Voluntary Retirement, Investigation Into Misconduct Ends Without Releasing Findings For the time being, Chief Bryant Krizik has agreed to retire from the Orland Fire Protection District, after spending about three months on paid administrative leave. Krizik was under investigation for …

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Attorney: Potentially Defamatory Remarks Have Krizik Rethinking Retirement Pact

Fire chief's attorney wants to see retirement agreement amended, and says recent claims of inappropriate information found on a laptop could lead to a defamation suit.

Lawyers for Fire Chief Bryant Krizik and the Orland Fire Protection District are working to alter a recent agreement between the two to professionally part ways after claims were made about items on a computer that Krizik’s lawyer says are without merit. Krizik has a legal right to withdraw from voluntarily retiring as fire chief of the OFPD within a week from Tuesday, the day the agreement was made at a district board meeting, said Krizik's attorney Rich Gonzalez. A main component of the agreement was for both parties to stop pursuing allegations of wrongdoing against each other, Gonzalez said. “The spirit of it was to use discretion and let everyone move on,” Gonzalez said. “Since then some wild allegations were made. No one said …

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Fire District Takes on New Law Firm for Investigation; 11 Firefighter Hires Still On Hold

Some actions by the Orland Fire Protection District Board are explained, while several others aren't, during Tuesday's meeting.

For the third meeting in a row, the Orland Fire Protection District Board of Trustees has put the hiring of 11 new firefighters on hold. This time around, board president James Hickey said the board was going to hire the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association (IFCA), headed by former Orland Fire Protection District Chief Robert Buhs, to investigate whether some, none or all of the potential new hires would save the district more money than they cost. IFCA will be paid $70 an hour. Their contract was approved 4-0 and will be “expedited as soon as possible,” Hickey said. “We definitely want a third party to tell us exactly the number of firemen that would be needed for the district," Hickey said." A lot of the information that we had previously … …

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As Maher Leaves, He Calls Orland the Envy of Fire Districts

In his own words, the Orland Fire Protection District board president talks about not running for re-election and more.

Last week, Orland Fire Protection District board president Patrick Maher announced he would not run for re-election. Given that the fire district's election was only a month away and that Maher had completed this publication’s candidate questionnaire, the announcent seemed sudden and unexpected. Patch spoke Tuesday with Maher about his departure from politics, his time spent at the district, his future and his critics’ biggest complaints. He has spent eight years atop the state’s largest fire protection district, and there will certainty be no shortage of opinions regarding how well or poor a job he has done while there. At the very least, the words below are and will always be Maher's own. JM: You gave us a few reasons for not running for…

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Robert

6:41 pm on Friday, April 1, 2011

I am glad we are in good condition with our current boards decisions and the people are behind them. It is tough for firefighters, police teachers, military ..etc.. when the public they serve do not back them. I think they know that most of us do.   more ›

Fire District To Consider Property Tax Refunds

Firefighters, dispatchers and finance team honored, and other highlights from the Feb. 23 board meeting.

The Orland Fire Protection District may abate taxes for a third year. The board asked its staff on Wednesday to determine whether it’s possible to refund any taxpayer money in 2011. Trustee Martin McGill raised the issue, noting, “I know I’ve got the full board’s support on it.” Finance director Kerry Sullivan told trustees she would report back and, if the money is available, advised they had until June 1 to make a decision. During tax levy discussions in December, Fire Chief Bryant Krizik said the fire district has abated a combined $1.3 million over the last two years. Award, Recognitions Sullivan, again the center of attention, and her finance staff were congratulated for winning a “certificate of achievement for excellence in …

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Fire Chief Talks Construction, Board Postpones Possible Release of Closed Session Minutes

Highlights from the Orland Fire Protection District Board of Trustees meeting on Jan. 26.

Construction and remodeling of the Orland Fire Protection District’s administration center is on schedule, Battalion Chief Dan Smith told the fire district’s board of trustees on Wednesday night. Although the $4 million addition is slated for completion in May, enough of the project is finished so that staff members have begun taking tours of the upcoming workspace, Smith said. “We’re still continuing to make good progress,” he noted. “The final concrete was poured inside today.” Last summer, the Orland Park village board agreed to sell the fire district a 77-foot by 200-foot parcel of land for $68,500 to join the fire district's administration center with firehouse one. Once finished, it will centralize staff while providing additional …

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Andrea Williams

11:00 pm on Thursday, January 27, 2011

Let me guess, waiting until after the April 5th election to release those minutes like the County did with the release of the tax bills? Good Lord, talk about taking a page out of the Crook County Machine's playbook!   more ›