The interim title was removed Monday night as the Forest Park village council voted to name Rachell Entler as the permanent village administrator.

While two commissioners criticized the lack of an open process or wider search for a new top staff member other commissioners heaped praise on Entler for her transparency and effective communication. 

Entler was initially hired by Mayor Rory Hoskins as his assistant and was promoted to interim administrator last August after the village fired Moses Amidei from the post. Amidei held the post only since May 2021. 

Entler is a Forest Park native and the daughter of a former fire chief. She moved back to the village 19 years ago. She has been involved in village life since her teenage years and later worked at the park district.

“I’m excited. It’s nice to know I have the support of our village council and our department heads. I can really start focusing on moving the village forward,” Entler said.

Commissioner Ryan Nero praised Entler’s participation in council meetings and her effective communication. “Since Rachell has been part of the village here in terms of her interim administrator position, it’s really been a breath of fresh air,” Nero said.

Commissioner Maria Maxham echoed Nero’s comments, highlighting Entler’s ability to balance her job as an assistant to the mayor while also serving as interim administrator. “She regularly sends detailed explanations of agenda items in an easy-to-understand way. She understands the importance of transparency and communication,” Maxham said.

However, commissioners Michele Melin-Rogovin and Jessica Voogd criticized the lack of transparency and process in hiring for the village administrator role. The role was never posted publicly and no search process took place.

“It’s the process that we commit to every single time. We lost some information while we were considering how to evaluate and offer and examine our options,” Melin-Rogovin said.

Voogd expressed disappointment in the appointment process, which she learned about last Thursday via text message. She highlighted that this is not the first time the village has not gone through a proper process. Now Forest Park has the post of assistant to the mayor available and for Voogd, it raised concerns about how this hiring will take place.

Voogd abstained from the vote. All other commissioners voted in favor of the move.

“It’s sort of easy to talk about abstract ideas or buzzwords, it can be a lot more difficult to actually follow through on those commitments to the public like transparency and an open, fair hiring process,” Voogd said.

When asked about these concerns, Entler said she is grateful to be in the position of the village administrator and encourages people to speak their minds freely.

“People should have the opportunity to say how they feel,” Entler said. “I can’t control how people feel. I’m just grateful that majority of the council and the department heads, that I work with, felt confident that I could do the job.”

Correction Jan. 26, 11:56 a.m: This article was updated to reflect Voogd’s correct action. She abstained from voting. We apologize for the error.