Princeton council holds closed session on city manager; mayor apologizes and council says she will continue

The Princeton City Council met in a special session to discuss the performance of City Manager Teresa Whitnauer and moved into an executive session under Illinois statute before returning to the public chamber with a plan to keep Whitnauer in her post and improve council–manager communication.

The discussion matters because the meeting drew dozens of employees and residents who spoke in support of the manager and because the council’s path forward affects daily city operations, employee morale and ongoing capital projects.

Public comment at the meeting was dominated by city employees and longtime residents who urged the council not to remove Whitnauer and criticized the process that led to the special meeting. Matthew Miller, superintendent of fleet maintenance for the City of Princeton, told the council, “At the end of the day, I'm the man in back. I fix stuff.” Victoria Gibson, director of tourism, said the move to consider termination had “raised feelings of uncertainty and questions about how this decision will impact employee and public trust.” Several speakers cited the manager’s role in debt reduction and infrastructure projects: Jackie Davis said Whitnauer helped reduce the city’s debt “from $43,000,000 in debt to 13,000,000,” while Ken Parrish cited a similar figure, saying the debt fell from $42,000,000 to $14,000,000 during her tenure.

Several residents asked the council to explain the rationale and to clarify the council’s long-term vision for the city if the manager were removed. David Shouse asked, “If we're here to remove her, what's the vision for Princeton moving forward?” The council did not answer policy questions during public comment but said they would discuss concerns in private.

Council members moved to enter executive session under an Illinois statute permitting closed discussion of personnel matters. The roll call on that motion recorded council members Newman, Gomez, McCall and Grant voting “aye,” and Mayor Mabry voting “aye.” The motion to enter executive session carried and the chamber was cleared for the private discussion.

After roughly an hour in closed session, the council returned and Mayor Mabry apologized publicly for the way the meeting had been handled and described a path forward. “My full confidence is in moving forward with Teresa with our city manager. Continue on with her,” the mayor said. Several council members reiterated support for Whitnauer while acknowledging there were items to work through and promising better communication between council members and the manager going forward.

Council members said they and Whitnauer agreed on steps to improve communication, including continued written updates and more frequent contact between council members and the manager. One council member described the agreement as a “good agreement of what where we move forward with,” and said Whitnauer will continue to provide weekly reports used to update the council. No formal motion to terminate Whitnauer was taken on the public record during the meeting.

The meeting closed after a short period for additional public comment and scheduling; the council announced a next regular meeting for Monday, 04/21/2025 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Votes at a glance: the only formal recorded vote in the public record was to enter executive session under the Illinois statute; the motion passed on a roll-call vote (Newman — aye; Gomez — aye; McCall — aye; Grant — aye; Mayor Mabry — aye). No termination motion or employment action was recorded in the public minutes during the meeting.

The meeting record shows strong public support for Whitnauer from multiple staff members and residents and a council decision to address the council-manager relationship through private discussion and a publicly stated plan to continue the manager’s employment while improving communication.