Joliet administrators have hired a local radio reporter to be a public information officer and the coordinator of special events.
Kevin Hegarty, the news director of WJOL-AM in Joliet, accepted the position last week after being selected from a field of 122 candidates. Hegarty, 26, who will be paid $42,500 a year, will start on April 17.
Administrators and council members identified the need for the dual position when the fiscal year 2000 budget was developed last fall, said deputy city manager James Shapard.
Hegarty will be responsible for dealing with the media and helping coordinate about 10 special events, including parades and a car show in June, that Joliet co-sponsors each year, Shapard said.
“There are a lot of good things going on in Joliet and we don’t toot our horn enough about those positive things,” Shapard said. “We were impressed with Kevin’s poise, his ability to think on his feet, his radio personality and his energy.”
“Being a reporter in the town for the last few years, I saw a need for it,” Hegarty said about the public information officer position.
“I realized that I had never been to a City of Joliet press conference.”
