Comment on Algonquin Township fires Ryan Provenzano as chief of staff

ALGONQUIN — Ryan Provenzano, a political insider who earned more than $33 an hour in two Algonquin Township offices, has been fired. On Tuesday morning, Township Supervisor Charles Lutzow terminated his 23-year-old chief of staff’s employment and banned him from the premises. Lutzow would not comment on why he fired Provenzano, whose roles in two offices have raised questions among township officials and road district employees who contend that his hiring was the product of patronage and cronyism. Despite several phone calls to his cellphone, Provenzano could not be reached for comment on his firing.  The Republican had agreements in place to earn $63,000 a year working full time as the chief of staff in Lutzow’s office, earning $32 an hour – and another deal working part time as deputy highway commissioner at the Algonquin Township Highway Department, where he made $33 an hour. That’s about $4 more an hour than the road district’s highest-paid employee, Randy Voss, who has worked for the highway department for 44 years and makes $29.14 an hour. It is unclear whether Provenzano will continue working for the road district.