Former Hannibal City Councilman says ‘karma remains undefeated’ in wake of Peck’s May 13 departure

HANNIBAL — Hannibal City Manager Lisa Peck was quoted in a news release issued Wednesday by the City of Salem (Ill.) that she was “eager” to work with Salem city officials in the capacity of her new position as the town’s future city manager, effective June 2.

April Azotea, candidate for 2nd Ward Council Member in the upcoming April 8 municipal election, and former 3rd Ward Councilman Stephan Franke were happy with the news as well.

“It’s a great day for Hannibal,” Franke said in a statement emailed Thursday afternoon to Muddy River News. “Lisa taking a job in a city less than half Hannibal’s size for less pay guarantees that karma remains undefeated.”

Salem is home to 7,056 residents and is roughly three hours and 15 minutes southeast of Hannibal, which has 16,838 residents. Southern Illinois news outlet WJBD reported before the city’s announcement of Peck that the Salem position paid $125,000 — a $15,000 pay cut from Peck’s current salary of $140,662.60 with the City of Hannibal.

Allegations that Franke had caused Peck pain by grabbing her arm “in a non-consensual manner” during a May 4, 2021 Hannibal City Council meeting, which was live streamed and is still available on YouTube, led to impeachment proceedings in January 2022.

Franke filed a civil suit in May 2022 against the City of Hannibal, former Mayor James Hark, former City Clerk Angel Zerbonia, Municipal Judge Donald Bastian and five members of the Hannibal City Council — Charles Phillips of the 4th Ward, Mike Dobson of the 2nd Ward, Darrell McCoy of the 1st Ward, Colin Welch of the 5th Ward and Jeffery Veach of the 6th Ward.

Phillips and Dobson remain on the council. Phillips and McCoy are running for mayor next month, and Welch and Veach have both since resigned.

The impeachment proceedings were deemed by a judge to have violated Franke’s right of due process in June 2022 and later dismissed by another judge in June 2023.

Azotea claimed at a Feb. 4 council meeting that Peck’s allegations were false and questioned the efficacy and value of her performance as Hannibal’s city manager.

“I for one am glad she’s leaving, as we never should of [sic] renewed her contract last year, especially after her false allegations,” Azotea said in an emailed statement Wednesday night. “Her lies were at the expense of the taxpayers but also cost us a good councilman who was proactive and would have been so good for the City of Hannibal.”

City Attorney James Lemon classified Azotea’s Feb. 4 criticisms as “a personal attack on the city manager.”

Roughly seven months earlier, during a July 2024 closed session council meeting, Lemon “advised that it would be appropriate for the council to approve Ms. Peck’s request” for the city “to hire an outside counsel to defend her in the ongoing Stephan Franke lawsuit.”

Voting in favor of Peck’s request were Phillips, Nathan Munger of the 6th Ward, Scott Haycraft of the 1st Ward, Mayor Pro Tem Dobson and Robert Koehn of the 3rd Ward. Welch and Mayor Barry Louderman opposed.

“Every action has a reaction, and choices sometimes have consequences. Unfortunately the damage is already done. At least with her gone, she can’t screw over the city anymore, and we can find someone who truly cares about being a good steward of the taxpayer dollars,” Azotea said in her statement.

Peck was sworn in as Hannibal City Manager in 2019 for a two-year term with an annual salary of $117,000. Her contract was renewed for a three-year term in 2021 with an annual salary of $122,921. It was renewed again in July 2024 for a five-year term with her current annual salary of $140,662.60.

In the same period Peck’s salary increased by more than $23,000, firefighters’ salaries have increased by roughly $5,000. The low, non-competitive starting pay of $42,000 has led to “beyond critical” staffing issues at the Hannibal Fire Department that have resulted in threats to public safety and potential increases in insurance costs.

The fire department’s funding disparities were the primary topic of debate at the Feb. 4 meeting in which Azotea made comments critical of Peck, including her salary raises.

“What about (the firefighters)? It wasn’t important enough to give them a raise but it was important enough to give someone who’s making false allegations a raise?” Azotea questioned at the meeting.

In his statement, Franke said Peck, Hark and “future mayor” McCoy were “cronies” in a years-long coordinated effort to remove him from office, resulting in multiple court rulings against Hannibal after he claimed the city violated his rights.

“In spite of the thousands of dollars spent defending the actions of Ms. Peck, (and) despite the number of good city employees who left during her tenure, Darrell led a successful effort to extend her contract five more years to keep her in Hannibal until 2029, an unprecedented contract length in most professional settings,” Franke wrote. “Lisa has proved Darrell’s leadership to be witless as she has overseen an expanding budget deficit, convinced the council to use taxpayer dollars to pay for her personal attorney in my lawsuits against her, and been a bad actor in the deteriorating relationship between the city and Hannibal Fire Local 1211.”

Peck was unavailable for comment Thursday — her secretary said she had “several meetings” scheduled — but a news release issued Friday afternoon said May 13 will be her last day as an employee of the City of Hannibal.

“I wish the good people of Hannibal the very best, and I have enjoyed working with staff and elected officials here,” Peck said in the release. “This has not been an easy decision, and I want to express my deep gratitude for the opportunity to work alongside such a talented and dedicated team. I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together and I have the utmost confidence that you will continue to thrive in the future.”

The release stated the council will be naming an interim city manager at a special meeting March 25, though Louderman said it would be hard to replace her and that he was “sorry to see her go.” A closed session meeting with all council members and Lemon is scheduled for the day before.

Louderman commended her ability to “find financial solutions” by combining “strategic planning and careful management,” citing a recent contract with General Mills that is expected to save the city $500,000 and her ability to secure “more grant money… than the five previous city managers combined.” He also lauded her performance during the pandemic and stated that “she thoughtfully used the city’s COVID funding.”

“When she was hired, Hannibal had no money in reserve, we were more than $2 million in debt and we had a bond rating at a negative. Now in five years we have an AA bond rating, two healthy reserve accounts and an Infrastructure account with a little more than $2 million for large projects,” Louderman said in the release.

Dobson was quoted in the release saying it was “Hannibal’s loss” that Peck was leaving and stated that “she has been a fighter” in her involvement with plans to demolish St. Elizabeth’s Hospital.

Franke questioned why Peck should be allowed to remain employed by the city for two months.

“Why allow her to stay and potentially incur future liability for the city?” he wrote. “She obviously has no respect for Hannibal as when the news broke (Wednesday), City Hall didn’t even know Lisa was taking a new job. Lisa has repaid council’s misplaced trust in her by again making them look ridiculous and unprepared.”

Though he was quoted in the release, Dobson did not initially comment except to say, “I saw what you saw on Facebook.”

“I hope the council finds the courage and wisdom to show her the door well before she starts her new job,” Franke wrote.

Salem Mayor Nic Farley said Peck was chosen from a pool of more than 50 applicants. In an email sent Friday to Muddy River News, Farley said the hiring process “involved national recruitment, application screening, DISC personality assessments, multiple rounds of interviews, and reference and background checks” for her alignment with Salem’s goals and “organizational culture.”

“As part of our due diligence, we conducted a thorough and professional evaluation process including but not limited to background checks and media-sourced information. It is the City of Salem’s position not to disclose or comment on specific interview questions or responses or on pending litigation involving other municipalities or public officials,” Farley wrote. “Our decision to hire Ms. Peck was based on her professional qualifications, experience in municipal leadership and alignment with the City of Salem’s long-term goals.”