SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) – A Land of Lincoln Goodwill leader has resigned days after the company said it would lay off disabled workers.
President and CEO Sharon Durbin is stepping down and will be replaced by Ron Culves, current vice president of finance, as the interim CEO. The nonprofit organization reversed an announced plan to refocus a Vocational Rehab program and pull disabled worker paychecks, calling it an “error in judgment” and something that “falls short of living up to our mission” when it changed its decision.
Land of Lincoln Goodwill talked about plans to move forward in a Thursday evening press release.
“Land of Lincoln Goodwill’s Board is strongly committed to our mission, to our 400 employees and to those individuals with disabilities, veterans, at-risk youth, ex-offenders and those seeking job training assistance that we serve,” the release said. “The Board fully intends to seek out a strong, compassionate leader for our Goodwill organization who can energize our employees, expand our mission and who can provide the mission-driven leadership necessary to positively impact thousands of lives each year in central Illinois.
Goodwill’s Board of Directors thanked Sharon for her 13 years of service to the organization, noting her many accomplishments and the overall growth of the nonprofit and the number of people served during her tenure.”
Sen. Andy Manar had called for a full review of state contracts and funding given to the nonprofit business after its initial decision was announced. He said the business should be “ashamed of itself” for planning to remove “opportunity for the most vulnerable people in the state while simultaneously driving up executive compensation”.
Land of Lincoln Goodwill gets close to $400,000 in taxpayer-funded contracts and, under the new Illinois budget, was slated to get a 3.5 funding increase.
