Gary Grasso

Dear Dupage County Voter,

I am asking for your vote and support in the Republican primary for DuPage County Board Chairman.

As the Mayor of Burr Ridge, a member of the DuPage County Board of Health since 1999, a former Downers Grove Township Republican Committeeman, and a lawyer, I have the education, training, professional and municipal executive experience, and accomplishments to be the next Chairman. My wife Janet and I have been married for 31 years and have raised six great children in DuPage County.

In Burr Ridge, we built a Village Center, and are constructing a Police facility that includes a Veterans Memorial; all done without raising property taxes. As Mayor, I successfully fought ComEd’s tree cutting program that has decimated other Chicagoland communities. Burr Ridge is the only community that won this battle with ComEd. As DuPage Chairman, I will stop ComEd’s efforts to clear-cut and herbicide areas of our prairie path and the Great Western Trail.

As a member of the Board of Health, I helped to change the Board’s business model resulting in expanded services with a reduced budget. In his budget address to the County Board, Chairman Schillerstrom said: “I cannot think of any other county department reducing its budget while at the same time increasing services.”

I am the only candidate with DuPage government executive experience and a proven track record. My training, education, experience, and actions as Mayor and health department member make me well suited to be County Board Chairman.

On the other hand, Dan Cronin’s actions and Springfield votes demonstrate that he is not well suited to be the next DuPage County Chairman.

Last April, Dan suggested I run for DuPage County Board Chairman saying he was no longer interested in that position. In May, he also asked Carole Pankau to run. Then he announced his candidacy in June. Putting this puzzling behavior aside, just what is Dan’s Springfield tax voting record for this important job?

In 1999, Cronin voted YES to increase Illinois’s sales tax on liquor and increase our vehicle registration fees. When asked about his tax increase vote Cronin said, “I think we are going to look back on these votes and I believe that we’ll be heroes.”

In 2008, Dan voted YES for the RTA sales tax increase that raised taxes nearly a half-billion dollars annually. Supporters of the tax increase said the money would last a generation. Yet, we are already facing service cuts and demands for more taxes.

This year, Dan voted YES for video poker. Dan said YES to installing tens of thousands of video gaming terminals throughout Illinois ; a scourge that DuPage County and many municipalities resoundingly rejected.

Dan is vice-chairman of the State Senate Education Committee. But, Springfield has never met its obligation to public education. Illinois ranks 49th out of 50 in state support of public education.

Here is another fact to consider: over all his years in Springfield, Dan’s Republican senate colleagues have never brought him onto their leadership team. Why?

Finally, Dan has no County or municipal executive experience. None. It’s like supporting then Senator Obama to be President.

County government should not and cannot be all things to everyone; it must operate responsibly so that we can leave a prideful legacy for those that follow us. We must live within our means and be willing to say “No” respectfully and firmly to any tax and spend policies. I will work with the County Board members, build consensus, and with them, keep DuPage County a special place to live, work and raise a family. Watch all 4 candidates together during the Tribune’s joint interview at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials and decide who will best lead DuPage County.

I have the support of many DuPage mayors including those from Woodridge, Willowbrook, Westmont, Wayne, Roselle, Lombard, Lisle, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, and Carol Stream. Please go to grasso4dupage.com. Become a pebble-in-the-pond and help me get the word out over the next few weeks. Together we can direct DuPage County toward a prosperous, enviable future.

Sincerely,

Gary Grasso