Three seek two DuPage District 5 seats

A young Democrat vying to represent Naperville and Lisle on the DuPage County Board is using the controversial EJ&E railroad sale to critique his Republican opponents.

Two of three 5th District seats are open on the 18-seat board. One seat is being vacated by retiring board member Bob Schroeder, while incumbent Jim Healy is running for a fourth term. He's joined in the race by fellow Republican Gerry Cassioppi, vice president of the District 203 school board, and Democrat Tony Michelassi, a 22-year-old COD graduate from Aurora.

Michelassi decided to run for the County Board when he noticed that the Democratic ballot he filled out in the February primary lacked candidates. He had just received an associate's degree in political science from COD, after transferring from a degree program in rhetoric at the University of Illinois.

Now, Michelassi is living at home with his parents and working as a clerk at Jewel-Osco as he runs for the seat. He says he hopes to attend Aurora University in the spring to pursue a bachelor's degree in political science.

He says his age isn't important - what matters is that he has grown up in the 5th District.

"We've seen young politicians elected to higher offices in this state and across the country," said Michelassi, mentioning state Rep. Aaron Schock - who was first elected to the state House at age 23 and is now running for Congress.

"I think my age is something people could use to try and give themselves an excuse not to vote for me," he said. "But once they realize that like them, I'm just a concerned resident and I've grown up in this area, I think that won't be as much of a factor."

Michelassi has joined Healy and Cassioppi in criticizing a $220 million capital plan recently proposed by Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom. But his tone changes when he talks about the fight Healy and other board members are waging against the likely acquisition of the EJ&E railroad by Canadian National Railway.

To relieve its five lines radiating from Chicago, CN wants to expand the use of EJ&E: a 198-mile line that arcs across the suburbs and could smite DuPage County with traffic backups if at least four overpasses aren't constructed. That's a top concern for county and municipal officials, who say CN should pay for a significant portion of the construction costs.

Healy would better serve the county by treating CN like a partner, not an enemy, Michelassi says. Calling the sale a done deal from the very beginning, he says the county would be more likely to win more mitigation dollars from CN if board members adopted a more conciliatory tone.

"I think the stance the county has taken against this sale has not been providing the best service to its residents," Michelassi said. "You don't treat CN as our enemy. They're not going to be very responsive to local communities, but opposing them and browbeating them against a sale, that's not going to get us anywhere."

But Healy, who has spent much of his 10 years on the board building a reputation on transportation issues, says Michelassi doesn't understand the attitude of CN officials. He says he is amazed Michelassi is so naive as to think that CN will contribute any mitigation money without being put under significant pressure.

"He thinks we can all get together and all have a drink and everybody will be happy," Healy said. "Without the pressure we've been putting on them, those dollars would not be coming in."

As chairman of the county's transportation committee, Healy has led the fight against the EJ&E sale. He's also building clout on the national level with an appointment just last month to the vice chairmanship of the National Transportation Committee for the National Association of Counties.

Boasting a strong record of community involvement, Healy, 50, lives in Naperville with his wife, Beverly, and three children, David, Eric and Alayna. He endorsed Cassioppi, also 50, in January, likely giving him the boost he needed to win the primary election.

Both men are lawyers: Healy practices corporate, municipal and real estate law, while Cassioppi specializes in corporate transactions and estate planning.

Cassioppi's first political foray was unsuccessful - a bid for the Naperville City Council in 1999 - but it perked his interest in public office. After serving on the Naperville Transportation Advisory Board, he ran for the 203 school board in 2003 and served as vice president from 2006 to 2007.

Cassioppi, who moved to Naperville 18 years ago, has a wife, Stephanie, and two sons, Andrew and Peter. As a CPA, he would bring more to the table than other County Bboard members, he says.

"I thought my financial background and experience would be a help on the board," he said. "At the County Board, there's not a lot of people with a strong financial background."

All three candidates criticize DuPage County Chairman Bob Schillerstrom and the $220 million in capital improvements he's planning over the next five years. The large-scale project is part of Schillerstrom's proposed 2009 budget, which is the first spending plan in two years not subject to dramatic cuts.

Funding the plan almost entirely with bonds, as is Schillerstrom's intent, is a bad idea, Cassioppi said. He suggested extending the plan over 10 years so the county could save more money as insurance against another financial crisis.

"I think the idea is a good idea, but I'm a little nervous about funding it through bonding," Cassioppi said. "I get nervous because I've seen a lack of good financial planning at the county level and that's why we see these financial surprises."

Similarly, Healy said Schillerstrom's budget is short-sighted because it fails to look beyond five years and leaves open the possibility of similar financial shortfalls in the future.

"That is a shortcoming of this budget," Healy said. "It tried to do a lot of things, but it doesn't look past the fifth year, the 10th year, the 20th year. We sometimes have to pick and choose what projects we want to do now so we don't have to go through this again."

Michelassi is skeptical that the capital plan focuses on the correct improvements, expressing doubt that projects like an interchange at Eola Road and Interstate 88 and 75th Street improvements are necessary right now. He says money should be set aside to pay for the overpasses needed after the potential EJ&E sale.

"I think right now what we need are funds that would be allocated to more pressing infrastructure investments," Michelassi said. "I think it would be more prudent right now if the county set aside money for mitigating some of the costs of that sale."

Two of the three candidates will be elected to four-year terms on the County Board on Nov. 4.