Chamber announces its endorsements

With two more weeks before the election, the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Political Action Commission has given the thumbs-up to a handful of candidates vying for the City Council, park board and District 203 and 204 school boards.

"Now more than ever, given the economy and budget pressures all these panels are facing, (candidates) need to have a unique set of skills to meet those challenges," said NACPAC Vice President Dennis Culloton.

NACPAC has endorsed two incumbents and two newcomers out of 16 contenders for the City Council. Council members Kenn Miller and Jim Boyajian made the list for the strong work they've done, while member Doug Krause is absent. That's because he didn't convince the 15-member board that he was sensitive to the concerns of chamber members, Culloton said.

"The board members were very concerned that they'd always have an open door with City Council members," Culloton said. "So to the extent that these folks have been endorsed, they are the candidates we felt were the strongest in hitting those criteria."

Judy Brodhead, a professor at North Central College, and local entrepreneur Joe McElroy completed the list, which includes only four candidates even though there are five seats open on the council.

It's the opposite case when it comes to the park board, for which NACPAC endorsed five candidates for four seats. Incumbents Suzanne Hart and Gerry Heide made the cut, along with catering business owner Tim Belgio, financial services agent Mike Reilly and entrepreneur Rich Janor.

For the District 203 school board, NACPAC endorsed incumbent Jackie Romberg and newcomers Michael DelCiello, Jim Dennison, Steve Deutsch and Dave Weeks. Endorsed candidates for District 204 include incumbent Cathy Piehl and newcomers Dawn DeSart, Jerry Huang, Susan Rasmus and Mark Rising.

The NACPAC board, which is distinct from the chamber board and exists to support specific candidates and legislation, gave 15 to 20-minute interviews to 44 candidates over the course of five days. A supermajority of the board had to approve each endorsement.

NACPAC took a position against the idea of a slate of candidates, Culloton said. The only slated candidate the board endorsed was Jerry Huang for District 204.

Some of the board's most heated discussions took place over the school board candidates, Culloton said. Issues of declining enrollment are especially pressing hard on District 203, he said.

"From a business perspective, strong school districts are important," he said.