10 male, Republican lawyers on DuPage Board

How many lawyers does it take to run the DuPage County Board?

Ten, it turns out.

Of the 18 current DuPage County Board members, half are attorneys as is Chairman Robert Schillerstrom. And every last one of those attorneys is a Republican man.

Some Democratic candidates say that's evidence the board is a old boys lawyers club that doesn't reflect the county's diversity and promotes “groupthink."

“Everyone knows each other, everyone endorses each other, everyone contributes to each other's campaigns," said Karol Sole, an environmental consultant and Democratic candidate in DuPage County Board District 3. “What we have is a club here that doesn't like new members."

The lawyers object to that notion.

“I don't see the board being an old boys network," said Donald Puchalski, a lawyer running for re-election in District 1. “You have a lot of independent thinkers on the board, and a lot of votes that are 10-8."

And Jeff Redick, running for re-election in District 2, said he is offended that “attorney" and “man" are being characterized as negatives.

“I don't think that is a litmus test anyone should be using for these positions," Redick said. “The fact that someone wants to use the fact that I pursued a higher education against me is ludicrous."

The 18-member panel has only three women and three Democrats.

Rita Gonzalez works for the secretary of state. Debra Olson owns an electrical contracting business. Linda Kurzawa, who is retired from the pollution control field, is retiring from the county board after her term ends in November.

The three Democrats are Gonzalez; Tony Michelassi, a student, and Dirk Enger, a union ironworker.

The other non-attorneys on the board include a financial manager, an insurance agent, a developer and a purchasing manager.

In a spirited discussion during a Daily Herald endorsement session, county board candidates in District 1, District 2 and District 3 debated whether 10 lawyers is too many. All current board members from both District 2 and District 3 are attorneys.

“I do think we need to have more voices in our government," said Sole, who has an engineering background. “There are other positions out there, other lives that are not represented."

Not that anyone was knocking lawyers per se. Retired executive Cathy Sewell, a Democratic candidate in District 2, noted that her daughter, whom she is very proud of, is a trial attorney.

“This is nothing against any personal achievement, but as a businesswoman, I am concerned with a groupthink mentality," she said.

Not so, the lawyers countered. The attorneys on the county board all bring something different to the table because they have different legal specialties, Redick said. For example, he represents employers in unemployment compensation cases and medical providers in medical malpractice actions.

“To say that just because we have the same degree we are all the same person is wrong," he said.

Brian Krajewski, former mayor of Downers Grove and Republican candidate in District 3, distanced himself a bit from other legal minds.

Sure, he's a lawyer. But he's also, he quickly pointed out, a CPA.