Ruscitti making bid for DuPage GOP chair

Early indications suggest the DuPage County GOP may get its first female leader, regardless of the outcome of a party vote.

The DuPage County Superintendent of Education — originally expected to be a tough primary challenger for Republican Congressman Joe Walsh — has announced her candidacy for DuPage County GOP Chairwoman, joining Naperville Township GOP chair Rachel Ossyra in a bid for the office.

Neither move is opposed by the DuPage GOP's current chair, state Rep. Randy Ramey, who said Wednesday he may not run for the office again because of a possible government appointment.

Darlene Ruscitti, of Bloomingdale, said Wednesday that she is stepping up because she sees an “opportunity to put my talents and skills to good use. This is about modernizing, telling our story better,” she said.

County party leaders will cast votes for chair at the DuPage County Republican Convention on April 18 at the county government complex in Wheaton. Only GOP precinct committeemen can vote, and the votes are weighted by how many Republican ballots were pulled in each precinct for the March primary, party officials explained

Ramey — defeated in a 23rd Senate primary by state Sen. Carol Pankau, of Itasca — says he's unsure whether he'll be running for re-election to the party post himself because of a possible government position he was not yet ready to unveil specifics on. Sources say he is being considered for an appointment by Gov. Pat Quinn.

“It's possible I'm not going to run due to some opportunities that have been offered to me that may preclude me from being the chairman,” Ramey said.

He does, however, plan to stay active in the county's Wayne Township Republican organization.

In a letter to DuPage Republican committeemen Wednesday, Ruscitti, a three-term regional superintendent, touted her leadership and organization skills.

She noted to the Daily Herald that she has a “global perspective” of the county from her years in her position — having made connections in townships throughout the state's second most populous county.

Ruscitti also serves as chair of the Illinois Victory Program, the state GOP's voter-identification and get-out-the-vote campaign fine-tuned in recent months by U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk.

Ruscitti was named to that position shortly after bowing out of the congressional race against Walsh late last December. Her move largely functioned to consolidate GOP support behind Walsh, the prominent McHenry Tea Partyer who jumped districts to avoid a primary fight against 14th District Rep. Randy Hultgren, of Winfield.

Ruscitti said then that though her campaign “collected over 4,000 petition signatures, signed up hundreds of volunteers and gained the support of dozens of elected officials ... my role as a leader within the Illinois Republican Party and a desire to avoid a costly primary outweigh my personal political aspirations.”

Kirk said then he'd sensed that after Walsh announced, Ruscitti had been vacillating about a congressional bid, though she continued to hold fundraisers. He called her “the suburban leader we need to lead our targeted races to victory.”

Ossyra, a former petrochemical company executive from Aurora, said she believes the County party organization needs someone focused, organized and “truly committed to the role.”

Like Ruscitti, Ossyra agreed that the county party structure needed modernization.

To date, there has never been a female at the helm of the DuPage County organization.