Despite loss, GOP newcomer Grossi proud of 57th District campaign

Bill Grossi's first attempt to win elected office was not an easy one - he challenged Elaine Nekritz, a visible and well-established veteran of the state House.

Nekritz, a Democrat from Northbrook, retained her 57th seat on Tuesday. Despite that, Grossi says he feels good about the experience. He received 10,133 votes Tuesday, according to unofficial totals - roughly 45 percent of the vote.

"I think I ran an effective campaign, given the resources I had," Grossi said Wednesday. "I never resorted to negative campaigning - neither of us did - which I'm proud of, and I did as well as some other Republican candidates who had a lot more money at their disposal."

During the campaign, Grossi, a tax attorney from Mount Prospect, called for a variety of fiscal reforms in Springfield. He said the budgets of all state departments should be reviewed for waste and redundancy, and the state income tax increase should be allowed to expire on Jan. 1 as scheduled.

Grossi hopes that the election of Bruce Rauner as governor means some of those concerns will be addressed.

"We'll see," he said. "I'm hopeful at this point."

Grossi has some political experience, having served as precinct committeeman in Wheeling Township. Running for state office, though, was an eye-opening experience, he said.

"You don't really understand what's involved until you actually do it," he said.

Grossi said he's likely to try running for office again, but not right away, and not unless he can secure some financing from the Republican Party. Grossi financed most of his campaign himself.

"Money was a problem in the race," he said. "It put me at a real disadvantage. I disagreed with the party's decision not to put some money into my race.

"Like I said, though, I feel good about how it went. I congratulate (Nekritz), and I hope Illinois is in for some better times."