New Itasca trustee brings experience

With eight candidates vying for an open seat on the Itasca village board of trustees, current officials agreed Lucy Santorsola's government experience put her above the rest.

The Itasca village board voted unanimously Wednesday, June 9, to appoint Santorsola to fill the seat vacated by Jeff Pruyn last April, when he was elected village president. She will be sworn in at next week's village board meeting.

"Given the turnover we've had I thought it would be good to have someone who could step right in and understand the process," said Pruyn.

Santorsola is the second new trustee to be appointed this year, after Marty Hower replaced Trustee Ron Putzell in February. Putzell died suddenly in his home last winter.

As a project manager, Santorsola spent 19 years working for the Cook County Housing Authority. She said her career taught her to navigate bureaucracy and communication within large government entities. In her previous post, she was responsible for facilitating communication between 12,000 clients and 8,000 landlords within the housing authority, she said.

Santorsola is now self-employed, which she said will allow her more time to serve Itasca.

"This will give me a good opportunity to do something formally outside of volunteering at the school, with the swim team or baseball" said Santorsola.

An Itasca resident for 13 years, Santorsola and her husband have two teenage sons who attended Itasca District 10 schools and are now enrolled at St. Viator Catholic High School in Arlington Heights. Her family attends St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church and her mother and extended family also call the village home.

As she steps into her new role, Santorsola said she wants to spend time understanding the village's primary concerns before carving out major goals for Itasca.

"I just want to get my feet wet and be a liaison with the community and the board," she said.