Why selection of new Schaumburg Township assessor remains in limbo
Schaumburg Township Republican Committeeman Joe Folisi said he’s found at least two qualified people to recommend as replacements for Assessor John Lawson, who’s moved out of the township to a newly built home in Huntley.
But, he added, he can’t do anything until a vacancy is created by Lawson’s formal resignation.
“That’s up to him,” Folisi said of Lawson. “I think the time has come.”
Lawson so far hasn’t stepped down despite moving out of the township. Instead, he’s asked township Supervisor Tim Heneghan to discuss at an upcoming meeting the process by which interviews would be conducted and nominees narrowed.
“I don’t want to retire and then have it up for grabs,” Lawson said. “I want a very smooth transition. I want someone with the same management style and philosophy as myself, not to make it a political office. I will not do that to the residents, and I will not do that to the staff.”
Due to the academic certifications required of a township assessor, it’s an exception to the general rule that local elected officeholders immediately resign if they’ve given up their residency in the jurisdiction.
Though there’s a residency requirement to be elected, there isn't one to serve, according to Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman Matt Dietrich.
As long as Lawson lived in the township when he last ran in 2021 and won’t run again in 2025, there is no obligation for him to resign.
Lawson, who became assessor in 2004, said last year that he would not resign until a qualified candidate to replace him was available.
But Folisi said a succession plan hasn’t been strongly coordinated. In addition to the academic requirements, a township assessor appointee must be a member of the same political party as the person being replaced.
It falls to the township’s committeeman of that party — in Lawson’s case, Republican — to recommend an appointee, which the township board can act on or not.
Other than Heneghan, who would make the formal nomination to the board, the board’s four trustees are Democrats.
It's unclear whether a Democrat is preparing to run for township assessor in 15 months. Schaumburg Township Democratic Committeeman Michael Cudzik did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Folisi said at least one of the qualified people he’s found would be a Republican candidate for the office in the April 2025 election.
Lawson retired from the Roselle Police Department and now is serving as police chief of Harper College in Palatine.
Day-to-day operations in the Schaumburg Township assessor's office are overseen by Chief Deputy Assessor Victor Morales.