Schaumburg school staffer appointed Rosemont village trustee

Samantha Wong-Balogh — a Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 speech pathologist and wife of a Rosemont cop and school board member — is the newest Rosemont village trustee.

Wong-Balogh was the choice of Mayor Brad Stephens to fill the village board seat of Roger Minale, who died of a heart attack Aug. 26, just moments after returning home from a ribbon cutting in town.

Stephens said Wong-Balogh stood out from 11 people who submitted letters and resumes, then sat for an interview. She took the oath of office after trustees voted to confirm the mayor’s appointment at a village board meeting this week.

“Samantha has strong connections to the community and is raising her family in Rosemont with her husband Joe,” Stephens said. “I’m confident that she will bring new energy and fresh perspectives to the board.”

Wong-Balogh, a resident of the tiny-yet-powerful Northwest suburban entertainment and business mecca for 12 years, is a lifelong resident of Leyden Township and grew up in Franklin Park, where her family used to own and operate the popular Leu’s Oriental Chop Suey restaurant.

She is the high school sweetheart of Joe Balogh, a Rosemont Public Safety Department lieutenant and the chief spokesman for the combined police-fire agency.

Joe Balogh also serves on the single-school Rosemont Elementary District 78 board of education and is president of the Rosemont Voters’ League, the 1970s-era political committee that has long recruited and supported candidates for local offices.

Wong-Balogh will serve the remaining time on Minale’s term through the April 2027 election, then can decide to seek a full four-year term.

“I’m very excited to work with the board and I am grateful for this opportunity to continue the great work that the mayor and trustees have already undertaken,” she said. “Rosemont is a terrific place, and I’m honored to serve the community here.”