Gary Grasso: 2026 candidate for DuPage County chairman

Bio

Office sought: DuPage County chairman

Party: Republican

City: Burr Ridge

Age: 75

Previous offices held: Mayor of Burr Ridge, DuPage County Board Member

Q&A

Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

I am running because DuPage families deserve a county government that lives within its means, treats people with respect, and does the job.

Janet and I have lived here 36 years. We raised six children in DuPage; our grandchildren are growing up here. I have served as mayor of Burr Ridge, as a County Board member, and as chair of the 9-1-1 Board. Burr Ridge is debt-free, civil, and focused on results. That is the standard I will bring to Wheaton.

The last budget adopted before this Chair took office was $584.1 million. Her new proposal is $710.7 million — about $127 million higher, and $49 million more in one year. That is a spending problem, not a rate speech. Taxpayers should see appreciable benefits — they have not.

The public feud between the Chair and the Clerk has wasted time, trust, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Residents do not care who won the last argument. They care that the boardroom stopped sounding like a place where adults work through a budget.

I am not running to settle scores. I'm running to hold the line on spending, keep public safety first and restore civility so the Board can govern. That is the job. That is why I am in this race.

If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the job and what would your priority be?*

I am the challenger, not the incumbent. What I bring is a record of running government, not just commenting on it.

I have served as mayor of Burr Ridge, as a DuPage County Board member, as chairman of the county 9-1-1 Board, and on the DuPage County Board of Health. Those jobs are how a county actually works: budgets, public safety, health, and the offices that have to cooperate.

As mayor, we built a real downtown, kept Burr Ridge debt-free, and this month the Village Board voted to abate the village portion of the property tax. The village share of a tax bill is small. The point is larger: plan the money before you spend it.

On the 9-1-1 Board I led the consolidation of two modern call centers that protect nearly a million residents, saved the county millions a year, and put a vacant building back to work.

My priority as Chair is straightforward. Bring spending under control. Make public safety Job One, working with the State’s Attorney and the Sheriff. And run honest elections by working with the Clerk, not against the Clerk. Restore trust. Do the job.

Is there a specific service or amenity that is lacking in the county? If so, how do you propose to provide and fund it?

What DuPage lacks is not another county program. It is a county government that stops duplicating work towns and townships already do well.

The Board’s land-use authority covers only unincorporated DuPage — about 12 percent of the county. Cities and villages run the rest. Residents in those pockets should not live under a separate Wheaton zoning code that fights the town next door. Conform the county ordinance to the neighboring municipality, fold routine zoning into those towns by agreement, and stop paying for a second planning shop to regulate a sliver of land.

The same is true of roads. Townships already maintain township roads and do it well. Enter intergovernmental agreements so they maintain the remaining county roads in their townships, with a fair county payment. That payment will cost less than running a highway operation out of Wheaton — and it avoids building new county capacity we do not need.

Fund it from savings, not a new tax. Streamline the work, pay the governments closest to the pavement and the property, and put the difference back toward holding the line on spending.

What initiatives would you support to increase revenue and/or save money?

The first dollar saved is the dollar we do not spend.

I would stop the new county transportation garage planned for the Wheaton fairgrounds — about $73 million to $82 million for a building to house a road operation we can shrink. Townships already maintain roads well. Pay them a fair amount under intergovernmental agreements to maintain the remaining county roads in each township. That payment will cost less than running the work from Wheaton, and it removes the case for the new facility.

On the tax side, I would take the Burr Ridge approach to the county levy: live within our means, then work to abate the county portion of the property tax. That share is a small slice of a typical bill — on the order of $131 on a $350,000 home — but the statement matters. If a dedicated half-cent sales tax, still below Cook County rates, is the lawful way to replace that levy and fund the township road payments, I would put that swap before the Board and, where the law requires it, before the voters. No blank new revenue. A replacement, with the savings attached.

Hold the line first. Then change how the remaining work is paid for.

How would you manage the overall county budget, particularly as it relates to controlling the expenses of county offices that report to the county board but control their own budgets.

Good government is checks and balances. The Chair does not own every office. The Board does own the appropriation.

The Chair’s new all-funds proposal is $710.7 million — $49 million above the $661.5 million budget now in force, and about $127 million above the last budget adopted before she took office. That climb is the problem. I would not start from her number and nibble.

For departments that report to the Board — development, highways, administration — I would set a 10 percent reduction target and build the budget up from actual need. That is where zoning and road work can move to towns and townships, and where a new $80 million transportation garage should come off the table.

Elected offices are different. The Clerk, Sheriff, Treasurer, and State’s Attorney have their own statutory jobs. The Board still writes the check. I would appropriate a responsible amount, release it in quarterly allotments, and review spending with each office before the next quarter goes out. Collaboration, not a feud. No surprise shortfalls in elections or public safety, and no blank annual spend.

Watch the money as it goes out. Do not wait until November to learn the office blew the line.