Two vie to finish Connelly DuPage board term

With DuPage County Board member Michael Connelly leaving for Springfield as a newly elected state representative, two well-known names are emerging to finish the two years in his term.

Republicans had hoped to tap former longtime board member Bob Heap, but Democrat Tony Michelassi's surprise upset of Gerry Cassioppi in District 5 has made filling Connelly's seat a contest.

County board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom ultimately makes the recommendation to the board. He's never had an appointment rejected, and acknowledged that both Heap and Cassioppi have expressed an interest in taking the job. Both are from Naperville.

"There are a number of people who are interested and others have approached me advocating for certain people," Schillerstrom said. "Those two would be the front-runners from the point of view of people who have been most aggressive in contacting me and having supporters contacting me."

Cassioppi has begun his campaign for the job, openly declaring his desire to be seated. He was a regular fixture at most board meetings and many committee hearings during the campaign. He came in third in the three-man race Tuesday, 2,000 votes behind second-place Michelassi.

"I'm definitely still interested in a seat on the board and want to be given due consideration," Cassioppi said. "I can't imagine there'd be anyone else with as much current information ready to hit the ground running."

Meanwhile, Heap is taking a more passive approach. With 16 years of county board experience under his belt in that district, he said he'd accept the job if that's what Schillerstrom wants.

"I would be interested if the chairman thinks it's the right thing," Heap said. "It's kind of out of my hands."

Heap said he was approached about taking over the remaining years of Connelly's term before the election, but hasn't had any recent talks with anyone about it. If appointed, he didn't know if he'd seek to retain the seat.

"I don't know what's going to happen in two years," he said.

Connelly won't take office in Springfield until January. Schillerstrom said he's in no hurry to find a replacement for the outgoing board member and won't ask him to resign the seat any earlier than Connelly wants to. He said he'd speak with Connelly about a possible replacement before making a decision.

"Mike Connelly's opinion always matters to me, and I'll take it under consideration," he said.

For his part, Connelly said both Cassioppi and Heap would "bring great value" to the board, but was unhappy with Tuesday's election results.

"I'm devastated what happened over my friend Gerry Cassioppi," Connelly said. "But this guy, with no disrespect to the other candidates, I believe he's the most qualified and would have brought the most experience to the board."