Replacement for nonresident Schaumburg Township assessor expected to be named soon
A qualified, certified Republican appointee to succeed longtime Schaumburg Township Assessor John Lawson - who moved to Huntley last year but continues to serve - is expected to be nominated this fall.
Schaumburg Township Republican Committeeman Joe Folisi, who is responsible for making such a nomination to the township board, said he expects to have a choice of people he considers qualified once they complete the educational requirements to fill the position through the end of Lawson's term in April 2025.
"I feel confident we'll have a couple very well-qualified people in a short period of time," Folisi said. "It's a long, arduous process."
Lawson said he had to use all of his police officer job's vacation time for 18 months to attend the classes needed to fulfill the academic requirements to succeed Paul Froehlich as township assessor in the spring of 2004.
"My commitment to the township and the Republican Party is to stay there until they find a candidate who is certified for that position," Lawson said. "We did so much to get that office to the way it is today."
Though there is a residency requirement to run for the office, 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 didn't plan to run again in 2025, there was no obligation for him to resign when he moved away a year ago.
But some degree of coordination would be required to replace him before the end of his term.
Even when Folisi has a qualified candidate ready, he can't nominate an appointee until Lawson resigns to create the vacancy.
As township offices are partisan, an appointee must be a member of the same party as the elected official he or she would replace, Folisi said.
Schaumburg Township Supervisor Tim Heneghan, a Republican, said is ready to forward any nomination by Folisi to the rest of the otherwise Democratic board members for a vote.
Though the Democrats have no option to appoint a member of their party to the vacant office midterm, it's unclear whether they're preparing a qualified candidate of their own to run for township assessor in 20 months.
Schaumburg Township Democratic Committeeman Michael Cudzik did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Day-to-day operations in the Schaumburg Township assessor's office are overseen by its hired chief deputy assessor, Victor Morales.