Lifelong Bolingbrook Resident Appointed As New Trustee

BOLINGBROOK, IL — When Bolingbrook Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta was elected in April, a seat on the Village Board of Trustees was left open. Filling the vacancy, Aimee Rupsis was approved as a trustee June 8.

This year marks Rupsis' 19th as a band director at Bolingbrook High School. She also holds various roles throughout the community, including as a board member for the Valley View Education Enrichment Foundation and as founder and board member of not-for-profit organization CHIME! (Children Having Instruments for Music Education).

The new trustee has a bachelor's degree in music education and a master's of education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne.

Rupsis thanked her family and the board for "entrusting her with this role."

"Both my husband and I are lifelong residents of Bolingbrook, and we do treasure the experience of raising our family in this outstanding town," Rupsis said.

As one of her goals as mayor, Alexander-Basta said she wants to get Bolingbrook's youth more involved in the community, and Rupsis fit the bill as someone who could help with that.

"She was a perfect fit to help reach out to the youth, get them more involved [in the community]," Alexander-Basta said about Rupsis.

Trustee Michael Carpanzano said he's "excited for the future of this board."

Rupsis' introduction to those at the meeting was met with some contention. Trustee Sheldon Watts said he was disappointed with the process to fill the position. He said there was a lack of transparency not only to the community but also to himself as a board member and that this meeting was the first he had heard of Rupsis' nomination.

"Politics is one thing, and I certainly understand the dynamics at play," Watts said. "But professionalism and respect should always prevail. Both of those elements were missing from this process, and others, since the election. I have absolutely nothing against the nominee. I have always strived to be a team player. In fact, I know Aimee, and I like Aimee."

State statutes mandate the mayor fill the position, which is then approved by the board. Alexander-Basta said this is how the process was done in the past and that she is following state ordinates "to a T." She said the reason she didn't share the name was "a fear of getting attacked on social media."

"I am not going to entertain social media," the mayor said. "Social media isn't going to be the way that this board does business. My number is available, as well as my email address, and this door is always open. If you want clarification, I'm more than happy to give it to you."