Secrecy Again To Pick Burr Ridge Area Lawmaker?

BURR RIDGE, IL – When it comes to filling vacant seats in the legislature, both Democrats and Republicans are often secretive.

This time, area Republicans appear to be following that tradition, even though a GOP leader says the party will be "transparent."

The GOP is tasked with filling the 82nd District state representative's seat. More than 100,000 people live in the district, which includes parts of Burr Ridge, Darien and Western Springs, among other towns.

On Dec. 8, state Rep. John Egofske, a Lemont Republican, resigned after 10 months in the job.

In Illinois, party insiders have the right to fill a seat occupied by one of their own.

On Wednesday, the Republicans announced that they would give applicants until 4 p.m. next Tuesday to submit their names and information.

At 5 p.m. next Wednesday, GOP leaders plan to meet at the Lemont Public Library to appoint a replacement.

That gives the public a 23-hour window to vet the applicants. And that's if the GOP decides to release the names beforehand. No law requires such openness, and the party didn't release names last time.

In its news release, the Republican Party announced its meeting would be open to the public, which is not required under the law.

"Our committee looks forward to a transparent and thorough process to fill this important position," Jim Zay, chairman of the DuPage County Republican Party, said in the release.

Patch left a message for comment with Zay.

Area Republicans went through the same process in February after Rep. Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, the House Republican leader, resigned after being re-elected.

In that case, GOP officials kept the names secret until the meeting to appoint someone. The applicants then were Egofske, Lemont's mayor, and Nicole La Ha Zwiercan.

For next March's Republican primary, Nicole La Ha Zwiercan is the only candidate in the race. So she may well be appointed next week.

La Ha Zwiercan is a former Homer Glen trustee, the 2022 Mrs. America and the former Illinois State Senate secretary. She has Egofske's endorsement.

Those interested in applying this time are asked to submit a resume and letter of reference from a Republican elected official to Tony Esposito. He can be reached by email or at 847-652-6740