For Burr Ridge Mayor, A Campaign Ad That Writes Itself

BURR RIDGE, IL – Burr Ridge's decision to eliminate its property tax is a campaign ad that can write itself.

The village's mayor, Gary Grasso, is running as a Republican for DuPage County Board chairperson against Democrat Deb Conroy of Elmhurst.

On Monday, the Burr Ridge Village Board voted unanimously to zero out its property tax and raise its sales tax by three-fourths of 1 percent.

The hike will not only offset the property tax loss, but also bring the village an extra $1 million.

The village's property tax only amounts to about 1.5 percent of the total bill.

"It's not a significant amount of money in relative terms, but it does make a statement," Grasso said at the board meeting.

Will he send this message to voters?

Grasso couldn't be reached for immediate comment Tuesday afternoon.

Two weeks ago, Grasso mentioned the possibility of the tax's elimination on his campaign Facebook page.

"Fourteen years as Mayor of Burr Ridge – a village that's debt-free and likely to abate the village portion of property taxes entirely, because we govern with fiscal discipline and plan where the money will be before we spend it," he wrote.

His Facebook post did not mention the proposed sales tax hike.

Years ago, DuPage County was solid Republican turf. Back then, Grasso's election would have been nearly a sure thing.

Those days are over. During the era of Donald Trump, suburbs have gone more Democratic. Conroy's election in 2022 ended decades of Republican county rule.

She defeated Republican Greg Hart, then a county board member and now Hinsdale's mayor, with 51.3 percent of the vote.

On June 30, the end of the last quarter, Conroy had $260,000 in her campaign bank account, far more than Grasso's $1,250, according to state election board records.

Since then, Grasso has reported $38,000 in contributions.

It's considered a tough year for Republicans, given Trump's sagging popularity. For his part, Grasso has created distance between himself and Trump over the years.