Burr Ridge Mayor Not Running For State House

BURR RIDGE, IL – Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso said Monday he would not run for state representative in the 82nd House District.

He responded to an emailed inquiry from Patch, but provided no more information.

In September, Rep. John Egofske, a Lemont Republican, announced he would not run for the 82nd District seat, saying he wanted to focus on his other elected job, mayor of Lemont.

In February, Egofske was selected by party insiders in a secretive process. He replaced Jim Durkin, a moderate Republican from Western Springs who resigned after winning re-election.

The other candidate who applied for Durkin's position at the time was Nicole La Ha Zwiercan, a former Homer Glen trustee, 2022 Mrs. America and the former Illinois State Senate secretary.

In a news release shortly after Egofske's announcement, LaHa Zwiercan issued a statement saying she was running with the lawmaker's endorsement.

Grasso has been mentioned as a possible candidate. A former DuPage County Board member, Grasso has run for positions such as congressman and attorney general in recent years.

Like Durkin, Grasso has been critical of the Trump wing of the Republican Party. That puts the mayor increasingly out of step with a large part of the GOP base.

In late September, political blog The Illinoize reported that "we're told" Grasso was circulating petitions for the 82nd District race. The website did not provide readers with its source.

The 82nd District includes all or parts of Burr Ridge, Darien, Western Springs, Willowbrook, Homer Glen and Lemont.

The Republican primary is March 19.