Elmhurst Politician Rakes In Cash For County Race

ELMHURST, IL — DuPage County Board member Pete DiCianni, a former Elmhurst mayor, raised nearly $73,000 in his bid for the Republican nomination for board chairman in the last quarter.

As of Sept. 30, DiCianni, who was elected to the board in 2012, had $396,000 in his campaign coffers. He loaned his campaign $250,000 earlier this year, according to state Board of Elections reports.

His rival for chairman is County Board member Greg Hart, a Hinsdale Republican. Hart raised $85,000 in the last quarter, with $327,000 in the bank at quarter's end.

Hart has received the endorsement of County Board Chairman Dan Cronin, an Elmhurst Republican, who decided against running again after a dozen years at the helm.

The Republican and Democratic primaries are set for June 28.

In September, Hart officially launched his campaign shortly after Cronin announced he would not seek a fourth term. DiCianni announced his bid a few days later.

More than a month earlier, Patch reported that state Board of Elections records showed both DiCianni and Hart raising money for their bids. In early June, Cronin gave Hart $10,000 of his campaign money. Cronin, Hart and DiCianni all declined to comment at the time, likely because they planned to announce later.

In the last quarter, contributions to DiCianni's campaign included $2,500 from Boston-based engineering firm CDM Smith, $1,250 each from Elmhurst Toyota and Elmhurst BMW, $1,000 from Roberto's Ristorante and $1,000 from Elmhurst Pizza Company.

Hart's contributions included $10,000 from investment executive Craig Duchossois, $6,000 from Chicago resident Nikola Nozinic, $3,000 from Chicago resident Elzie Higginbottom, $2,000 from Elmhurst resident Robert McKinney and $500 from the Illinois Restaurateur's PAC.

Comcast gave DiCianni $1,500 and Hart $1,000.

The two Democratic candidates are County Board members Lynn LaPlante of Glen Ellyn and Liz Chaplin of Downers Grove. Chaplin has raised $1,000, while La Plante has given her campaign $2,900.

In recent years, DuPage County has been trending Democratic, despite its Republican heritage. With the 2020 election, the board became majority Democratic for the first time in nearly a century.