Suburban Mayor Takes $635K From Village Vendors

LYONS, IL – A suburban Chicago mayor has taken more than $600,000 in campaign contributions from companies that do business with his village.

Lyons Mayor Chris Getty, who is also the elected supervisor of Lyons Township, is running for Congress as an independent in the 4th District.

At 26, he was elected as the youngest mayor in Illinois in 2009.

Patch compared the contributors to Getty's two political action committees with vendor lists at Lyons and Lyons Township.

He has gone unopposed in elections for years, but the donations keep rolling in.

According to the analysis, Getty has accepted $635,000 from companies and individuals that are shown as receiving money from the village.

Some contributors do business with both the village and township.

Getty received another $38,000 in donations from companies that do business with just the township.

One of them was GW & Associates, which audits the township's books every year. The firm's managing partner said the donations comply with state law and professional ethics.

Getty did not return messages for comment.

The biggest contributor that is a village vendor is the Evergreen Park-based Odelson law firm, which has given $95,700 going back to 2011.

Coming in second is the Willowbrook-based Frank Novotny & Associates civil engineering firm, at $83,124.

Here are other companies doing business with the village that top the list in campaign contributions:

• Mackie Consultants civil engineering of Rosemont, $69,400
• Robert R Andreas & Sons concrete contractor of Cicero, $54,400
• Genesis Restoration Services of Justice, $31,550
• Waterworks Pizzeria of Lyons, $28,180
• Lyons & Pinner Electric Companies of La Grange, $26,750
• Stars & Stripes Silk Screening of Bridgeview,$24,500
• A & B Reliable plumbing of Lemont, $24,350
• Merging Technologies of Oak Lawn, $22,500
• Zarzour Law of Summitt, $19,300
• Riccio Construction of Palos Park, $17,750
• Thomas Walsh Consulting of Western Springs, $15,400
• Metro Paramedic Services of Elmhurst (also known as Superior Ambulance), $10,090

In February, Getty announced his congressional candidacy in an Oak Brook meeting hall filled with backers. He presented himself as a different kind of candidate.

"Representation is earned, not inherited," he told his cheering supporters. "Leadership should be accountable, and the people should always have the final say."

The 4th District is Democratic turf. In November, Rep. Chuy Garcia, a Chicago Democrat, announced his retirement at the end of his term. He left little time for candidates to collect petition signatures to get on the ballot. Only his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, got a heads-up, so she met the requirements on time.

The Republican candidate is Lupe Castillo.

In 2025 alone, Getty's two political committees raised $340,000, an unusually high amount for someone who holds local offices.

Getty's father is the late Kenneth Getty, an insurance salesman who was Lyons' mayor from 1989 to 1997.

Kenneth Getty was convicted of rigging construction bids as mayor. He was released from prison in 2004, according to a Chicago Tribune story.

He recalled his childhood fondly during the Oak Brook event.

"At our dinner table, the conversations weren't about status or power," Chris Getty said. "They were about responsibility, about service, about leaving things better than we found them."

List of Chris Getty's campaign contributors that double as village of Lyons vendors, along with their total donations:

A & B Reliable (plumbing)
Lemont, IL
$21,350

Air One Equipment (fire department equipment supplier)
South Elgin
$4,600

Alheim Fitness (personal trainer, also known as TAF Fitness)
Lyons
$1,350

AMS Electric
North Riverside
$4,200

Andres Medical Billing
Arlington Heights
$2,000

Blackout Sealcoating
Bridgeview
$9,300

Comcast
Philadelphia
$750

John Flanagan
Lyons
$210

Flood Brothers Disposal (trash collection)
Oakbrook Terrace
$750

Fuller's Auto Body
Lyons
$6,550

Genesis Restoration Services (water damage)
Justice
$31,550

Georgis Catering
Lyons
$9,000

Groot Industries (trash collection)
Elk Grove Village
$4,250

GW & Associates (auditing firm)
Chicago Heights
$5,450

Hanania, Ray
Orland Park
$4,000

Herion, Thomas
Chicago
$1,500

Holiday Creations (lighting contractor)
Broadview
$2,250

JC's Pub
McCook
$2,600

Knight Nicastro MacKay LLC (attorney)
Boulder, Colorado
$1,000

Lyons & Pinner Electric Companies
La Grange
$26,750

Lyons Tree Service
Darien
$8,280

M & J Asphalt Paving
Cicero
$200

Mackie Consultants (civil engineering)
Rosemont
$69,400

Merging Technologies
Oak Lawn
$22,500

Metro Paramedic Services (Also Superior Ambulance Service)
Elmhurst
$10,090

Frank Novotny & Associates (civil engineering)
Willowbrook
$83,124

Odelson law firm
Evergreen Park
$95,700

Professional Pest Control
Palos Hills
$2,300

Reidy, Garrett
Westchester
$10,855

Riccio Construction
Palos Park
$17,750

Robert R Andreas & Sons (concrete contractor)
Cicero
$54,400

Runnion Equipment Co.
Lyons
$500

Salyer Law Offices
Chicago
$2,000

Scale Construction
Chicago
$1,750

Shirt Printing 4 U INC
Countryside
$8,300

Snellgrove, Joe
West Chicago
$200

Southwind Industries (general contractor)
Bartlett
$9,000

Stack, Martin
Western Springs
$2,500

Stars & Stripes Silk Screening (promotional products)
Bridgeview
$25,700

Underground Pipe Solutions
Lyons
$2,175

Unique Plumbing
Brookfield
$1,500

Veselsky, James
Lyons
$4,200

Walsh Consulting (Thomas Walsh)
Western Springs
$15,400

Waterworks Pizzeria
Lyons
$28,180

Westfield Ford
Countryside
$950

Zarzour Law
Summit
$19,300

TOTAL: $635,664

Here are Lyons Township vendors that contributed to Getty's campaign committees (some are common with the village):

Betz, Joseph
Justice
$750

Bluder's Tree Service
Brookfield
$2,250

Breaker Press Co.
Chicago
$5,500

Frank Novotny & Associates (civil engineering) (also village vendor)
Willowbrook
$83,124

Freeway Ford
Lyons
$2,850

Groot Industries (trash collection) (also village vendor)
Elk Grove Village
$4,250

GW & Associates (also village vendor)
Chicago Heights
$5,450

Keith's Cartage & Excavating
Lemont
$1,500

Krasowski, Artur (reserve employee compensation)
Palos Hills
$1,900

Lyons Hand Car Wash
Lyons
$1,000

Molly Price Communications
La Grange
$500

Morning, Noon & Night Plumbing
Lyons
$10,000

Odelson law firm (also village vendor)
Evergreen Park
$95,700

Rainbow International of Plainfield
Plainfield (water damage restoration)
$7,500

Riccio Construction (also village vendor)
Palos Park
$17,750

Shirt Printing 4 U INC (also village vendor)
Countryside
$8,300

Wermer Rogers Doran Ruzon (accounting firm)
Joliet
$250

Westfield Ford (also village vendor)
Countryside
$950

TOTAL (excluding village vendors): $38,240

Source: Illinois Board of Elections