Republican Candidate Slated In Race To Replace Rep. Scott Drury

LAKE BLUFF, IL — Rick Lesser, former Lake Bluff village trustee and local estate planning attorney, has been slated to replace Highland Park small business owner and lawyer Cindy Masover as the Republican candidate for state representative in the 58th District. Masover dropped out of the race for personal reasons and endorsed Lesser, who was slated by a group of GOP committeemen in the race to replace outgoing state Rep. Scott Drury (D-Highwood) in the North Shore Illinois House district.

Lesser was raised in Highland Park before moving to Deerfield to start his family, his campaign said. In 1997, he founded his law firm, Lesser, Lutrey, Pasquesi and Howe LLP in Lake Forest and lives in Lake Bluff, where he was elected to the village board in 2003 and re-elected four years later.

“I wasn’t intending to run for State Representative, but when I was asked to step up, I knew I had to do it for my grandson," Lesser said in a release. “With 30,000 people fleeing Illinois every year, equivalent to the population of Highland Park, would my grandson even have a future in this state? Despite our many advantages, we’re missing the opportunity our young people need to harness their energy, growth, and potential.”

Lesser, 63, has previously led the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce, where he oversaw the merger of the two formerly separate organizations, as well as Lake County Bar Association, where he created a board of directors and substantially increased its membership by opening it up to non-lawyers such as paralegals, according to his campaign.

He said the Illinois General Assembly needs to put in place term limits to "get rid of the politicians who have been running our state into the ground" like House Speaker Mike Madigan, before getting the state's finances under control.

"We will balance our budget and stop borrowing money we don’t have to pay for inflated services we can’t afford. We will also finally reform pensions, addressing the hundreds of billions of dollars in unfunded pension liability," he said. "We can no longer afford to kick the can down the road.”

Lesser said those steps would stem the tide of families and businesses departing Illinois for neighboring states.

"We can create our own economic boom here in Illinois, leading to higher wages, increased opportunities, and lower taxes for our over-burdened taxpayers," he said.

In a social media post endorsing Lesser, Masover announced "with a heavy heart" she was withdrawing from the race.

"I have had a lot of fun and learned so much. I am grateful that I was given the opportunity to run for this amazing job and wish that I could have continued and had the honor of representing this great district in Springfield," she wrote.

Lake County Republican Chairman Mark Shaw told the Deerfield Review Masover had "serious family issues to which she has to devote a great deal of time." He said Lesser was picked by a committee including himself, Northfield Township Republican Committeeman T.J. Brown and the New Trier Township Republican Committeeman Kathy Myalls, who cast weighted votes based on the number of votes in their township, according to Illinois law.

Shaw, the co-chair of the Illinois Republican Party, told the paper Lesser's leadership on the Lake Bluff Village Board and heading a major Lake County law firm made him "extremely qualified" to serve as state rep and the party looked forward to working with him and his campaign over the coming months.

In November, Lesser will be facing off against Bob Morgan, a health care regulatory and policy attorney who is also the chair of the West Deerfield Township Democrats.

The 58th District includes all or parts of Bannockburn, Deerfield, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Northbrook, North Chicago and Riverwoods.

Lesser's campaign said it is holding a kickoff event Aug. 16 at the Lake Bluff golf club.

Related:
Local Lawyer And Small Business Owner Cindy Masover Is Running For Scott Drury's Seat »
Deerfield Lawyer And Ex-Medical Pot Czar To Challenge For Rep. Scott Drury's Seat »
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