Dear Members:

As we head into the final month of our Centennial Celebration year, I am excited to report that the $150,000 goal for the Ralph P. Pechanio Student Internship Endowment Fund at Elmhurst College has surpassed its goal thanks to yet another generous gift by the fund’s namesake benefactor.  Overall, our one-of-a-kind $250,000 Capital Campaign is at 88 percent of goal with some $220,000 in gifts and pledges.

With a year-end Pechanio gift of $25,000 (and total contributions of $130,000), the endowment fund is near the $160,000 milestone in principal.  As early as 2019, annual endowment earnings could start paying 40 percent of our student interns’ hourly wages not reimbursed by the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s JOBPATH Student Intern Program and previously payed from a non-endowed fund primarily funded by Pechanio.  You can still send tax-deductible endowment gifts directly to the College.

As part of the Campaign’s Second Century Fund ($100,000 goal), our education-based component is less than $1,000 from its $50,000 goal, with member businesses and individuals nearly matching my own kick-starting $25,000 pledge—and I implore each of you to consider contributing whatever you can to the cause before the new year.

Part of the Second Century Fund, the fund to build a public ECCI Civic Hall of Fame memorial is at 23 percent of its $50,000 goal, even though a project is not yet finalized.  We do know that our memorial will be part of the City of Elmhurst’s new Metra train station, which is scheduled for construction in 2021, so fundraising on a more public level will continue for another year or two.

100th Annual Awards Gala
Mark your calendar to attend our 100th Annual Awards Gala at The Drake Oak Brook Hotel on Friday, January 25, from 5 to 9 p.m. to celebrate all that we accomplished during the Centennial Celebration year and kick off the Second Century.

Aside from a unique and successful Capital Campaign, highlights during 2018 include organizational and individual award recognition from the Daily Herald/Business Ledger, adoption of tiered dues and sponsorship packages, development and retail sales of an Elmhurst-Opoly board game, hiring of new staff (Director of Member Services Mariella Mastromauro and Office Manager Kim Kurzek), membership growth and much more.

Our honorees will include The Elmhurst Independent as the A.J. “Toche” Terrones Business of the Year, Betsy Hanisch as the Ambassador of the Year (for the third time), Lori Murray of Inland Bank at the Chairman’s Award recipient and “Elmhurst Our Kind of Town” Producer and Author Genie Urick as the 27th Civic Hall of Fame inductee.

Thanks to a donation from The Independent—based on member advertising revenue from a special 100th Anniversary section published during Chamber of Commerce month in September—attendees will take home a commemorative Centennial Celebration pin.

Mid-Term Election’s Blue Wave
The State of Illinois and DuPage County were not immune to the blue wave that engulfed much of the United States in the November 6 Mid-Term Elections, as Democratic candidates either unseated Republican incumbents or made races closer than expected.

At the federal level, Democrats Mike Quigley and Raja Kristnamoorthi comfortably won re-election in the 5th and 8th Congressional Districts that include areas of Elmhurst, respectively, while Republican Pete Roskam (who represented Elmhurst before the last map redistricting) lost his seat to Sean Casten by 10 percentage points.

In a contest of millionaire businessmen, JB Prizter’s resounding victory over Republican incumbent Bruce Rauner in the Governor’s race (including 48.37% to 46.12% in DuPage) powered the Democratic Party statewide, including the races for the offices of Attorney General, Comptroller, Treasurer and Secretary of State.

State Senator Kwame Raoul defeated newcomer Erika Harold 51% to 47% for Attorney General, succeeding fellow Democrat Lisa Madigan, who opted not to seek another term, and incumbent Susan Mendoza won as Comptroller against Darlene Senger 54.54% to 42.50%, only to announce her candidacy for the Mayor of Chicago a short time later.
Secretary of State Jessie White and Treasurer Michael Frerichs were re-elected easily.

In races for the Illinois General Assembly, Democrats Bill Cullerton (Senate 23rd) and Deb Conroy (House of Representatives 46th) won re-election handily, while Suzanne Glowiak unseated former Elmhurst City Council Alderman Chris Nybo (who then resigned) in the 24th Senate District.  First appointed to replace incumbent Patti Bellock, Republican Deanne Mazzochi edged out Jim Caffrey in the 47th House District.

At the County level, Republican incumbent Board Chair Dan Cronin narrowly defeated Lynn LaPlante 51% to 49% and incumbent Paul Hinds lost 52.7% to 47.3% to Democrat Jean Kaczmarek in the Clerk’s race.

Representing Elmhurst, the District 1 and 2 races for County Board produced split results.  Republican incumbent Sam Tornatore and Democratic newcomer Ashley Selmon were the top two vote getters in District 1 (includes the north half of Elmhurst), while Democrat Elizabeth Chaplin and Republican Pete DiCianni, Elmhurst’s former Mayor, won re-election in District 2 (includes south half of Elmhurst).

Recently endorsed by our Chamber’s Board of Directors, the $168.5 million referendum for Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205—to rebuild 103-year-old Lincoln Elementary School ($32.5M) and 87-year-old Field Elementary School ($29M), renovation Edison elementary School ($18.1M) and Bryan Middle School ($21.1M), and much more—passed with nearly 63% of the vote.

Democratic gains were not as surprising locally as nationally given Hillary Clinton’s win across Illinois and DuPage County over Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election.

Happy Anniversaries
Three members are celebrating milestone Chamber anniversaries in November, as follows:  40 yearsElmhurst YMCA; and 20 yearsFaith Evangelical United Methodist Church.

New Members
The Chamber welcomed seven new members in November as follows:  Bernard A. Affetto & Co., Bread and Butter Home, Cartage Home Remodelers, Chicago Wildfire, Josephs Investment Partners, NAMSCORP and Opus Development Company.

No Longer Members
The Chamber said goodbye to the following two members in November:  Compu-Mail and ProSite Content.