Dems seek Wilhelmi’s successor
By Cindy Wojdyla Cain ccain@stmedianetwork.com January 30, 2012 5:20PM
State Sen. A. J. Wilhelmi
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Updated: March 1, 2012 8:44AM
JOLIET — Will County Executive Larry Walsh and state Rep. Emily McAsey are both no’s.
Lockport Township Clerk George Mushro is a maybe. And Braidwood City Clerk Pat McGuire is a yes.
Those were just four of the names being bandied about on Monday as possible replacements for state Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi, D-Joliet, who surprised a lot of local politicians on Saturday when he announced he would be stepping down from elected office in a few weeks.
Wilhelmi is leaving the Senate to take a job as senior vice president of governmental affairs with the Naperville-based Illinois Hospital Association.
He was appointed to the 43rd District Senate seat seven years ago to replace Walsh, who stepped down when he was elected Will County executive.
Local Democrats lauded Wilhelmi for the work he has done and for wanting to spend more time with his wife and three young daughters.
“We do hate to see just a great public servant leave office,” Democratic Party Chairman Dennis Grosskopf said of Wilhelmi. “He’s following in the tradition of George Washington, who served twice and went home.”
Walsh said Monday he would not apply to be appointed to his old Senate seat. McAsey, D-Lockport, also took a pass.
Mushro was chairman of the Will County Democratic Party when he helped choose Wilhelmi to replace Walsh in 2005. The move was unpopular at the time in some circles because there were other applicants who had more years in elected office than Wilhelmi.
Mushro said he may now consider applying for appointment to the seat he once helped fill. “I’ve got to digest it. I have not talked to my wife at length about it.”
McGuire, a former Joliet Township High School Board member and Will County treasurer, said he would apply.
“I’d be honored to have the opportunity to continue (Wilhelmi’s) work to restore Will County and the state of Illinois to positions of strength,” he said.
Candidates can apply
Grosskopf said a committee will be established to screen candidates for the post. Letters of interest can be sent to the Will County Democratic Party, P.O. Box 4242, Joliet, IL 60436.
Someone could be chosen to serve the remainder of Wilhelmi’s term and run in November. Or, two people could be chosen: one to complete the term and another to run in November.
Grosskopf said he wants to follow Mushro’s example from 2005 by picking a good candidate, not “a candidate to make somebody else happy.”
Will County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots said it was unclear whether Wilhelmi would withdraw his name in time for it to be removed from the March 20 Democratic primary ballot. (He was running unopposed.)
Ballots will not be printed until after state hearings on candidacy challenges Thursday, she said. But the ballots have to be printed in time to send out absentee ballots Feb. 9.
If Wilhelmi’s name is removed from the primary ballot, the deadline to appoint someone to the November ballot is June 4, Voots said. If he doesn’t withdraw his name, Democrats will have until Aug. 23 to appoint someone to the November ballot.
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