Walsh Jr. mulls filling Wilhelmi seat; Las to apply

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Larry Walsh, Jr.

Updated: March 11, 2012 8:33AM

JOLIET — Larry Walsh Jr. is seriously considering a bid for appointment to the 43rd District state Senate seat once held by his father, Will County Executive Larry Walsh.

Walsh Jr., 41, of Elwood told The Herald-News on Wednesday that he will decide by Friday whether he will submit his name for consideration.

One other potential candidate who had been mulling a decision was Lisa Morel Las, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties. Las announced Wednesday that she will submit an application for the seat to the Will County Democratic Party.

The 43rd District vacancy will open as soon as state Sen. A.J. Wilhelmi, D-Joliet, resigns to take a job as senior vice president of governmental affairs for the Naperville-based Illinois Hospital Association. Wilhelmi was selected to replace Walsh after he was elected county executive in November 2004.

Walsh Jr.

Walsh Jr. is a Jackson Township trustee and finance secretary for District Lodge 8 of the Machinists Union.

While he agrees he would benefit from name recognition because of his dad’s long political career, which includes a stint on the Will County Board, Walsh Jr. said he has credentials of his own. Walsh Jr. said he has waged campaigns on behalf of union workers, and he has worked on many political campaigns, starting in 1996 during the Clinton-Dole presidential race.

“I’m not looking for a hand-me-down,” he said of a possible appointment. “I don’t want that. I’m going in on my own merits.”

Walsh Jr. is married and has three children, ages 18, 8 and 7. He said he is weighing the impact a state Senate appointment would have on his family. He also is exploring what the appointment would mean for his union job.

Las

Las has made the decision to throw her hat into the ring. Las was district administrator for former U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson when she was a state Senate majority leader. Las also was State’s Attorney Jim Glasgow’s director of public administration, and she worked on his campaigns.

“I think (the appointment) would build on my past service to the community, just on a larger scale,” she said.

“ … I also know I can out fundraise any of the others, because I’ve done it,” she said of her nine years of raising money for BBBS.

Other candidates

Braidwood City Clerk Pat McGuire, who is a former Joliet Township High School District board member and former Will County Treasurer, also said he will apply.

Others considering applying for the post are Lockport Township Clerk George Mushro and former Joliet City Councilman Warren Dorris.

Democratic Party Chairman Dennis Grosskopf and two precinct committeemen will pick Wilhelmi’s replacement. The person chosen this spring could run in November or just fill the vacancy until the fall election, Grosskopf has said.

Though he is not running for re-election, Wilhelmi’s name will appear on the March 20 primary ballot because he is not resigning in time to have it removed. He was unopposed in his primary. The Democrat who runs in November will face Republican Sandra Johnson, a Manhattan banker.