Reflecting on his upbringing in Melrose Park, recently elected Willow Springs Mayor John M. Carpino says, “I realize when my grandparents immigrated they helped one another. The community came together and I never forgot the need to help others.”

Carpino was raised by his mother and grandmother, his grandfather and father having passed away while he was still a child. He attended Holy Cross High School and Triton Junior College before embarking on a 40-year career in law enforcement.

He worked his way up from cadet to officer to detective for the Addison Police. He continued to work his way up through the ranks, serving six different communities and heading the police departments in both Willow Springs and Westchester.

“Was it worth being a cop?” he says, looking back. “In my heart I know it was. It is a profession. You’re dedicated and have to be ready to take a bullet.”

His many years in law enforcement proved to be good preparation for a life in local politics for Carpino, and yet the rigors of the campaign and day-to-day governance hasn’t been without significant challenges.

He retired from police work in 2016, but was approached by former colleagues in Willow Springs, where he served as chief of police from 2002 to 2004. They told him about the chaotic state of affairs in the village. Especially disturbing was the case of a police officer who became a whistleblower, bringing many problems to light and getting him fired for his trouble.

“I told my wife Patti about the whistleblower and asked her if I should run for mayor and that’s how the campaign began,” Carpino explains.

An entrenched leadership ruled a deeply divided village that was split along socio-economic lines. The Fire Department was eliminated after a transition to a fire district, some police officers had been terminated without just cause, and the village was bleeding cash as a result of poor decision-making and waste.

“I put together a coalition of people from across the village, but politics is a brutal, brutal business and some people remembered me from when I was a cop and because I am Italian-American,” Carpino says. “It was ‘Oh, he’s Al Capone’s cousin or corrupt or not to be trusted.’ Well, yes, I was born and raised in Melrose Park but I’m not apologizing for this. I am proud of my roots.”

He ran on a platform of integrity and transparency, beating his a 12-year incumbent by a 54-46 margin. Almost three years into his term he has rooted out corruption and financial excess and has not hesitated to extensively rebuild the village structure. Under his leadership, Willow Springs has reduced its debt from $16.2 million to $9 million with additional steady decreases on the horizon.

— Terry Quilico

First and foremost a lawyer as well as a leader of our Italian-American community in the Chicago area, Peter N. Silvestri serves as a role model for our nieces and nephews, sons and daughters, cousins and others from our community who aspire to be successful in the legal field and/or the political arena. I first met Pete more years ago than either of us cares to remember while attending a regular monthly meeting of the Justinian Society of Lawyers, something he rarely misses. He takes being active in the ethnic bar association very seriously, as he obviously does in all his professional life, as an elected political official, community leader, friend and parent.

Peter N. Silvestri, now age 57, was elected Cook County Commissioner for the 9th County District on November 8, 1994, and is currently serving his sixth consecutive term. He was endorsed and strongly supported by our community’s political voice, the Italian American Political Coalition, in each election. He has supported conservative spending and has consistently opposed new taxes, stressing a need to reform practices before imposing additional taxation. Silvestri supports greater access to public health, expansion of forest preserves especially in Chicago and nearby suburbs, and greater cooperation between local and county governments. And always, our community places highly on his agenda.

The 9th Cook County District includes Chicago neighborhoods Hiawatha Park, Edison Park, Oriole Park, Cumberland/Lawrence, Norwood Park, Harlem/Higgins and North Edgebrook along with the suburbs of Mount Prospect, River Forest, River Grove, Norwood Park Township, Rosemont, Harwood Heights, Norridge, Park Ridge, Schiller Park and portions of Des Plaines, Morton Grove, Prospect Heights and unincorporated areas of both Maine and Wheeling Townships.

On the Cook County Board, Commissioner Silvestri is chairman of the Zoning and Building Committee and the Litigation Sub-Committee. He is a member of the Construction, Finance, Tax Delinquency, Tax and Revenue, Health and Hospital, Public Health, Law Enforcement/Corrections, Family Court/Juvenile, Legislation & Intergovernmental Affairs and Roads and Bridges committees. As a Commissioner of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Silvestri is Chairman of the Litigation Committee and a member of the Annexation, Finance, Legislation & Intergovernmental Affairs, Real Estate and Zoological committees. His considerable legal talent enhances Pete’s participation in his extraordinarily difficult and diverse committee responsibilities. His actions on the board are always collegial, non-confrontational and he gets along with and is respected by all the folks on both sides of the political aisle.

Silvestri has made it clear since being elected to the Cook County Board that he is committed to formulating creative ways to improve county government, with an emphasis on cutting budgets and controlling taxes without negatively impacting services to residents. His primary goals have been in the areas of public safety and the forest preserve and better delivery of health services to all areas of the county.

Peter N. Silvestri formerly also served as the Village President of Elmwood Park. He was first elected in 1989 and re-elected in 1993 and 1997. During his administration, he stressed a progressive agenda with a conservative approach to budgets and taxes. Accomplishments of the Silvestri Administration included greater focus in economic development, increased parks and recreation, village beautification and enhanced public safety. His final legacy as Village President was the completion of a new and improved public library.

He served as President of the Leyden-Norwood Park Municipal League from 1990 to 1994. He was President of the Board of Directors of the West Central Municipal Conference, a council representing 36 suburbs, and a representative to the Suburban Mayors Council, which represents 128 suburban communities in Cook County.

Silvestri’s past service includes being a student leader in Elmwood Park High School and a Teen Coordinator with the village’s recreation department. In 1977, at the age of 20, he was elected to the Unit School District 401 Board of Education and served as president, making him the youngest person to ever hold that position. Following his two terms on the school board, he was a member of the Elmwood Park Zoning Board, Plan Commission, Civic Foundation and served as a village trustee.

Peter is a graduate of DePaul University in 1979 and DePaul College of Law, with a Juris Doctorate in 1982. He and his son Christian Peter are parishioners of St. Vincent’s Roman Catholic Church in River Forest.

Before entering politics, Pete was employed with the Illinois Department of Labor serving as Associate Director from 1984 to 1994. He also served for several years prior thereto with the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

His mother and father trace their roots to the Lazio region of Italy, to the town of Pofi, on the outskirts of Frosinone, near Rome. In fact, Peter returns to his family’s roots often, visiting family on his mother’s side that never left.

Peter N. Silvestri may be an elected Cook County Commissioner, the former president of the wonderful community of Elmwood Park, a highly respected lawyer and professional, but he is also to many of us, a good and faithful friend, role model and someone we can all look up to and be proud of. His continuing service as President of the Italian-American Political Coalition, the political voice of our ethnic community in the Chicago area, and leadership activities in the Justinian Society of Lawyers is further evidence of his valuable leadership.

This month we highlight the political career of Catherine M. Adduci, a woman who quietly has made her mark both professionally and politically. Those of us who know this outstanding professional are aware of her history as an accomplished senior executive with 30 years of outstanding achievements with UNISYS Corp.

A Fortune 500 global information technology firm, UNISYS concentrates in information technology outsourcing, application modernization outsourcing, consulting, and system integration services to the public sector, health care, pharmaceutical, telecommunication, and manufacturing industries. Her recognized strengths include strong leadership, communication and interpersonal skills, sales management, new business development, client relationships, contract negotiations, financial management, and sales and marketing strategy.

For well over two decades, Ms. Adduci served as vice president of sales, North America, at the company’s Chicago office. In that position, she managed a group of sales leaders supporting public sector and commercial accounts and new business, with an $800 million order and revenue target, leading the ITO, application, and data center outsourcing business to profitability and sustainable growth. No small accomplishments for a kid from Roseland.

She was instrumental in growing its North America pipeline of business opportunity to $1 billion; achieving 100 percent pipeline growth through target marketing and 50 percent increase in client satisfaction. She achieved 110 percent order and revenue targets by winning a new $100 million data center contract, a new $30 million application modernization contract, and a new $35 million ITO contract.

She also implemented sales process through quarterly business reviews, account planning, customer excellence programs, and detailed sales reporting that improved productivity by 50 percent. And she led matrix teams of sales and delivery resources that grew revenue by 20 percent in key accounts.

Ms. Adduci received her MBA in finance from Loyola University and her bachelor of science in marketing from Northern Illinois University and successfully completed international studies at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

Very active in the community, she serves as a member of the board of trustees of the Belmont Bank and Trust, the Erikson Institute, the Civic Federation of Chicago. In addition to having served by appointment of the governor as a trustee of Northern Illinois University (2001-2004), she continues to serve on the advisory board of its College of Business.

A true ethnic from our community, we set out in her own words, her personal history, which gives a glimpse of this charismatic and highly accomplished political, business and community leader.

“I grew up on the south side of Chicago in a neighborhood called Roseland/West Pullman. I went to St. Anthony’s grammar school located on 111th and Prairie. I attended Elizabeth Seton High School, an all-girl catholic school located in South Holland, Illinois. My father is from Calabria. He immigrated when he was a small boy with his parents and they settled in the Roseland community. He is a Mt. Carmel grad as well as a World War II vet who was stationed in Italy. He went on the get his vocational training to become a barber, opening up a small shop in the Roseland Plaza on Michigan Avenue. He married my mother, Jackie Parrish, an Irish woman from the South Side, and they had five children. I am one of five and the only girl!”

Another example of the best our community has to offer.

John D’Amico has served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives since 2004. Committee assignments include Consumer Protection; Labor and Commerce; Transportation – Vehicles and Safety (chairman); and Veterans’ Affairs. D’Amico is a member of the Edgebrook Community Association; St. Edwards Athletic Advisory Committee; City Club of Chicago; Mayfair Lions Club; Queen of All Saints Men’s Club; and the Edgebrook-Sauganash Athletic Association. He joined the Chicago Water Department in 1982 and now serves as an assistant superintendent.

Dr. James DiScipio has served as mayor of LaGrange Park since 2005. A general dentist with a practice in LaGrange Park, he has lived in the community for 39 years. He has served as a West Central Municipal Conference Executive Committee member from 2005 to the present, West Central Municipal Conference vice president from 2008 to the present, District 102 School Board member from 1999 to 2007, Zoning Board member from 2000 to 2005, Friends of the Park Committee chairman from 1997 to 1999, Parks and Recreation commissioner from 1991 to 1997, Board of Commissioners vice president from 1994 to 1997, Youth Baseball manager and coach from 1992 to 2004, and St. Louise De Marillac Church Eucharistic minister from 1999 to the present. He is also active professionally, having held a variety of leadership positions in the Chicago Dental Society, Illinois State Dental Society Academy of General Dentistry, American Dental Association, Loyola Dental Alumni Association and MacNeal Hospital; and serving as an instructor at Morton College, MacNeal Hospital and Loyola Dental School.