Forst 'appalled' by DuPage County Board candidate Grasso's remarks on Jan. 6

Lisa Forst, a Downers Grove Township precinct committeeman and board member of the Illinois Freedom Alliance, has raised concerns about Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso, the Republican candidate for DuPage County Board Chair, over his recent Facebook post about the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

In the post, Grasso described the day as "a riot" that "killed one police officer and a rioter, with many scores injured," calling it "a stain on the history of our republic." Forst claimed no police officers were killed during the riot and that his account does not reflect the views of grassroots Republicans.

"[Grasso’s] the only one that's running as a Republican,” Forst, who has been a precinct committeeman for more than two years, told the DuPage Policy Journal. “That's the hard part. We have no other candidate. He's a lone candidate for this position."

Grasso, an attorney and four-term mayor, has previously run unsuccessfully for higher offices, including Illinois attorney general and Congress. Forst said she helped Grasso get on the ballot but did not know much about him at the time.

"When you're handed [a petition form], you think this is going to be a good candidate,” she said. “The establishment speaks highly of them and you don't necessarily have time, with all the other things you're working on, to look into every single candidate."

Forst said Grasso’s stance on Jan. 6 differs from the perspectives of grassroots Republicans and could affect party unity ahead of the election.

The post drew responses from local Republicans. Forst claims Grasso deleted her comment and others opposing his view.

“You just lost your base. I am appalled that you would post this series of lies,” Forst wrote.

Forst said Grasso is not representing Republican voters or precinct committeemen.

"It's a shame that this is who we're stuck with at this point,” she said. “And he is not representing his voters if this is his attitude. He's not representing his committee men; he said he's not going to represent the people who are supposed to be working to help him get elected."

She also discussed the choice facing Republican voters, comparing Grasso with incumbent Democrat Deb Conroy.

“What do you do when you’re forced to vote for [Deb Conroy] or him?” Forst said. “That’s the problem. It’s like they are reflections of each other, basically.”

Forst also questioned the findings of the Jan. 6 Select Committee. 

“The Select Committee was completely bogus,” she said. “No evidence was submitted by the opposite and it was staged like a Hollywood staged event."

She urged independent research on the events of Jan. 6.

"It's like anything else. If you just do your research and stop listening to the lying, fake news, you can find the truth,” she said. “And if Grasso is not willing to actually look for the truth, he's gonna miss out on a lot of things his voters would want, you know? I mean, it's like every other part of this whole movie that we've been in for the last five years. If you didn't do your research, you would be caught in so many different things."

Forst also referenced a White House webpage created on the fifth anniversary of Jan. 6 that includes excerpts from a U.S. House interim report.

“The White House…made an entirely new page for January 6, on that date that showed all the facts based on court cases and timelines and police timelines,” she said. 

The webpage describes “political failures” and procedural issues surrounding the Capitol attack. It states that “thousands of Americans paid the price for political failures they did not create” and outlines concerns about the Select Committee and federal agencies’ responses.

On Inauguration Day 2025, President Trump issued pardons and commutations to roughly 1,500 individuals convicted or charged in connection with Jan. 6, including former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. 

The proclamation granted “a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

Forst’s views align with comments by former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, who said intelligence about Jan. 6 was withheld from him.

“None of the intelligence that was coming up talking about the storming of the Capitol, killing members of Congress, or killing my police officers, was ever discussed at the conference calls that I was on at least,” Sund said. “It's almost like they wanted it to be watered down, the Intelligence to be watered-down for some reason.” 

He said inconsistencies “raise more and more questions” and that “something was fishy.”

Following Grasso’s announcement that he was joining the race, Burr Ridge businessman Zach Mottl, chair of the Coalition for a Prosperous America, called Grasso “a tired old candidate” with “more baggage than a 747.”

“This guy is why the Republicans in Illinois and DuPage County in particular, they keep losing because this is the kind of candidate that they bring forward,” Mottl said. 

He also raised concerns about Grasso’s largest campaign donor, Gigi Rovito, who has a criminal record.

“Gigi went to prison for two felonies, for manufacturing and delivery of heroin, and for gang-raping a 14-year-old girl, and Gary couldn’t have a closer relationship with this guy,” Mottl said.

Mottl said Grasso’s approach to appealing to voters does not energize the Republican base. 

“Trying to be whatever he thinks will get him elected to the next office…doesn’t inspire the Republican base to come out," he said. 

He called for new leadership.

“Find somebody new and inspiring,” Mottl said.