Deanne Mazzochi and family
Deanne Mazzochi and family
Deanne Mazzochi touts her sense of independence almost as much as she does her reform-minded policies in her run for the 47th House District.
"If you want to see an independent, proven reformer down in Springfield, vote for me," Mazzochi writes on her website.
With Rep. Patti Bellock (R-Hinsdale) set to retire, Mazzochi is poised to take on Democrat Jim Caffrey in November’s general election as a reform platform candidate. She ran unopposed in last month’s Republican primary, while Caffrey bested fellow Democrat Anne Sommerkamp with 54 percent of the vote.
Born and raised in Villa Park, Mazzochi touts her time as a member of the College of DuPage board of trustees as being reflective of the kinds of policies she stands for and the type of reform measures she is capable of instituting.
“I was first elected to political office as part of the College of DuPage Board of Trustees reform team,” she writes on her website. “Remember what you heard three years ago? Outrage: unaccountable and hidden spending; a $760,000 severance package for Dr. Robert Breuder; and a governance philosophy that taxpayers don’t count, insiders do.”
It was so bad that the Higher Learning Commission placed the college on probation. Mazzochi now points to Breuder having been terminated and accountability having been restored.
“When we hired our next president, we involved all of our stakeholders; held multiple public open meetings; and reiterated a return to transparency and real oversight,” she adds.
That all led to the arrival of Ann Rondeau as the next College of DuPage president. Rondeau is a retired three-star vice admiral and former National Defense University president.
“After the College lost over $2 million ... in the IMET scandal, we hired an external vendor (to) watch our investments like a hawk—with daily compliance reporting,” Mazzochi writes of other reform-driven policies she has instituted.
Mazzochi says after Bellock announced her retirement, she started receiving countless phone calls and emails asking her to declare herself a candidate.
“I am honored to have the support of so many who want to see me bring my skills to Springfield,” she adds on her website. “I’m not afraid to run towards a challenge or a controversy. Sometimes change can come in great leaps and bounds. Sometimes it requires incremental steps.”
Mazzochi notes that the overriding consensus is Illinois now finds itself in a tough and vulnerable place.
“They are also smart enough to know that Illinois is strongly divided on what to do, and that everyone needs to come to the table and find real compromises to achieve needed structural reform,” she adds of the voters she is now seeking to attract. “They know that the last tax increase didn’t decrease Illinois’s structural debt one bit; and they don’t expect this one to either when Springfield won’t get its spending under control. They want to protect their schools, homes and families; a growing economy; and witness a return to responsible governance in Springfield.”
A graduate of Boston University and George Washington University law school, Mazzochi resides in Elmhurst with her husband and children, who attend public school there.
The 47th District includes all or parts of Elmhurst, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Westmont and Western Springs.
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