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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 13, 2011

Contact: Laura Pollastrini, lpollastrini@yahoo.com 

 

Laura Pollastrini Announces Candidacy for State Representative, 42^nd District

Carol Stream Attorney & DuPage Regional School Board Member Sets Sights on Springfield

 

[Carol Stream, IL]  Today, 33 year Carol Stream resident Laura Pollastrini, 44, formally announced her candidacy for Illinois State Representative of the 42^nd District in DuPage County, advising that she will be seeking the Republican nomination during the March 2012 Primary Election.  Pollastrini, a licensed attorney and government and public relations manager for a private Illinois college, maintains experience in both the private and public sector and promises to take that experience to Springfield to battle the bureaucracy and runaway spending that have reduced Illinois to financial ruin.  She further resolved that the time has come to inject new blood into state politics to propel Illinois past the scandal-ridden days of both the Ryan and Blagojevich administrations that have left Illinois with a reputation of being one of the most corrupt of the nation’s fifty states.

Pollastrini has served countywide on the DuPage County Regional Board of School Trustees since 1995, a seat she was first appointed to in 1995 and then was elected and re-elected to multiple terms over the years, currently serving as the Board’s Vice President. She was also elected Trustee of the Carol Stream Library Board for multiple terms spanning seven years, a position she chose to resign from when she made the decision to attend law school while in her thirties and could no longer attend evening board meetings.  

“Our state has seen some of its worst days over the past decade with skyrocketing unemployment, an ever increasing tax burden on both residents and businesses, and out-of-control spending by the very elected officials that we’ve trusted and sent to Springfield to represent us,” Pollastrini commented, “The time has come for Illinois residents to move from being Monday morning armchair quarterbacks to instead taking positions on the field.  The People need to take back control of their government, and that starts with taking an active role in it, which is what I am doing today.”

Pollastrini was raised in the 42^nd District where her family also owned a small business for nearly 30 years, Al & Tony’s Deli in Wheaton.  She attended local public schools and earned her BA from Loyola University in Chicago in 1989 with a degree in Political Science.  In 2005 she earned her law degree from DePaul University’s College of Law and practiced local government and municipal law at a Chicago law firm with branch offices within the 42^nd District, serving as a municipal prosecutor for several villages in Cook, Lake and Will Counties.  But she returned to her love of politics and government when she accepted a position as the Government & Public Relations Manager at Northwestern College, primarily advocating for the school and the industry at the federal level.  There she deals with the U.S. Department of Education and elected U.S. Senators and Congressmen, battling the ever-burdensome regulations being promulgated by the Obama Administration. 

Prior to returning to school to obtain her law degree, Pollastrini spent five years as a Legislative Aid for then Illinois Senate President James ‘Pate’ Philip, also serving twice as his Campaign Manager.  She also worked for nearly ten years as the Public Information Manager for then DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett, coordinating all of his media, multiple task forces as well as facilitating the State’s Attorney’s expansive legislative agendas for multiple years, all under State’s Attorney Birkett’s direction.   

Since graduating from college in the late 1980’s, Pollastrini has played an active role in the local Republican Party, holding numerous positions within the Party including Chairman of the Wayne Township Republican Organization from 1997-2001; today she serves as the organization’s 1^st Vice Chairman. She was a Fellow of the Illinois Lincoln Excellence in Public Service Series, a state-wide organization that educates women on politics, government and the Republican Party, and she served the Organization for six years as its Treasurer and member of its Board of Governors. Yet Pollastrini also understands the shortcomings of partisan politics and recognizes faults in both its leadership and policies. She responded by becoming active in a local tea party organization, the Tri-Count-Teas, so as to use her political knowledge and contacts to help educate local residents on issues, empowering them to take more active roles in their communities. 

 “The days of blind trust in our government are gone,” Pollastrini commented.  “We have awakened in the morning following 2am votes by the Illinois General Assembly raising our income tax by 67%, with the promise that it’ll pull Illinois out of debt, followed by demands just months later by our Governor to bond our way further into debt.  The taxpayers of Illinois can no longer sit back and watch this happen.”

Pollastrini is single and has resided in her north Carol Stream home for 18 years, just blocks from the home she lived in since 1978 with her parents and 4 siblings.  She attended both Benjamin Middle School and West Chicago Community High School, both school districts within the 42^nd legislative district. She has been active in her community where, in addition to her elected offices to the regional school and library boards, she has been a member and lector at her Catholic church and maintains membership in both the DuPage County Bar Association and the DuPage County Farm Bureau. 

 

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LAURA M. POLLASTRINI

 

Brief Biography

 

Laura Pollastrini, a 33 year resident of Carol Stream, is seeking the Republican nomination for the office of State Representative of the 42^nd District.  Laura has lifelong ties to the district where she was raised, attended local public schools and where her family maintained a business for 30 years, Al & Tony’s Deli in north Wheaton.  She is a licensed attorney who has specialized in local government law, having represented municipalities, park districts, libraries, townships, fire protection districts, etc.  Additionally, Laura is a government and public relations specialist, currently representing Northwestern College on issues of both federal and state focus. 

 

Laura has been active in the local community, now serving her 17^th year on the DuPage County Regional Board of School Trustees (currently the Board’s Vice President) and for seven years served as a Member of her local library board.  For over two decades she has been active in the local Republican Party, serving multiple terms as the DuPage Young Republican President and as Chairman and now Vice Chairman of the Wayne Township Republican Party. 

 

While Laura has been a campaign manager of numerous local, county and state races throughout the last two decades, she has determined that the time has come for her to come out from behind the scenes and put her own name on the ballot.  Illinois has reached an all-time low with $80 billion in unfunded pensions, billions in unpaid bills, two consecutive governors sentenced to prison, and a citizenry that has lost faith and trust in its government and elected officials.  Laura is Pro-Family, Pro-Business, Pro-2^nd Amendment, and believes that smaller, less intrusive government is the key to reviving the Illinois economy, growing jobs and making Illinois a better place to live, work and raise a family.