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"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
Maya Angelou
About Me
I've been a resident of Park Ridge for 56 years. My wife Anna and I have been married for 38 years, and are the proud parents of two adult children and one grandchild.
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As the son of Italian immigrants who came to the United States so their children could have a better life, I watched my parents work tirelessly to ensure our family was able to prosper and live in a community like Park Ridge.
I began working for FM (fm.com) in Park Ridge during the summer of 1979, cutting grass at 300 S. Northwest Highway. I continued working part-time at FM Global as I went to college, and was offered a full-time Staff Accountant position in 1984. In 1993, I was recruited for a Sales Position within the company, and from there my career transitioned to a regional leadership role and subsequently was promoted to Vice President of Global Sales - a position I held until my retirement in December of 2017 after 38 years with the company.
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Elected in 2021, I currently serve as the City Clerk of Park Ridge. During my time as city clerk, we have implemented several software upgrades to improve the digital civic engagement experience and transparency for residents and other stakeholders. I've also strived to make residents more aware of services offered by the clerk's office through community outreach, social media, the city's website, and by having a presence at various public events. My prior elected offices in Park Ridge include serving our community as 4th Ward Alderperson in 2011. Residents during this time may remember that the city's finances were tumultuous – our bond rating was in jeopardy of being downgraded. Together with other members of the city council, we worked diligently during a challenging time to reduce spending by making some difficult decisions. As a result, taxpayers saved millions and the city's bond rating remained unchanged.
In 2005, I was elected Park Board Commissioner. During this time, we ran two referendums for proposed major projects, thereby putting the decision in the hands of taxpayers. During my time on the park board, we also formed the "Environmental Impact Task Force" which was responsible for holding the city's first digital recycling event – in addition to establishing no-idle zones around park district facilities.
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Why Run For Mayor
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As a resident of Park Ridge for over 55 years, and having spent my professional career with the same company in our city for 38 years, this town is embedded in who I am as a person. I care deeply about our city and am running for all my fellow residents, both long-standing and newcomers who call Park Ridge home.
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Over the past several years, I've listened closely to my fellow residents. They're worried about the safety of their families, their investments, infrastructure ....they are concerned about the wellbeing and future of our city. I am running for those residents, and my goal is to ultimately preserve what makes Park Ridge a special place, while at the same time building upon the best of what our community has to offer.
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Our city is ripe for redevelopment and we need to get serious about economic development. We'll be addressing important issues and projects over the next several years. With my candidacy, citizens will have an option to vote for a leader who is able to commit full-time to ensure the charm and character of our community remains intact as we navigate through these opportunities.
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It’s time for our city to consider term limits for elected officials. All of the volunteers who participate on our city boards and commissions have term limits and so should our elected city officials. Term limits help prevent complacency, in addition to ensuring a steady flow of fresh faces and ideas. They also help sever ties to special interests and encourage voter turnout by more candidates reaching more residents through their campaigning efforts.
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As our city continues to evolve, residents deserve a fully dedicated mayor — one ready to work together daily with city council, staff, local businesses and residents. Together, we can embrace challenges with a determination for growth and improvement.
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I’m excited about leading our city as its next mayor and building upon the best of what Park Ridge has to offer for everyone.
Civic Experience
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2002 - 2009: Coached Youth Soccer & Softball.
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2003: Appointed member of the Oakton Sports Complex Citizens Advisory Task Force.
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2005: Elected Park Board Commissioner - during my time on the Park Board, I served as President, Vice President and Treasurer.
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​2009: Appointed Planning and Zoning Commissioner
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​2011: Elected 4th Ward Alderperson​ - during my time on the council I served as Public Safety Chair, Economic Development Task Force Liaison, Police Chief's Citizens Advisory Task Force Liaison, Intergovernmental Liaison, and a member of the Mayor's Advisory Task Force.
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2021: Elected City Clerk of Park Ridge.
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
Maya Angelou
Contact
If you have any questions, comments, or would like a yard sign, please email me using this contact form.
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Sal Raspanti
Candidate for Mayor, City of Park Ridge
EMAIL: raspantiforPR@gmail.com
WEBSITE: salraspanti.com
© Citizens to Elect Sal Raspanti
Priorities that allow us to build on the best of what Park Ridge has to offer.
PUBLIC SAFETY. Public Safety is what enables our community to flourish, so protecting our families by making Park Ridge safer will be one of my top priorities. I will never normalize the nature, severity or frequency of crime in our community and believe in holding those who threaten our quality of life accountable. My goal is to make Park Ridge the safest midsize city (population 10,000 to 50,000) in Illinois. Our consistent attendance in meetings of the Northwest Municipal Conference, especially from our mayor, like other surrounding communities, will be one of the keys in making progress toward this distinction.
PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE. Simply put, we can and we should be doing more! Under my leadership, I will push for more consistent, meaningful increases to resurfacing budgets for streets, alleys, curbs, walkways, and parking lots. I also believe the current manner in which the paving of alleys are funded (Special Service Areas) needs to change and be more equitable. While the city has completed several flood improvement projects over the years, the severity and impact of flooding continues to adversely impact parts of our community with no relief in sight for parts of town that are most susceptible. Parking challenges are at breaking point in the uptown and must be revisited.
Maintaining public infrastructure, also extends to city employees and making sure we are well positioned to attract top talent, in addition to retaining and developing existing team members. Comprehensive Performance Reviews, Training and Transition Plans would go a long way toward improvement in these areas.
IMPROVED RESILIENCY. Improved resiliency is a choice. I will support efforts to improve the city's resiliency in preparation of and response to events that adversely impact our community. Events ranging from natural hazards like flooding to a pandemic to the departure of key employees within the various city departments. Detailed succession plans for each department will help ensure smooth and productive transitions in the event of turnover. In response to natural hazard events like flooding, Pre-Planning and Post-Event reviews are valuable tools for improving resiliency.
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY. The city's revenues are predominantly driven by property and sales tax revenue. Sales Tax Revenue, while up, are IN LARGE PART artificially inflated due to the soaring cost of inflation over the past several years, rather than an actual increase of sales units. Many businesses in town still have not recovered from the pandemic shutdowns (and some never will), so while some businesses are attempting to bounce back, the reality is many are still struggling. While it's easy to say yes to all "nice to have" or "feel good" projects, I believe saying no (or at least not yet) requires strong leadership and a discipline to resist solutions to problems that do not exist or pet projects to solely benefit a special interest group and not the best interests of 39k plus residents. Lastly, I believe the decision to reduce the city's insurance coverage in 2023 was ill advised and potentially increases the city's exposure/liability in a catastrophic event. As a result, I recommend a comprehensive RFP of insurance brokerage services and underwriters for all lines of coverage.
ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY, PRESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT. I will support consideration of development projects that are in balance with the city's character and ultimately enhances value for all residents. We have a great story to tell about Park Ridge and our city needs to get serious about economic development. The mayor, together with city staff, should play a more active role in attracting new businesses and residential projects that compliment our existing portfolio. The city should also do more to make sure ALL businesses in town are supported and have an equal chance to succeed. Forming an Economic Development Board would go a long way towards our city getting serious about sustained economic growth.
TERM LIMITS FOR MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL It’s time for our city to consider term limits for elected officials. All of the volunteers who participate on our city boards and commissions have term limits and so should our elected city officials. Term limits help prevent complacency, in addition to ensuring a steady flow of fresh faces and ideas. They also help sever ties to special interests and encourage voter turnout by more candidates reaching more residents through their campaigning efforts.
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SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. I support continued Green and Sustainable initiatives to further mitigate the impact of climate change and natural hazard events within our community. Planning and budgeting for those initiatives must be thoroughly vetted and occur strategically to maximize their benefits to our community.
FULL-TIME COMMITMENT. With my candidacy, residents will have an option for someone who can commit full-time to the office of mayor. This includes being the city's primary representative and a regular participant for the Northwest Municipal Conference (NWMC), which has not been the case for the last 7+ years.
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TRANSPARENCY. Improved openness will only strengthen our local government's efficiency and effectiveness for residents. Improved transparency will also promote accountability and help mitigate the possibility of falling into practices that were frowned upon in past. Practices that past city council members worked very hard to eliminate and regain the trust and confidence of residents.
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ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS. City Staff has applied for several grants to beautify Main Street, but without success. While I support expanded outdoor dinning, I struggle with plans that may ultimately benefit only a few, at the expense of others. I believe the time has come to discuss long term plans for not only Main Street, but other parts of town (South Park, Higgins Corridor, North Park, etc... ).
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING. I support meeting the requirement of having a plan in place for the required 10% mandated Affordable Housing units by the state. While I support having a plan in place it's also important to note the city's progress towards this objective is already happening organically. As of 2023, the percentage of Affordable Housing Units for the city of Park Ridge is at 8.1% ....only 1.9% away from the 10% mandate.
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O'HARE. There are pros and cons when it comes to living near one of the world's busiest airports. Having traveled extensively over my professional career, I was always grateful for not having a long commute going to or from the airport. However, with the continued expansion of O'Hare, we have an obligation to monitor the impact it has on our community. To that end, I have met with representatives of FAIR (Fair Allocation In Runways) advocacy group and support the gathering of data to quantify the impact of air traffic over our city.
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TEEN ACTIVITIES IN THE UPTOWN. The vast majority of teenagers in our community are not the problem and they should not pay the price for poor decisions MADE by the few or repeat offenders. I support consideration of an ordinance that ultimately holds parents more accountable for their children's actions and poor decisions.
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SANCTUARY CITY. I do not support Park Ridge becoming a Sanctuary City. I support pursuing ordinances like many other surrounding communities, that not only clearly state we are NOT a Sanctuary City, but others that provide for enforcement. I believe it's particularly important for voters to know where mayoral candidates clearly stand on this topic, given the migrant crisis in Chicago and the position of our state and federal government on this issue.
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HOMELESS. The increase in homelessness in our community is evident and shouldn't be ignored. I have empathy for these individuals, some of whom may be suffering from mental illness. No one should be left in the cold, for their safety, our resident's safety and the safety of our businesses in town. I support the homeless having access to temporary shelters that follow the city's municipal codes and zoning ordinances to legally obtain a permit to do so. Until then, the city should connect with various outreach organizations that are specifically equipped to provide for these individuals.
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The first step to providing meaningful solutions to any problem the city is facing, is to first acknowledge a one exists. While city leadership has an obligation to maintain calm, it has an even greater responsibility to being transparent to residents.