D-427 board picks James Chyllo, 36, to fill Cortland Township vacancy

SYCAMORE – A pool of qualified candidates made selecting a new member for the Sycamore School District 427 Board a tough decision, but President Jim Dombek said he believes James Chyllo of Sycamore is the right man for the job.

The board picked Chyllo to fill the vacancy for Cortland Township. Chyllo, 36, has volunteered within the school district for a number of activities over the years and brings new ideas to the board that Dombek said is needed.

“He had some ideas about where we are at and where we should go, so he is the ideal type of person for the school board,” Dombek said.

Chyllo said he is appreciative of the opportunity and looks forward to learning from the longstanding members of the board. He said he has lived in Sycamore all his life and views the town as his home.

“The community is important to me,” Chyllo said. “As a parent with young children, I would say I want to be a voice on there for parents and for children of all ages.”

Chyllo has twin children who will enter first grade in the fall. He brings with him financial experience as associate director of branch operations for DuPage Credit Union.

“I have a background with financial and working on budgets,” Chyllo said. “I think it would definitely assist the board in making the best decisions.”

The position was vacated May 14 by Austin Hofer when he resigned after moving outside of his elected township of Cortland. The board officially recognized Hofer’s resignation at a meeting May 30.

Five Sycamore residents were in the pool of applicants the board chose from Tuesday night. The applicants were interviewed during a June 11 special meeting.

Dombek said all of the applicants were qualified, so it was difficult for the board to make a decision, but Chyllo’s passion made him unique.

“All the people we interviewed were great candidates and when it came down to it, Mr. Chyllo stood out above some of the other candidates, so we appointed him to the board,” Dombek said. “He really exhibited quite a passion for a job when he interviewed, he had a lot of questions, and he had done a lot of homework and research.”

Chyllo’s first official appearance as a board member will be during the next board meeting July 16 at Sycamore Middle School, 150 Maplewood Drive. Until then, he said he will try to suck up as much knowledge about the board as he can.

“I’ve only been on the board for just a couple days, and there’s just a lot of info, and I’m looking to gain knowledge,” Chyllo said.