Politics & Government
Frankfort Square's Park District Swears In 20-Year-Old Commissioner
The Frankfort Square Parks District welcomed two new members, including a College Republican.
It was clear the Frankfort Square Park District Board of Commissioners wasn't quite used to such a turnout as the crowd that showed up at its regular meeting Thursday, May 19.
As it neared 7 p.m., organizers scrambled to bring additional chairs into the room at 7540 W. Braemar Lane to support the unusually large crowd. They attended in support of Anthony Granata, 20, one of the two new commissioners.
Over a dozen family and friends, including Granata's proud grandmother, Judy Granata, were in attendance to cheer after Granata took the oath.
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"He's the first member of our family to be involved in politics," she explained.
Granata was one of four people running for three open spots on the Parks Department. He received the second highest number of votes, beating out incumbent Jeffrey Libowitz.
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Granata credits his win by knowing how to get his name out there: "You've got to go door to door," he explained.
Granata has been involved with politics since he was 18 when he ran for Precinct Committeeman with the Township Republicans and won. Although he sees his role with the parks department as bipartisan, Granata is a dedicated Republican who sees a future in politics.
"I'm drawn to the parks department because of the diversity of services, and I'd like to have a say in different areas of the community rather than just one," he said.
Granata is transferring from Joliet Junior College to Eastern Illinois University in August, where he plans to major in political science.
He has scheduled his classes to have Fridays off so he can commute for the monthly Thursday night Park District meetings. The three-hour drive from Charleston is manageable, and, because he'll be staying in the dorms at EIU, he will look forward to those weekends to do laundry and have home-cooked meals at his parents' house, which is just a couple of blocks from the district administration building.
Granata credits two things with his passion for politics: the placemat of the U.S. presidents he had a child that captured his imagination and interested him in his favorite former President, Richard Nixon; and the 2000 election, which took place when he was 9.
"During that election," he said," I knew I wanted to be in politics."
