Joseph Wiszowaty

Who is Joseph Wiszowaty?

Joseph Wiszowaty was born in 1970 in Sauk Village, Illinois, the youngest of 8 children to Eugene Wiszowaty and Anna Wiszowaty. Wiszowaty attended Strassburg Elementary School and Admiral H. G. Rickover Junior High School and graduated from Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Illinois.

Wiszowaty was 18 years old in 1988, when he announced he was running for Village Trustee in his hometown of Sauk Village. On April 4, 1989, many Chicago media outlets descended on Sauk Village to cover the election of Joseph Wiszowaty, a high school student who was elected to the Village Board of Trustees, and became the youngest man elected in the State of Illinois. Wiszowaty ran on a "change" platform and would in fact bring that change to the Village Board. Because of much national and local media attention, the media would descend again on May 9, 1989, to cover Wiszowaty being sworn in as a Trustee. Wiszowaty would find himself voting against the administration on many issues during his term in office.

Wiszowaty made a presentation to the owners of the Chicago Bears to build a new stadium on the property that was proposed for the GM-Saturn plant, after securing economic commitment to expand the Enterprise Zone from the administration of Chicago Heights. The Chicago Bears declined the proposal and opted to stay in Chicago with commitments for a newer more modern stadium.