Deanne Mazzochi

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Deanne Marie Mazzochi, born 1972, is an attorney and Illinois State Representative, representing District 47, who first gained public notice during her run for College of DuPage Board of Trustees as a member of the reform-driven Clean Slate in the wake of scandal at the community college serving the western Chicago suburbs. Working with then College of DuPage Board Chairman, Kathy Hamilton, chief caller for reform, and Clean Slate co-electees, Charles Bernstein and Frank Napolitano, Mazzochi stepped into the chairmanship when Hamilton resigned December 12, 2015. Appointed on July 16, 2018, to the Illinois House of Representatives representing District 47, Mazzochi replaced the retiring Illinois State Representative Patricia "Patti" Bellock.. At a public swearing in ceremony at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois, Illinois State Senator Chris Nybo, District 24, observed that Mazzochi is the first female resident of Elmhurst ever sent to the Illinois General Assembly.

Education

Mazzochi is a graduate of Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, Illinois, and was named a Distinguished Alumni in 2014.

Mazzochi received her B.A. from Boston University with a double major in Political Science and Chemistry and a minor in Biology. A member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, she served as the Chairman of the Student Senate, President of the Inter-Fraternity Sorority Council, and was elected to the Scarlet Key honor society.

Mazzochi received her J.D. degree, with honors, from the George Washington University Law School. Mazzochi served as Executive Managing Editor for the American Intellectual Property Association Quarterly Law Journal through a term that included Winter 1997, and was the winner of George Washington University Law School’s Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition.

Career

Mazzochi specializes in patent litigation. One of the youngest women ever made partner at the law firm Lord, Bissell & Brook, she later co-founded her own law firm in 2004, Rakoczy Molino Mazzochi Siwik LLP, where she routinely handles cases involving billion dollar “blockbuster” products on both the patentee and defense sides. Mazzochi has been recognized in 2018 as a Leading Lawyer among women in Chicago, particularly for the intellectual property field.

Political

Mazzochi was first elected to political office in April 2015, endorsed by stakeholders on both sides of the political aisle. She was a member of the self-titled Clean Slate, elected to address the scandals arising at the College of DuPage during the term of Dr. Robert Breuder, including a “seedy little money grab,” monetary losses and other spending hidden from the prior board, and academic irregularities that led to the college being placed on probation by the Higher Learning Commission. During Mazzochi’s tenure on the board, Breuder was terminated, and his $763,000 severance package negotiated with earlier board members revoked.

After the prior board chairman resigned in December 2015, Mazzochi became acting Chairman. The non-reform oriented members remaining on the board from the Breuder years staged repeated meeting boycotts seeking to seize control of the college.

Mazzochi fended them off, and under Mazzochi’s leadership, the college cut or froze property taxes for three years, froze tuition, delivered a balanced budget, paid down debt, and restored full accreditation, while adding new programs and student services. Mazzochi credited these results to stronger budget oversight, restoring competitive bidding practices, and reverting the school's upscale Waterleaf restaurant to a student learning lab. Mazzochi further voted to end the college’s prior efforts to name the school’s Homeland Education Center after Breuder, and to instead name the building after local Medal of Honor winner Staff Sargent Robert J. Miller. Mazzochi has been a strong supporter of the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy, which trains at the facility. She has also initiated multiple new programs at the College of DuPage, including Innovation DuPage, an innovation incubator dedicated to serving small businesses in partnership with the City of Glen Ellyn, and Project Hire-Ed, which seeks to help students transition quickly into productive employment through partnerships with local employers.

When the College of DuPage hired its next full-time President, Dr. Ann Rondeau, Mazzochi was in charge of the contract negotiations. The Chicago Tribune wrote of the result: “An austere contract for the College of DuPage President? Pinch us.” The contract lacked routine hidden insider perks such as car and housing allowances, but was a transparent one “with no bells and whistles…We nearly fell off our chairs….In a state where public college administrators and even some high school superintendents often demand lavish employment contracts, generous severance deals and nearly every expense is reimbursable, Rondeau and the College of DuPage are taking extraordinary measures to protect taxpayers.”

By 2017, College of DuPage finally was “in a good place going forward.” Mazzochi’s successful reforms at the College of DuPage were noticed at the state level, and led to her identification as the logical successor to long-serving State Representative Patti Bellock. In July 2018, Bellock vacated her House seat in the 47th District to become the next head of Health and Human Services in the State of Illinois. Mazzochi was appointed to the seat, replacing Bellock, on July 16, 2018.

Mazzochi is a known proponent of balanced budgets, term limits, plus local decisionmaking and stakeholder involvement as a way to improve accountability and outcomes. Mazzochi further helped empower parents frustrated local school board level policy changes athat were not backed by solid research. She advocated on their behalf to effect change and support meaningful parent-teacher roles in student education.

Personal life

Mazzochi lives in Elmhurst, Illinois, with her husband, Tim Grant, and their two children, Bella and Benjamin.

External links

Template:Illinois State Representatives

• [1] Representative Deanne M. Mazzochi
• [2] College of DuPage Board of Trustees
• [3] Clean Slate
• [4] College of DuPage Board President Katharine Hamilton resignation
• [5] Illinois House of Representatives District 47 Republican nominee
• [6] Illinois House of Representatives District 47 Republican nominee
• [7] Representative Patti Bellock retirement
• [8] Mazzochi Appointed to State Representative Office
• [9] Willowbrook High School (Villa Park, Illinois) Distinguished Alumni
• [10] Deanne Mazzochi LinkedIn
• [11] American Intellectual Property Association Quarterly Law journal
• [12] Archived 2016-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition
• [13]
• [14] Hoffmann-La Rouche Inc. et al. v. Apotex Inc. et al., Hoffmann-La Rouche Inc. et al. v. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Ltd. et al., Hoffmann-La Rouche Inc. v. Watson Laboratories, Inc. et al., Hoffmann-La Rouche Inc. v. Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. et al., and Hoffmann-La Rouche Inc. et al. v. Mylan Inc. et al.
• [15] Abbott Laboratories et al. v. Sandoz, Inc. et al.
• [16] Baxter et al. v. Novo Norodisk et al.
• [17] Leading Lawyers
• [18] Archived 2018-05-11 at the Wayback Machine College of DuPage President Dr. Robert Breuder termination
• [19] College of DuPage reforms restore accreditation
• [20] College of DuPage Robert J. Miller Homeland Education Center
• [21] College of DuPage President Dr. Ann Rondeau hire
• [22] College of DuPage reforms pay off
• [23] Illinois State Representative Bellock to become state Health and Human Services head
• [24] Mazzochi advocates with local school board
• [25] - campaign website

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