Gutraj of Grayslake enters race for County Board District 6 By Angela D. Sykora October 23, 2003       Pioneer Press

The president of the Grayslake Exchange Club has announced his candidacy for Lake County Board District 6. Local accountant Bryan Gutraj is hoping his community involvement will win him voter support as he seeks the Republican nomination over incumbent Don Bauer in the March 16 Primary. District 6 was redrawn two years ago following the last census and includes portions of Grayslake, Gurnee, Lake Villa, Round Lake, Round Lake Park and Third Lake. Gutraj, 28, a Grayslake resident who recently moved into District 6 from another part of the village, sought the Republican nomination for District 11 in March 2002, but was defeated by incumbent Sandy Cole. He was also a candidate for Bauer's vacant Avon Township Board seat early this year. "Having grown up in Grayslake, I have watched many of the issues facing the county evolve of the past several decades," said Gutraj in a released statement on his candidacy. "I will bring my education and experience to the board and add common sense to many areas affecting the residents of Lake County." Round Lake resident Steve Skinner will seek the Democratic party nomination for District 6. Gut-4j said he is excited for the opportunity to run the kind of campaign he wanted to when he ran for office two years ago. Last time around, he said he did not have a chance to talk about the issues -as much as he would have liked. He will host a community coffee chat at Something's Brewing in Grayslake Nov. 17 from 7 to 8 pm. Gutraj said he supports the extension of Route 53 and working with various highway agencies to improve the existing infrastructure. He also supports opening more forest preserve land to the public and wants to improve upon the county's open space issues. Gutraj also believes property taxes can be minimized with the development of more small businesses and light industrial properties. The only way to get property tax relief, said Gutraj, is to "change the mix." "We have a lot of residential development and not a lot of commercial." Gutraj owns an accounting and tax practice in Grayslake. He is a Grayslake Community High School graduate who earned his bachelor's degree from Eastern Illinois University. He is in his final semester of law school and expects to earn his degree in January from John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He is a lifelong Republican and has served as an Avon Township Republican precinct committeeman for many years. Gutraj said he has already secured the minimum 3 signatures needed for his candidacy petition, but has been out walking an hour or two each night to meet more residents and garner support for his campaign. "I want to hit all 4,000 Republican houses in the next two months," he said.