SALT Class Welcomes Candidates and Former Secret Service: Photogallery

One of the most popular SALT classes is Tom Panush’s “Behind the Headlines,” which regularly welcomes interesting guests and invites spirited discussion.

SALT offers various classes and day trips for community members and recently “Behind the Headlines” invited three special guests: Evelyn Sanguinetti, republican candidate for lieutenant governor; Paul Vallas, democratic candidate for lieutenant governor; and Tim McCarthy, Orland Park chief of police and former member of the Secret Service, who was shot during the Reagan assassination attempt.

Wheaton Chamber of Commerce member and attorney Sanguinetti started her visit with sharing a little of her family’s “very American story.”

The daughter of an Ecuadorian immigrant and Cuban refugee, Sanguinetti grew up in the ghettos of Miami and worked her way up in life with help from her music education. After graduation from the John Marshall School of Law, she served as assistant attorney general in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. Following a question and answer period, Sanguinetti took time to meet with class attendees.

Vallas spoke to a group of community members and some faculty during the class on May 14.

Referring to himself as a “journeyman” in public service, Vallas described his work with school systems in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, and in Haiti, where he has been traveling since a month after the earthquake in 2010. He briefly shared Governor Quinn’s plans for improving Illinois and said, “We are in a historic position to bring long-term financial stability to the state while making an unprecedented investment in our schools.”

At SALT’s “Behind the Headlines” class on April 30, Chief Mc Carthy shared fascinating stories about the day President Ronald Reagan was shot and stories from his 20+ years of serving the Village of Orland Park, Illinois.