Indian American community holds fundraiser for mayoral candidate in Illinois

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Members of the Indian community in Schaumburg, Illinois, held a fundraiser for the Mayoral candidate Tom Dailly, Jan. 17. Held at the Chicago Prime Italian Restaurant in Schaumburg, the event was attended by business and community leaders as well as elected officials, according to a press release, which said, the event raised some $30,000 for Dailly. His current election war chest, is close to $90,000, with just 10 weeks to go for elections on April 2, and far outstrips his opponent.

Dailly’s opponent is Nafees Rahman, CEO of a manufacturing company, who on his campaign website admits he is new to politics, but wants to run for Mayor because Schaumburg is where he met his wife, raised their two daughters, and established his career. Rahman said he has served as deputy director in Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s office. “Jesse’s goal has been to improve customer service and bring back integrity to an office that was once plagued by corruption and inefficiency. I have been doing my part to further that vision for the people of Illinois,” Rahman says on his website nafeesrahman2019. Another candidate, Indian-American Sunil Shah, withdrew his candidacy in December.

At the Dailly fundraiser, a Q & A session followed an hour of socializing. Neil Khot, a businessman, and past president of the Federation of Indian Associations, introduced Dailly and endorsed him for the mayoral position talking about his experience serving the village of Schaumburg as a trustee.

Mayor Bill McLeod and Krishna Bansal, president of Indian Community Outreach also endorsed Dailly in their speeches.

Other speakers included Ketu Amin, a successful telecom businessman and hotelier, Hina Patel, trustee of the Village of South Barrington, Gulzar Singh Multani, a successful construction business owner, Paul Dindona, Babu Patel and Dr. Kamal Patel. All showed their support for Dailly’s candidacy.

In his speech, Dailly talked about his many years of work experience with the various village Committees. He emphasized the need for inclusivity, for all the communities to be represent in the make up of the village administration. He also indicated that he would take Bansal’s guidance if he was elected as Mayor.

Dailly thanked the Indian community for supporting and hosting the fundraiser and said he looked forward to strengthening his relationship with the local community, host a community appreciation day and ensure that more new businesses are welcomed in the Village of Schaumburg.