Charles "Chuck" Panici (December 26, 1930 - December 20, 2017 ) was mayor of Chicago Heights, Illinois from 1975 to 1991. He was also head of the Bloom Township Republican Party from 1978 to 1992. He was born in 1930 in the "Hungry Hill" section of Chicago Heights, a south suburb, which was the home to mainly Italian immigrants in a heavily Italian town. His parents operated "Three Star Restaurant", a popular hangout for many neighborhood residents. Political career Panici began his political career in the early 1970s as President of the Chicago Heights Park District. In 1975, he put together a coalition ticket and easily defeated the incumbent mayor. His Concerned Citizens ticket won three of the four seats on the city council. In 1979, Panici won again, with his entire city council slate of John Gliottoni, Louise Marshall and Eugene Sadus winning re-election. They were joined by Nicholas C. "Nick" LoBue, and all five won easy victories in 1983 and 1987. His administration was responsible for bringing Lake Michigan water to Chicago Heights after residents had complained for years about poor water quality. Several municipal buildings were also built during his tenure, including a new City Hall, police station and library. Beginning in 1978, Panici was the Bloom Township Republican Committeeman. With a patronage army that spanned all levels of city and township government. During Panici's time as Bloom Township's Republican leader, it consistently turned out one of the highest Republican vote totals in the Chicago suburbs. This made the Bloom GOP one of the most powerful political organizations in Illinois. The party backed winning candidates in every city, park district, school district and township race during the 1980s. Panici was also responsible for fostering the political careers of numerous local officials, state legislators and judges during that time. He was instrumental in the campaigns of Governor Jim Thompson. The party became so powerful that Bloom Township High School hosted President Ronald Reagan in 1986 and then-Vice President George H. W. Bush in 1988. Panici even forged alliances with Democrats, and was partly responsible for bringing former Cook County Democratic chairman Edward Vrdolyak to the county's Republican party. Panici also organized a crossover vote in 1992 to defeat former congressman Gus Savage in the Democratic primary. Panici co-founded Telecommunication Services (TCS) with two other Chicago Heights entrepreneurs, and the company grew rapidly during the 1980s and early 1990s,