Denise Casalino, the manager of Chicago’s Wacker Drive reconstruction project, has emerged as the frontrunner to become the city’s new commissioner of planning and development, sources said late Tuesday.
Mayor Richard Daley is expected to announce a successor this week, perhaps as soon as Wednesday, sources said.
Last year, Casalino was named first deputy director of the newly created Department of Construction and Permits, where she has played a key role in the Daley administration’s effort to streamline the building permit process.
Drew Becher, chief of staff for the Chicago Park District, had been considered by some to be a leading candidate, but sources discounted his chances.
Casolino would replace Alicia Berg, who held the post for three years. Berg resigned earlier this month to join Columbia College as vice president of campus environment. Casalino could not be reached for comment.
Casalino, 39, earned high marks within the Daley administration for her handling of the $200 million Wacker Drive project. A civil engineer, she joined the city’s Department of Transportation in 1995, where she was a project director managing bridge construction projects.
Before going to work for the city, she was an engineer for a private firm, working on highway and bridge projects. Casalino has also worked on environmental cleanup projects.
Casalino has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Valparaiso University and a master’s in business from the Keller Graduate School of Management in Chicago.