State Representative Dave Vella (IL 68)

STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVE VELLA —

IL-68TH DISTRICT

Welcome! I’m State Representative Dave Vella. I grew up in Rockford, and have lived in the Rockford area my entire life. I started school at RPS 205, and graduated from Boylan. I live in Rockford with my wife Michelle, and our daughter Grace. Our son Ryan also lives in Rockford. I’ve spent the last 20 years working as an attorney at my law firm, Vella & Lund. I am committed to my family and my community.

I started my career as a Public Defender in Winnebago County. I worked there for three years, representing people who weren’t able to afford an attorney. In that spirit, my law firm offers pro bono representation to low income clients. Being an attorney has allowed me to work with people from many different backgrounds. It’s my job to represent you regardless of who you are — I take this same approach when helping individuals in the 68th District.

My work in our community has focused on helping the most vulnerable, and our children. I’m a former board member at the Rockford Literacy Council, which helps people who didn’t finish high school get jobs. While on the board I focused my work on developing programs for adults. There’s still a lot of work to do, but I am humbled that my work made a difference in people’s lives. I want everyone in our community to be able to provide for themselves and their families. 

Being a huge supporter of education, I was the former Board President at Keith Country Day School. While on the board, I helped hire several new teachers. We also modernized the school’s curriculum to ensure our students received the best possible education. Whether your kids are in public or private school, education is important. I want kids in our community to be as prepared as possible to go to college or enter the workforce, whichever is best for them.

My family and my community are really important to me, and I learned a lot about both from my grandpa, Zeke Giorgi. When I was young he told me something that really stuck with me. He said “everyone’s the same. We all want our families and our neighbors to have a good life. We just have different ideas on how to get there. If you keep that in mind, you can work with anyone.” This is the community first mindset that I have when helping people in the 68th District.

If you or your family are in need of any resources or want to talk to me about an issue, please contact me.