Former Rockford board member, 'numbers guy' Ted Biondo dies at 79
Longtime Rockford community and education advocate Ted Biondo died last Thursday in Celebration, Florida.
He was 79.
Biondo was an electrical and software engineer who retired from Sundstrand after a 30-year career.
He spent much of his down time and retirement years advocating for education and lower taxes by serving on the Rockford School Board, the Rock Valley College Board of Trustees and the Winnebago County Board. He chaired the finance committees of all three boards.
He was also the first community member of the Rockford Register Star's Editorial Board in the early 1990s, a position he often said sparked his interests in local politics and government.
Former county board and finance committee members Steve Schultz and Burt Gerl said Biondo was a good steward of taxpayer dollars.
"He brought a wealth of knowledge to the finance committee," Gerl said. "He came up with a lot of great things. We actually refinanced the jail bonds. That was his idea. We saved millions of taxpayers' dollars and put money back into the sheriff's budget."
Rock Valley College Board of Trustees Chairman Gloria Cardenas Cudia served on the Rockford Public School's Board with Biondo when the school district was navigating its way out from under The People Who Care discrimination lawsuit.
She said, "Everyone pretty much knows he's the numbers guy. And I'll tell you, it gave us, it gave me, peace of mind knowing that somebody was really looking into the nitty gritty details of budgets and funding and things like that. He was a great asset for Rockford and our community."
Former Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey remembers Biondo being a familiar face at budget meetings and someone he grew to call a "friend and a colleague" and sometimes "an opponent."
"Ted's voice was extremely powerful," he said. "If he was an opponent on a tax issue, you were in trouble. On the other hand, he was willing to give his voice and support for various initiatives when he believed that they would be a good deal for taxpayers. And he did that with the road referendum.
"His voice, along with other leading citizens and community members, was really important to help get that thing passed and continue to be passed and have the impact it has and continues to have today."
Biondo was born Oct. 26, 1943, in St Louis, Missouri, the son of Joseph Biondo and Reba Like Biondo.
He was valedictorian of Central High School class of 1961 and went on to graduate from St. Louis University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. After graduation he worked for McDonnell Aircraft working on the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs in the 1960s.
He relocated his family to Florida to work on the Gemini Space Program. After spending time in Florida and California, Biondo settled in Rockford working for Sundstrand.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years Patricia Reed Biondo; son Tony Biondo (Margie) and daughter Laura Skaggs (Brian); and numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.
Funeral Services will be held 2 p.m. Thursday at Oak Ridge Funeral Care, 2425 Havendale Blvd., Winter Haven, Florida.
Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Former Rockford board member, 'numbers guy' Ted Biondo dies at 79
