Frank Casillas worked as an engineer before going on to high-ranking leadership roles in the administrations of President Ronald Reagan and Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, overseeing labor and financial institutions.
A native of Mexico who moved to the U.S. with his family when he was a child, Casillas also earned the Bronze Star for his bravery and dedication while serving in the Army during the Korean War, and he later served on the board of Central States SER (Service, Employment, Redevelopment), a nonprofit group serving Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood that focuses on workforce development and violence prevention. He also served on the national board of SER, which acts as an administrative arm for all its local affiliates.
“Even in his 90s, he was astute around budgeting and studying our agendas,” said Javier Garibay, Central States SER’s former executive director. “The guy took his position on the board of Central States SER very seriously. He was such a gentleman — he was old-school where you treated people with respect, honor and dignity.”
Casillas, 100, died of complications from a stroke on May 14 at the Oak Trace senior living community in Downers Grove, said his nephew, Jesse Gomez. Casillas had been a longtime Downers Grove resident.
Born Frank Cerda Casillas in Michoacan, Mexico in 1926, Casillas moved with his family to East Chicago when he was 5 years old.
“They were looking for an opportunity and had heard that the steel mills were the place to be,” Gomez said, referring to Casillas’ parents.
Casillas grew up in East Chicago and graduated from Washington High School in East Chicago in 1944. He then earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Purdue University in 1948. Shortly afterward, Casillas joined the Army and was sent to serve in Korea during the Korean War. Casillas employed his engineering skills in leading a port construction company, overseeing the development and maintenance of the Port of Incheon. An officer, Casillas also became a qualified deep-sea diver while based in Korea.
“He said that his proudest moment was finishing at the top of his class in officer training school,” Gomez said. “Nine hundred started. Three hundred finished.”
With the North Koreans and the Chinese military bearing down on Incheon in 1951, Casillas was ordered by his superiors to destroy all vital structures in Incheon to keep the infrastructure from falling into enemy hands. Casillas evacuated from Incheon and narrowly avoided being captured. The Army later awarded Casillas a Bronze Star for his bravery, his family said.
After the war, Casillas worked as an engineer for the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana. He also taught evening math classes at the Purdue University extension campus in Hammond.
Soon afterward, Casillas accepted a job in Phoenix, Arizona, as a manager at General Electric’s industrial computer department. where he worked alongside electrical engineer Arnold Spielberg, the father of filmmaker Steven Spielberg. After a decade at GE, Casillas joined Bunker-Ramo Corp., an electronics and aerospace firm in Westlake Village, California, where he was a vice president for eight years. He returned to the Chicago area when Bunker-Ramo merged in 1968 with Oak Brook-based Amphenol, with the combined company making its headquarters in Oak Brook. With that, Casillas and his wife bought a house in Downers Grove in 1970.
After Allied Corp. acquired Bunker-Ramo in 1981, the Oak Brook offices were closed, and Casillas became a free agent.
In 1984, President Reagan tapped Casillas to serve as an assistant secretary of labor, focusing on employment training programs. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and served in that role for several years. The role made him one of the highest-ranking Hispanics in Reagan’s administration.
“He made it from Block and Pennsy in the Harbor (bordering the neighborhood of East Chicago) to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.,” Gomez told the Post-Tribune in 2017.
After returning home from Washington, Casillas was named the Chicago-based executive director of Central States SER, focusing on employment training for economically disadvantaged Hispanics. Then, in 1994, Edgar named Casillas the director of the financial institutions, a role that involved regulating state-chartered credit unions, currency exchanges and the consumer foreign exchange facility at O’Hare. The role also oversaw the state’s management of unclaimed property.
Casillas held that role with the state for six years before retiring outright. Outside of work, Casillas enjoyed fishing and golfing, and he was a member of the Pan-American Golf Association.
Casillas also served on Central States SER’s board of directors until recently.
“That was his main thing (in retirement),” his nephew said. “He spent a lot of time traveling between Detroit, Chicago and Dallas, and focusing on job training and job placement.”
In addition to his nephew, Casillas is survived by his wife of 73 years, Louise; two sons, Frank Jr. and Carl; three daughters, Carol Duckhorn, Cathy Nowakowski and Connie Casillas; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a sister, Lucy Singer.
Services were held.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
