A sold-out crowd of 650 packed the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles on Wednesday as eleven local celebrities and professionals swapped their usual day jobs for sequins and spins, raising more than $65,000 for abused and neglected children in the Kane County juvenile court system. The inaugural Dancing with the Local Stars event paired each celebrity contestant with a professional dancer for routines spanning tango, salsa, hip-hop, swing, and contemporary styles after weeks of rehearsal. Six local mayors and village presidents served as judges.
A Night of Tango and Fundraising for Foster Kids
The proceeds benefited CASA Kane County's mission to advocate for children who have experienced abuse or neglect, according to Shaw Local. The nonprofit partnered with The Dance Lab, the Geneva studio named Best Dance Studio in the 2026 Kane County Chronicle Readers' Choice Awards, whose instructors donated their coaching time to train all eleven contestants ahead of the event, according to the Daily Herald.
Cait Slomski, owner of True Knack Graphics, took home the Shining Star Award for raising the most money for CASA Kane County, while Denise Trimble, an emergency room nurse with Northwestern Medicine, won the Mirrorball Award, decided by a combination of judges' scoring and public voting. The lineup of dancers also included Ron Onesti, president and CEO of Onesti Entertainment; Megan Elsberg; Stefania Berton, a former Olympic figure skater; Brian Knetl, president of Waubonsee Community College; Nikki Nelson; Pietro Verone; Chris Wallace; Robert K. Villa, chief judge; and Gabe Perez, an officer with the Kane County Sheriff's Department.
Mayors From Six Communities Serve as Judges
Judging duties fell to officials representing six Fox Valley communities: Aurora Mayor John Laesch, St. Charles Mayor Clint Hull, Batavia Mayor Jeffrey Schielke, Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns, Carpentersville Village President John Skilman, and North Aurora Village President Mark Gaffino. Matt and Heather Rainey, representing Rent A Chef, hosted the evening's festivities.
“We could not have imagined a more incredible response to our inaugural event,” Executive Director Jim Di Ciaula said in a news release, per the same account. Di Ciaula, a former president and CEO of the St. Charles Area Chamber of Commerce, received the 2024 William D. Barth Award for his leadership in the Fox Valley region, according to The Voice.
Behind the Spectacle, a County-Wide Advocacy Mandate
CASA Kane County is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven Guardian ad Litem organization that advocates for children caught up in the juvenile court system after experiencing abuse or neglect. Under Section 2-17.1 of the Illinois Juvenile Court Act, a court may appoint CASA as a monitor, according to the Circuit Court of Cook County. Founded in 1988, the organization is appointed to 100 percent of abuse and neglect cases in Kane County's juvenile court system, per Shaw Local's earlier reporting.
That mandate translates into a heavy workload for volunteers. In 2025, CASA Kane County represented 608 children across 356 court cases with 189 trained volunteer advocates, facilitating 96 family reunifications, 79 adoptions, and 24 guardianship closures, according to Kane County government records. Those same volunteers logged more than 12,000 hours of casework and traveled over 130,000 miles across the county last year to conduct child visits.
The nonprofit has also moved toward earlier intervention. In January, CASA Kane County launched the Kane County Circle of Care initiative with the local health department and regional office of education, aiming to connect vulnerable families with resources and mental health support before children are removed from their homes.
One Fundraiser Among Several Annual Traditions
Dancing with the Local Stars joins a roster of annual CASA Kane County events, including the Children's Champion Celebration Gala, which held its 32nd annual installment at The Q Center in St. Charles in March, and the Hands Around the Courthouse observance each April at the historic Geneva courthouse marking Child Abuse Prevention Month. CASA Kane County previously drew support from a St. Charles bourbon social fundraiser, Hoodline reported, as the organization's caseload has continued to climb.
The event unfolded inside the 900-seat Arcada Theatre, which opened in St. Charles on September 6, 1926, and marked its centennial with special programming in September. CASA Kane County has already announced that Dancing with the Local Stars will return on May 12, 2027, giving organizers another year to recruit a fresh slate of local dancers for the Fox Valley stage.
