Hinsdale: A few things to keep an eye on in 2023
The April elections will likely be the focus of the start of the new year, but new village ordinances like a newly created overlay district to help preserve Historic homes will propel Hinsdale forward in 2023. Here are a few things to keep an eye on.
New overlay district is being developed to help Hinsdale residents modernize and preserve historic homes
Historic homeowners in Hinsdale will soon have the opportunity to take advantage of flexible zoning regulations and grant opportunities after the Hinsdale Village Board voted in September to create a village-wide Historic Overlay District.
Village Planner Bethany Salmon is in the process of compiling the list of homes for the historic overlay, and the first group of homes might not be available for several months into the new year. Any homeowner of an older home in Hinsdale can apply to be on the list, but the Historic Preservation Commission will rely heavily on historical archives to help sharpen the details of when the home was built, who the architect was, and whether the style structure is late Victorian, Colonial Revival, Renaissance or other.
“We realize that every home can’t be saved or should be saved, like homes that aren’t structurally sound,” said Alexis Braden, Hinsdale resident and member of the HPC. “But the homes we want to put on this list are really the homes that we feel help make Hinsdale historic.”
BLM Hinsdale social media account
An Instagram account that was created in 2020 at the height of the George Floyd protests — @hinsdaleforblm — is slated for a comeback. The account showcases stories of minority students (some current, some former) who experienced acts of racism, bias, and racial intolerance at Hinsdale Central and South.
It offers a stark contrast to the Hinsdale several residents at board meetings try to portray. Each story is posted anonymously, with scarce detail providing clues as to who the students might be, or whose class they may have encountered a certain incident.
Several posts are from Black students, who paint a picture of a District 86 that so often leaves them feeling bothered. Mohammad Ahmadi, co-founder of Hinsdale for BLM and Hinsdale Central graduate, said they first made the account to promote a local Black Lives Matter protest.
Afterward, they decided to evolve into an organization that spotlights ‘hidden stories of Hinsdale.” Stories centered on race, Islamaphobia, sexism, and homophobia poured in. “People were kind of shocked that this was happening — that these things happened in our own community,” said Ahmadi, now a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“Most people from Hinsdale are white and wealthy. The lower income is mostly different racial groups and I think when there are different groups coming together in a predominantly white town, there’s a superiority complex that happens.”
The account holders shared in December that they are looking for people to lead and restart Hinsdale for BLM, and those interested should send them a direct message through the social media platform.
Spring school board elections
With three seats up for contention on the Hinsdale High School District 86 school board in the upcoming April election, some familiar faces are slated to join the race.
Former board president, Kay Gallo announced at a September meeting that she is running for a spot on the board. Since the start of 2021-2022 school year, Gallo has been a staunch opponent of District 86 Superintendent Tammy Prentiss, leading a petition in February calling for her removal from office.
Gallo, a frequent voice at the board meeting, often criticizes the district’s handling of the mask mandate, the resignation of an anti-racism consultant in January, and the district’s educational philosophies.
Also running for a board seat is Andrew Catton, a Hinsdale resident who has previously claimed at meetings that District 86 is teaching critical race theory at both high schools. In October, Catton referred to equity efforts at District 86 as “race-centered equity experiments that show zero evidence of improved student performance.”
The district’s director of instructional equity, Patrice Payne, showed in an April presentation how implicit racial bias impacts student learning, which is a huge part of the equity conversation.
As Dec. 27, Gallo, Catton, Asma Akhras of Darien, Catherine Greenspon of Burr Ridge, and Deborah Clare Willoughby of Westmont, had filed for the election.
