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We'd read the reviews of the concert. Perused the set list. Compulsively checked the Baltimore forecast on our phones' weather app (which at one point was calling for thunderstorms!). And then, before we knew it, Dan, Ainsley, my birth mom and I were sitting in Orioles Park at Camden Yards, waiting for Paul McCartney to take the stage. I have always been more of a Rolling Stones fan, but Ainsley has loved the Beatles ever since she discovered Channel 18 on Sirius XM. She's...
While planning our July 1993 wedding, stressed by my full-time graduate studies and Dan's full-time job and living in two different cities and juggling family input, we briefly considered running off to Vegas and getting married by an Elvis impersonator. Both lifelong church-goers, we decided against it, agreeing that it wouldn't feel like we were really married. But we promised each other that we would go to Vegas for our 10th anniversary and renew our vows in front of an...
Ninety-six percent of educators agree providing year-round access to books is important to student learning. Ninety-four percent of parents agree reading books over the summer will help their child during the school year. Seventy-four percent of kids say reading fiction and nonfiction helps them understand the world, according to Scholastic. And 100 percent of librarians at the Hinsdale Public Library hope kids, teens and adults will sign up for their summer reading club, which runs through July 31. A summer reading kick-off...
I am thrilled that Kari Galassi is throwing her hat into the ring for DuPage County Board. I have known Kari and her family for many years. I have always admired Kari’s deep involvement with her children and their many activities, while demonstrating a great capacity to get things done for her community. In 2019, Kari led the campaign to pass the District 86 referendum, which dramatically improved the already crumbling school infrastructure, allowing our district to maintain the excellence for which it has been known. In 2...
I am a proud mom of three young kids. My kids’ futures are the top consideration for every decision my husband and I make — whether that be where to live, where to send them to school or for whom to vote. We chose to live in Hinsdale and DuPage County because of low crime, school performance and a better quality of life for our children. We never had concerns previously about whether our kids would be safe at school or in their community, receive quality educations or have endless opportunity once they graduate. But with cri...
It was bound to happen. It does every year. I shudder and deadpan, "Summer is coming," like some bizarro "Game of Thrones" extra. The pages of the calendar turn and suddenly, summer is not just coming but here, taking off its Crocs and making itself comfortable for the next 90 some-odd days. From a child's perspective, life couldn't be better but for us parents? Send thoughts, prayers and popsicles. On deadline day, we're rounding Week 2 of summer vacation in our house...
People shouldn’t have to fear for their lives when they go shopping, but that’s become an unfortunate reality in recent years. Smash and grabs have become a popular choice for criminal networks, who break into retail stores, take all the goods they like and resell them online. They then use the profits they make to fund other criminal activities. As a state senator for suburban Chicago, I couldn’t stand seeing our economies stunted and knowing there was a spillover effect on other crimes. That’s why I sponsored the Organiz...
On behalf of the Class of 2022, we’d like to thank Mother Nature, who somehow managed to let it rain during every single Homecoming and prom, but she didn’t let the rain take today, our graduation day. So, thank you Mother Nature. It’s a beautiful day outside! But yet here we are, at our beautiful indoor ceremony! We would also like to say thank you to the administration, faculty, staff, our friends and family, and especially each other, the Class of 2022 — we made it! The past four years flew by faster than freshmen...
Maybe it's the final episodes of "This is Us" that has me thinking about the different landscapes, if you will, life offers us. Or it might be the fact that the things I thought would go "back to normal" after COVID changed in such a way during the pandemic that we can never go back. More on that later. I've been watching "This is Us" since the beginning. I knew I would be hooked from the second I saw a trailer showing Randall knocking on a door of the man he believes to be...
Thirteen years ago on a sunny June 4, we picked up our kindergartner (Colette) and first-grader from school. Our son, strapped in his stroller and turning 1 in two weeks, seemed unimpressed with the excitement surrounding "school's out for summer." The moment was memorialized in a favorite family photo capturing us on the sidewalk that leads to Madison Elementary's front entrance. Fast forward to the same spot on a recent Sunday in May, and many of Colette's kindergarten...
After a chilly April and soggy May, summer can’t come fast enough for most of us. Although the season doesn’t officially move in until June 21, the unofficial Memorial Day weekend kickoff sure was steamy enough to get us dreaming of what’s to come. So here are our top 10 reasons why we love summer in Hinsdale. 10. The farmers market The annual outdoor mart offering a range of products from produce and meats to juice and natural remedies opens this Monday along Chicago Avenue adjacent to Burlington Park and continues every...
When you all read this, I will be on the verge of waltzing, pending cooperation from my heels and spotty coordination, across Dickinson Field for the last time. A freshly retired Red Devil. And, as with every milestone, I find myself increasingly fixated on the future. I have even started pondering what I will pack for college this fall and what perhaps, I will be leaving behind. 1. An Illinois sweatshirt. This will not garner any popularity among my new classmates, but every...
I have known Kari Galassi and the Galassi family for over a decade as I’ve coached their sons in baseball for many years. Their family is such a blessing to the community of Hinsdale. They are always willing to come to the aid of others. When our school district and its students needed a helping hand, Kari led the effort to pass the D86 referendum. Passing the referendum ensured that the district’s sports programs were not eliminated, which I whole-heartedly supported knowing that being part of a team is so valuable to childr...
In Flanders Fields In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly, Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not...
I'm often impressed by the young people I interview, whether they're elementary school students moderating a presentation by a NASA engineer or high school athletes recommended by their coaches for our weekly profile. I had the opportunity last week to witness the culmination of a semester's worth of work by local high school students in Community Memorial Foundation's Young Community Changemakers - or YC2 - program. Sixty teens were divided into two teams and given $15,000...
Before long, the streets of downtown Hinsdale will be dotted with brightly colored umbrellas as restaurants resume al fresco dining. OK, the umbrellas won’t be brightly colored (the village prefers neutral tones). But the overall appearance of outdoor eating areas will improve greatly, thanks to a new permit application process and design standards implemented by the Hinsdale Village Board. One of the biggest — and best, in our opinion — changes will be the elimination of the concrete jersey barriers to separate dining areas...
While we have all been focused on dealing with everything that COVID has thrown at us, we have been fortunate to have Sean Casten in Congress to spearhead the fight on climate change. As a former clean energy business owner, Sean has introduced four bills in Congress and secured $1 billion in funding while showing how we can combat the damage to our warming planet at the same time as creating good-paying jobs. Closer to home, Sean has been the most accessible politician I have ever met through his more than 50 town halls,...
First, in this age of full disclosure, I disclose that I am ... you guessed it ... a dad. But my preference for Dad's Day over Mom's Day goes well beyond self-aggrandizement. Dad's Day is just more fun. Let's take a closer look. On Mom's Day, the whole family has to get up really, really early, get dressed in really, really uncomfortable clothes, and then rush off to be robbed. This robbery is commonly referred to as Mother's Day brunch. It's perpetuated by legions of hotels,...
I was born in Canada and have played hockey most of my life. Hockey has given me the opportunity to live in many great places across Canada and the United States. When I retired from the NHL, my family and I chose to return to Hinsdale, having lived in this great little town while playing for the Blackhawks and believing it was the best choice for us. My wife and I have five children ranging in age from sixth grade to a junior in college. We felt strongly that the D86 referendum should be passed for the sake of all the...
I'm walking my dog by The Lane Elementary. As we approach, she eyes the bulky bulldogs guarding the front and goes down on her front paws, ready to play. But the dogs are made of concrete. Recent additions honoring the school's bulldog mascot, they are lovely. "Not real," I say on repeat. Trying to teach her a new command. She sniffs and realizes I'm right. We walk on. Cement dogs capture her curiosity. If you see a curious husky pulling toward your house to greet your dog...
Public bodies can approach Freedom of Information Act requests one of two ways. They can release only what the law requires them to release. Or they can release everything except what the law prohibits them from releasing. This might seem like mere semantics, but the second approach indicates a public body is focused on real transparency rather than minimal compliance. Another way to embrace transparency is to make the documents released to one individual accessible to all. We’re pleased Hinsdale High School District 86 B...
Little did I know when I was looking for a job in the spring of 1988 that one day I would write about an event that had thwarted those efforts. Thirty-four years ago last week, on May 8, 1988, the Illinois Bell switching station on Second and Lincoln streets caught fire, destroying phone lines to 35,000 homes in Hinsdale and nearby towns. The affected area included Willowbrook, where my parents had purchased a condo my senior year of college, eagerly anticipating the day I...
Time is on your side. Don't waste it. If you know anything about me, you know I absolutely despise waste. Wasted money, wasted energy and perhaps worst of all, wasted time. I have zero tolerance for it. Our society today wastes way too much time worrying about, talking about and arguing about things that are completely out of our control. Take the weather, for instance. How horrible has our spring been so far? I don't know anyone who hasn't expressed their dismay about the...
Around Mother’s Day, it seems reporters like to ask folks about the most important things they learned from their mothers. One day, maybe such a question will be posed to an adult Ainsley. And here’s what I hope she has to say. Read as much as you can. I will be delighted if Ainsley loves Shakespeare and Jane Austen. But I also hope she does a better job than I did of reading different authors in varied genres and discovering wonderful new voices and the amazing stories the...
May is National Preservation Month, and, in so many ways, Hinsdale is a veritable exhibit of how retaining historic architecture — whether residential, commercial or public in nature — can enrich a town’s character and enhance its livability. We have taken the opportunity over the years to bring our readers inside many of these vintage treasures, sharing stories of the people and/or events that brought them into existence and how their caretakers today maintain their essence while still equipping them with the ameni...
