Three Hinsdale races are uncontested

Hinsdale Village President Tom Cauley, three individuals running for the Hinsdale Village Board and three running for four-year terms on the Community Consolidated District 181 Board are running uncontested in the Tuesday, April 6, election.

The Hinsdalean reached out to the candidates to find out a little more about who they are and what they hope to accomplish.

Hinsdale Village President

Who is Tom Cauley?

Tom Cauley has served as village president for the last 12 years and was a village trustee for two years before that. He is 65-year-old lawyer who holds a bachelor’s in business administration in accountancy from the University of Notre Dame and a juris doctorate from the University of Illinois College of Law.

What are his priorities?

1. To work with residents, the Hinsdale Chamber of Commerce and local businesses to ensure a quick recovery from COVID-19, which has, among other things, had a significant adverse affect on local merchants and restaurants and park and recreation programs

2. To deal effectively with cellular companies’ plans to deploy 5G antennas throughout the village

3. To continue to upgrade roads, sewers and water mains and resolve all remaining flooding issues in the village

Hinsdale Village Board

Who is Neale Byrnes?

Neale Byrnes is a former plan commissioner who has served on the village board since 2017.

A retired business manager, he has a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from Purdue University. He has served as a coach for HUSA soccer and Hinsdale Little League and sat on the Solutions Exploration Group and the Madison School Expansion Task Force.

What are his priorities?

1. To continue implementation of the Master Infrastructure Plan, which has resulted in tremendous improvement in the quality of village roads, and to continue to address other infrastructure issues including drainage and parking

2. To support local businesses as much as possible as they emerge from the requirements of the pandemic as well as seek new sources of revenue for the village

3. Oversee new projects such as development(s) north of Ogden Avenue, amendments to the historic preservation code and implementation of 5G. In weighing these projects, the board needs to address resident concerns plus village needs while ensuring the board preserves and enhances the unique values and character of Hinsdale.

Who is Michelle Fisher?

Michelle Fisher has served on the Hinsdale Plan Commission since 2019. She is the former co-chair for the Monroe Cares Committee (2019-20) and Monroe Yearbook Committee (2015-19).

She is a 43-year-old attorney who has a bachelor’s from Loyola University and a juris doctorate from Loyola’s School of Law.

What are her priorities?

1. Ensure green spaces meet the needs of the community

2. Work to keep development along the Ogden Business corridor in line with community feedback

3. Provide flexible and positive support as village programs and plans are rekindled following the pandemic

Who is Matt Posthuma?

Matt Posthuma has served as a village trustee since 2017. Prior to that he was on the finance commission from 2009-16.

He is a 51-year-old attorney with a bachelor’s from the University of Michigan and a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School.

He has served as an AYSO commissioner and coach and Hinsdale Little League assistant coach.

What are his priorities?

1. Maintain the village’s AAA credit rating and remain fiscally sound despite revenue shortfalls caused by the pandemic and Illinois state budget issues

2. Continue to improve village roads through the master infrastructure plan

3. Guide development and redevelopment of residences and commercial areas in a tasteful way that preserves the village’s distinctive character

District 181 Board

Who is Bill Cotter?

Bill Cotter was appointed to the school board in March 2020.

He is a 39-year-old attorney and small business owner who holds a bachelor’s from DePaul University and a juris doctorate from Chicago-Kent College of Law.

What are his priorities?

1. Reopen schools on a full-time basis for the remainder of 2020-21 school year and resume pre-COVID-19 instructional norms for 2021-22 school year

2. Fight for ideological independence and local control of curriculum content

3. Maintain the district’s strong financial position while taking a fiscally disciplined approach to annual tax levy process

Who is Michael Martin?

Michael Martin is an attorney who has appeared before various municipal, county and township boards on property entitlement and litigation matters and has provided pro bono legal services to a host of organizations. He also has coached his daughters’ AYSO and Jodie Harrison basketball teams.

The 42-year-old has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from DePauw University and a juris doctorate from the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

What are his priorities?

1. Ensure the district has the ability to offer as many resources and assistance as it can to children teachers, staff and parents as the district returns to and hopefully stays in school full time to ensure the lack of normalcy over the last year does not have long-lasting and detrimental effects on children and the community as a whole

2. Improve communication efforts so parents feel they are getting the information they need to make decisions regarding their children but also so all district stakeholders feel they have a voice that is heard and being considered by the administration and board

3. Continue to properly manage district finances to ensure a balanced budget and an appropriate fund balance strategy so the district has the financial resources to continue to implement and improve on its goals and strategies without placing undue hardship on taxpayers

Who is Grace Shin?

Grace Shin is a former elementary school teacher and stay-at-home mom who is active in the Oak School PTO and the district. She has served on the D181 learning committee, academic success committee and parent teacher advisory committee. She also was involved in her school district in her former hometown.

She is 42 years old and has a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in education from the University of Michigan.

What are her priorities?

1. Creating a full in-person plan for the fall with support from all stakeholders, and a remote option for those in need

2. Making sure there is solid social-emotional learning in place to check in on the emotional and mental well-being of students and staff as the district attempts to start the year off as close as possible to normal

3. Addressing any academic gaps due to the shift in learning models