As we reflect on the highs and lows of 2022, we are also compelled to turn our collective gaze to 2023 and consider the possibilities for beneficial and constructive development as a community.
Here are our resolutions for the year ahead.
• Preserve and protect
The village should continue to promote the historic overlay district it created earlier this year and the incentives available to homeowners looking to renovate qualifying properties. The program will be effective only to the extent that people are made aware of it in order to take advantage of it.
• Lock it up
Residents should resolve to lock their cars and pocket their key fobs at night — even in their own driveways. Too many police resources are being devoted to recovering vehicles. And too many thieves, some armed, are coming to Hinsdale with the hope of driving away in a free luxury car.
• Open spaces
Village officials need to continue to evaluate downtown parking dynamics. The parking deck is doing its job — so much so that finding a spot between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays is almost impossible, leaving central business district employees with limited options if they start work during those hours or leave the deck at lunch.
• Patronize the pool
Hinsdaleans should take every opportunity this summer to spend time the Hinsdale Community Pool. This wonderful resource relies on the sale of memberships and daily admission fees to remain open.
• Find the funds
Board members and administrators in Community Consolidated Elementary District 181 should examine the budget to see if there is money available to expand on Rising Stars and offer a full-day kindergarten program to all D181 students.
• Listen, don’t presume
Community members would benefit from realizing that just because they or their children have not witnessed racism in Hinsdale High School District 86 does not mean the district’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are unnecessary.
• Do your homework
Voters should resolve to spend the time to get to know the candidates running for a seat on the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board in the April 3 election. The Hinsdalean resolves to do its part to provide as much information as possible.
• Give peace a chance
Speaking of District 86, board members should commit to working through their differences toward positive solutions instead of incidents like the meeting walkout that occurred in June over a closed session minutes dispute. Rancor has become all too pervasive in society — we need more examples of cooperation.
• Lean in generously
People who value the work that Hinsdale’s nonprofit agencies must support them financially. Due largely to pandemic fallout, organizations like the Hinsdale Humane Society have faced unprecedented challenges. To find their path in a post-COVID normal, they’ll need donors willing to resource that journey.
• Celebrate the sesquicentennial
The village’s 150th birthday celebration next year should be marked with opportunities to learn how the town came to be the cherished place it is as well as an invitation to build on that legacy through a shared commitment to support community agencies, merchants and one another. We pledge to do our part with a weekly feature dedicated to this special anniversary.
