Articles from the 'Decision 2023' series


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  • Akhras claims victory in D86 election

    Pamela Lannom|Updated Apr 12, 2023

    After watching the margin between herself and fellow District 86 school board candidate Andrew Catton widen, Asma Akhras declared victory late Friday, three days after the election. “I can tell I’m still absorbing it,” she told The Hinsdalean Tuesday. “There’s a celebratory aspect. There’s a relief aspect — it was a tough campaign. There is an excitement aspect.” Unofficial election results on April 5, the day after the election, showed Akhras in the lead by 195 votes over...

  • No place for partisan politics, personal attacks

    Updated Apr 5, 2023

    In the decades we’ve been covering elections, we’ve rarely seen an election like this one. The worst had been the race for village president in 2009, when someone sent out a juvenile email about then candidate Tom Cauley. The stunt obviously didn’t do Cauley any harm, as he won that election — and three more since then. In 2023, smear campaigns seem to find their home on Facebook more than email inboxes, where people are free to say whatever they want about the candidates and the volunteers who are supporting them. We’ve c...

  • Thousands - even millions - of reasons to vote

    Updated Mar 29, 2023

    Why should you vote in the Tuesday, April 4, election? The 2,450 students who attend Hinsdale Central High School, where they are taught by 215 certified faculty members and have the chance to participate on 31 athletic teams and more than 85 clubs. The 1,364 students at Hinsdale South High School, which has 134 certified faculty members, 31 athletic teams and more than 70 clubs. An annual budget of some $160 million. The three individuals voters elect to serve on the Hinsdale High School District Board will be responsible...

  • Updated Mar 22, 2023

  • Creator of fake site asked to leave campaign

    Pamela Lannom|Updated Mar 22, 2023

    Hinsdale High School District 86 Board candidate Asma Akhras has asked volunteer Reid McCollum to leave her campaign following his admission that he created a Facebook page appearing to belong to Andrew Catton, another candidate in the race. “I’m very upset,” Akhras said. “It’s been very hurtful, because I had made it very clear to anyone who has been volunteering that my commitment is to keep the highest values and not engage in any political partisan type of strategies. “It’s been a constant message that anyone who is helpi...

  • Hinsdalean lists endorsements for the D86 board

    Updated Mar 22, 2023

    ✔︎ Asma Akhras ✔︎ Kay Gallo ✔︎ Catherine “Cat” Greenspon Andrew Catton Deborah Willoughby A little more than two years ago, the newly seated board in Hinsdale High School District 86 spent two and a half hours taking 10 votes trying to choose a new board president. Since that time, the board has been regularly divided on a host of issues large and small, from curriculum issues to the approval of minutes. A segment of the board and the community also has lost confidence in the superintendent, making board meetings even m...

  • Early voting in Cook, DuPage is underway

    Updated Mar 22, 2023

    Early voting is now available at 20 locations throughout DuPage County. Hinsdale Village Hall, 19 E. Chicago Ave., will be available for early voting through April 1. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. DuPage County voters also may cast paper ballots at the DuPage County Fairgrounds (Building 5), 2015 Manchester Road in Wheaton, just off County Farm Road, east of the county’s government administration buildings. Voting hours at the fairgrounds are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays t...

  • Updated Mar 15, 2023

  • Pamela Lannom|Updated Mar 8, 2023

  • Campaign calendar

    Updated Mar 8, 2023

    March 16 The Hinsdalean will host a candidates night for the individuals running for the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board at 7 p.m. at The Community House, 415 W. Eighth St. The event will be moderated by WGN’s Ben Bradley. Questions from the public must be submitted in advance or in writing at the event. Send an email to [email protected]....

  • Campaign calendar

    Updated Mar 1, 2023

    March 6 Independent Voters for D86 is holding a candidate forum at 7 p.m. at the Harvester Park park district office, 15W400 Harvester Drive, Burr Ridge. The event has been organized to provide an opportunity for voters to hear candidates in Hinsdale High School District 86 discuss issues of importance. Community members can submit written questions via private message on the group’s Facebook page or email them to [email protected]. Prevalent themes in community submissions will provide the basis for m...

  • Ken Knutson|Updated Mar 1, 2023

  • Early voting in DuPage opens today

    Updated Feb 22, 2023

    DuPage County voters may cast their paper ballots in the 2023 Consolidated Election starting today, Feb. 23, at the early voting location at the DuPage County Fairgrounds (Building 5), 2015 Manchester Road in Wheaton, just off County Farm Road, east of the county’s government administration buildings. DuPage County now features 100 percent paper ballots on new voting equipment for both early voting and Election Day. Voting hours at the fairgrounds are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays through March 17; 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays t...

  • What do they have? What do they need?

    Updated Feb 22, 2023

    Voters will elect three candidates Tuesday, April 4, to serve four-year terms on the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board. None of the three who are elected will serve in isolation. They will be part of a seven-member governing body. The following information is about the individuals currently serving on the board, whose terms expire in 2023. It is provided to give voters additional insight as they evaluate the candidates. Additional election coverage is on Page...

  • Issues in D86 have divided board members

    Pamela Lannom|Updated Feb 13, 2023

    The Hinsdalean typically begins its election coverage looking at the various topics that have been discussed at the board table over the past few years, with the goal of giving voters a sense of what new board members will face after the election. The superintendent and a sitting board member usually are interviewed for the story, and special attention is paid to any topics that have been divisive. In Hinsdale High School District 86, it would almost be easier to list topics that have not split the board than those that...

  • Hinsdalean set to launch election coverage Feb. 9

    Updated Feb 1, 2023

    For the first time in The Hinsdalean’s history, there is a single contested race on the spring ballot. Only Hinsdale High School District 86 has attracted more candidates than there are open seats in the Tuesday, April 4, election. Asma Akhras of Darien, Andrew Catton of Hinsdale, Kay Gallo of Clarendon Hills, Cat Greenspon of Burr Ridge and Debbie Willoughby of Westmont are seeking three open seats on the board. We typically begin covering the election in January so we have space for all of the articles we run on each of the...

  • Readers invited to be part of election conversation

    Pamela Lannom|Updated Feb 1, 2023

    Next week we will begin our coverage of the Tuesday, April 4, election. Unlike most years, we have a single contested race to cover — the Hinsdale High School District 86 board, in which five candidates are running for three open seats. Election season is one of my favorite times of the year. I firmly believe that helping readers learn more about the individuals who want to represent them in local government is one of the most important things community newspapers can do. Y...