$1.1M For Hinsdale Street Project; Questions Remain

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale is receiving $1.1 million in federal money for the rebuilding of Sixth Street, an official said Tuesday.

Sixth Street is all brick for four blocks – from Garfield Avenue to County Line Road.

At Tuesday's Village Board meeting, Village President Greg Hart said he spoke by phone last week with U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia, a Chicago Democrat.

Hart said the congressman informed him that President Donald Trump signed an appropriations bill that included the money for the Sixth Street work.

Residents in the neighborhood wanted to keep the street all brick. But village officials said in 2024 that they were unwilling to ask local taxpayers to cover the extra $2 million to keep the street all brick.

At the time, the village considered forming a special tax district so that residents in the neighborhood could pay for the brick part of the project. They also said they would look into grants.

Asked whether the brick would happen, Hart told Patch on Wednesday that the village would discuss options with Sixth Street residents.

"The final design details, including materials, have not yet been finalized," he said in a text message.

At the meeting, Hart thanked residents for their participation.

"Their voices certainly mattered," he said.

He also credited village staff and his predecessor, Tom Cauley, for the original federal grant request.

When Hinsdale officials first considered the project in 2023, they planned to keep the intersections brick but pave the rest.

Alerted by a Patch story, residents called for the village to pay for keeping Sixth all brick, saying the street was one of the village's attractions.

But officials said an all-brick street cost too much and that it would be unfair to residents who lived on asphalt streets.