'Biggest Single Threat' For Hinsdale: Official

HINSDALE, IL — Hinsdale Village President Tom Cauley warned trustees Tuesday about what he saw as the "biggest single threat" to Hinsdale. He said he wished residents would take notice.

"The biggest single threat to our town and our property is our irresponsible state government," Cauley said during his report at the Village Board meeting. "It's hard for me to see that residents don't do more to try to push back on what the state is doing. I have simply concluded that our state has been so poorly run for so long that people have stopped listening."

Cauley criticized Gov. J.B. Pritzker for recently signing a budget that was $6 billion out of balance, despite a state constitutional requirement for balanced budgets. Revenues are supposed to drop $4.6 billion next budget year, which starts July 1, he said. That's out of the $42 billion budget that Pritzker signed.

While Illinois plans to hike spending by 6 percent, including raises for state employees, Indiana has cut it by 15 percent, Cauley said.

Cauley said the governor is seeking a federal bailout to make up the difference, with no strings attached — a "high risk game" that the governor is playing with the state's future.

"Illinoisans, to the extent they see light at the end of the tunnel, it's really an oncoming train," he said. "I don't see how we can get out of this one."

Pritzker is a Democrat. An online search did not indicate Cauley's party affiliation. His contributions to politicians showed no trend toward either Democrats or Republicans, according to state Board of Elections data. Village president is a nonpartisan position.