Here's How Bad Hinsdale Village Hall Was Years Ago: Officials

HINSDALE, IL — These days, Hinsdale Village Board meetings are relatively quiet affairs. Not so 15 years ago, officials say.

At Tuesday's board meeting, Village President Tom Cauley spoke about a Village Hall that he said was in crisis 15 years ago.

"The village government was deeply divided. Board members were openly hostile to one another. The community had largely lost confidence in the Village Board," said Cauley, who took the reins in 2009.

Board meetings at the time, he said, were frequently packed with angry residents. Among the board's "self-inflicted predicaments" were the ouster of the popular chairman of the zoning board and a lawsuit filed against residents on a zoning issue, he said.

"Meanwhile, the village's finances were shaky to say the least, and money was wasted on paid consultants and other things," Cauley said. "No roads in the village had been fixed for many, many years."

Much of the drama made for fun newspaper reading, he said, but something had to be done.

The point of Cauley's speech was to honor Trustee Gerald Hughes, whose eight years on the board ended Tuesday.

In 2007, Hughes started speaking at board meetings to take trustees to task for their "truly poor" decisions, Cauley said. And in 2009, Hughes joined the village's Finance Commission and became its chairman two years later. He was elected to the board in 2013.

"Jerry did not just complain about village government. He decided to become actively involved in the government and change it from the inside," Cauley said.

The trustees agreed.

"You took over as chair of the Finance Commission about the time that the village had its credit rating lowered," Trustee Luke Stifflear said.

He said that through Hughes' thoughtful and polite manner, he helped the village turn around financially.

Hughes said Cauley played a big role in improving the village government, eliminating the "poisonous environment."

"We've turned down the heat," he said. "Late meetings, trustees insulting each other, citizens getting angry. It was a really bad environment. (Cauley) has made deliberate changes to the culture."

Michelle Fisher, a member of Hinsdale's Plan Commission, ran unopposed for the Village Board in the April 6 election and took the oath of office Tuesday.