Hinsdale Leader Accuses Local Conservative Of Politicizing 9/11

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale's village president said Sunday that he was disturbed that a high-profile local conservative used the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 to criticize particular groups.

The activist's main target appears to be Muslims.

President Greg Hart was referring to Kristina McCloy, founder of Concerned Parents of Illinois.

A few years ago, McCloy, a former Chicago Bulls cheerleader, publicly warned of what she sees as the danger that African American children pose to white children in schools.

At the same time, her influence in the state's Republican Party is growing. Aaron Del Mar, the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, has said repeatedly that McCloy would have been his running mate had he run for governor.

Last week, she wrote an op-ed on the conservative DuPage Policy Journal's website. She criticized the choice of U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, a Democrat from Downers Grove, as a speaker during Hinsdale's Sept. 11 event.

For starters, McCloy said Casten doesn't represent Hinsdale in Congress. The boundaries indicate that Casten's district includes the Hinsdale Oasis and little else.

The vast majority of Hinsdale is represented by retiring Democratic Rep. Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, who is considered more progressive than Casten.

McCloy said Hinsdale's event featured Democrats such as Casten, "whose records on the border and on Islamist-linked institutions are the opposite of what Sept. 11 demands."

As she has before, McCloy focused her ire on the Muslim community, which is prominent in towns such as Hinsdale and Burr Ridge, among others.

"Hart wants credit for solemnity on 9/11. His own feed this year tells a different story," she said.

She criticized Hart's X post in January, in which he proclaimed "Muslim American Heritage Month in Hinsdale," a first in the village's history.

At the time, Hart wrote, "Muslim Americans are an important part of the fabric of Hinsdale and of our country – as neighbors, parents, professionals, business owners, and public servants."

McCloy also took Hart to task for writing that he had been in "thoughtful conversation with Muslim, Palestinian, and other Arab community leaders." And she noted that a Hinsdale resident wrote in the Hinsdalean newspaper that Hart is a "steadfast ally of the Muslim community."

In a statement to Patch, Hart said he was disturbed that McCloy used the Sept. 11 anniversary and the deaths of nearly 3,000 people to sow more political division.

"We gathered that morning to remember the lives that were lost, honor the first responders who ran toward danger, and reflect on how our country came together in the aftermath of that horrific day," Hart said. "The Concerned Parents founder instead uses 9/11 as a vehicle for partisan attacks and to target groups of people who call our community home."

"That kind of rhetoric runs directly counter to the unity we should be striving for as a community and a country, and it disrespects the memory of those who died that day and the first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice," he said.

Hart served on the DuPage County Board as a Republican and lost in his 2022 bid for board chairman.