A Hinsdale Resident? D-86 Official Says He Is

HINSDALE, IL – Jeff Waters, a Hinsdale High School District 86 board member, recently spoke at a public meeting about his views on a proposed trail project. He said he was speaking alongside neighbors and called himself a community member.

But he was not speaking in Hinsdale, which he lists as his home.

Rather, he aired his views to the city council in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, a popular tourist destination for Chicago area residents.

Under Illinois law, Waters must be a resident of the school district that he represents. He was elected in April 2021.

Asked about his residency Sunday night, Waters said in a text message that he was not a Wisconsin resident. He said he has an investment property on Lake Geneva's South Street, which the trail project involves.

"I am indeed a Hinsdale resident and have been since 2004 and will be for years to come," Waters said in the message.

In comments to the Lake Geneva Common Council in early August, Waters and other residents expressed concerns about the trail proposal. He asked the council to "slow the roll" on the project.

The Lake Geneva newspaper quoted Waters in its story on the meeting. And he appeared in the city's meeting video.

At the meeting, Waters said he was speaking on behalf of his fiancee.

"I'm also speaking proudly on behalf and alongside an ever-growing group of like-minded friends and neighbors regarding the South Street trail proposal," Waters said.

He later referred to himself as "this community member." He did not mention his ties to Hinsdale or Illinois.

Waters owns a house on Bruner Street in Hinsdale. It sold for $1 million in 2017, according to real estate websites.

DuPage County tax records show that Waters takes the residential exemption at his house in Hinsdale. The tax break is only available for homeowners who live in their houses.

Waters does not take Wisconsin's version of the residential exemption for his Lake Geneva property. That house sold for $245,000 in 2017, according to real estate websites.

The property tax website for the Lake Geneva area lists Waters' Hinsdale home as his mailing address.