No Governor Visit To Hinsdale Central: State

HINSDALE, IL – The argument over whether Hinsdale Central High School should have invited the governor to speak appears to be moot: He's not coming.

On Thursday, Hinsdale Central announced Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker accepted an invitation from the school's Student Liberal Association. It said students could opt out of a school-wide assembly and that security protocols would be in place.

Patch published a story about the announcement and then the debate among board members about whether he should have been invited.

In an email Monday, Pritzker's spokeswoman, Jordan Abudayyeh, said the governor had no plans to attend an event at Central.

"The Governor will be spending a significant portion of his time in Springfield in the next few weeks as the legislative session deadline comes," she said.

In an interview, Abudayyeh confirmed the governor's office received the invitation. She said she asked around whether anyone accepted it, but no one had.

Hinsdale High School District 86 Superintendent Tammy Prentiss, Principal Bill Walsh and a district spokeswoman did not return messages for comment Monday morning.

In its weekly newsletter, Hinsdale Central led with the announcement of Pritzker's visit. It referred any questions to the principal's email address.

The newsletter provided specific information about the event.

"Although the date and time of the governor's visit are still being determined, the tentative plan is for him to participate in a brief school assembly (no more than 30 minutes) sometime during the week of May 15," the school said.

The school further said the event would be limited to Central students and staff.

"Grant Street may be closed for a portion of the school day in conjunction with the security protocols for the governor's visit, which are being coordinated and managed by the Illinois State Police," the statement read.

After the announcement, board member Jeff Waters asked to cancel the event, saying political figures should not speak during school hours. Meanwhile, board President Erik Held backed the assembly.

Here is Hinsdale Central High School's announcement last week that Gov. J.B. Pritzker was visiting: