Schmidt has established record of responsibility
I am writing to firmly endorse Andrew Schmidt for the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of Education. During the past several years, Andy has clearly established himself as an energetic and tireless advocate for full disclosure, openness and fiscal responsibility in both District 181 and 86.

Andy is remarkably knowledgeable about a wide variety of topics related to education, municipal finance and school government. He has gone to great lengths to educate and inform the community about complicated and costly issues that most of us were not aware of. While championing these important causes, Andy has been steady and professional while often facing opposition who has not always taken a similar high road.

The voters in our area will undoubtedly benefit from a passionate taxpayer advocate like Andy, who also happens to be both a teacher and a parent with school-age children in our district. His knowledge, insight and perspective are clearly unique and will allow him to balance the needs of our students with our fast growing need for strong fiscal responsibility. As a District 86 board member, Andrew Schmidt will be an assertive leader with the courage to thoroughly debate issues so that better decisions are made on behalf of all of us.
Ed Ryder, Clarendon Hills

Caucus put forth worthy slate of candidates
I am encouraged by the work of the Hinsdale Caucus in putting forth candidates whom I feel have the integrity it will take to preserve the most important qualities of Hinsdale.

Hinsdale is a safe place, provides a healthy environment for our families, and luckily, still bears a resemblance to the beautiful vision of her founders. We are blessed with the fruit of knowledge, which is provided by the diligence of several dedicated citizens who have stood up and challenged the ways of the current Village Board.

We see very clearly now the need to elect those who have proven to be trustworthy stewards of our fair village. I find great comfort in an evaluation of Tom Cauley’s skill set, track record in voting and respectful treatment of residents. He is the most qualified candidate and has demonstrated through his words and actions that he is an ideal leader for our fair village. I believe he will use continued excellent judgment as village president. Likewise, I believe the caucus endorsed candidates for village trustee, Doug Geoga, Laura LaPlaca, and Bob Saigh are the safe bet April 7.
Nancy Chapa, Hinsdale

Plan Commission member makes her election picks
Hinsdale is experiencing deteriorating infrastructure and finances and needs capable and knowledgeable leaders to cope with these troubling economic times.

Fortunately there is a candidate slate that is uniquely equipped to guide Hinsdale through the challenges ahead — the team of Tom Cauley for president and Doug Geoga, Laura LaPlaca and Bob Saigh for trustees. These talented and experienced individuals will bring to the Village Board a comprehensive set of skills in the areas of financial management, real estate development, zoning law application and historic preservation.

As trustee, Tom Cauley with his strong financial and legal background has consistently been the voice of reason and has exhibited sound, prudent judgment. Tom expertly applies the zoning code in making articulate decisions always mindful of the best interests of the village and the property values of its residents.

I have served on the Plan Commission with Doug Geoga and Laura LaPlaca. Doug with his extensive business background and Laura with her legal expertise and years of service on the Plan Commission are highly knowledgeable about the zoning code and development issues. They carefully listen to public input and factor it into their thoughtful and fair-minded decisions.

Bob Saigh has a record of highly capable and distinguished service to the village whether working in the area of historic preservation, on the Zoning Board of Appeals or on numerous task forces.
These candidates have the experience, skills and qualities necessary to restore Hinsdale ‘s finances and infrastructure and to promote smart, sensible development in the Village. Please vote for them  April 7.
Neale Byrnes, Hinsdale Plan Commissioner

Youth coach should keep politics out of bounds
During the last election, I received an e-mail from one of my children’s coaches urging me to vote for a particular trustee candidate. You can imagine the uncomfortable position that communication put me in. It reminded me of the open elections for union representation. How might it affect my child if my family went out-of-favor with the coach because I didn’t openly support the proffered candidate? What if I openly supported another candidate?

A coach’s job is to teach skills and sportsmanship and to act as a role model. Not to try to lean on unsuspecting parents for votes. Politics is a sensitive issue and children should be off limits as political fodder.

In the end, I didn’t vote for the coach’s choice for trustee. I made my choice after considering many different sources of information including the Hinsdale Caucus recommendation. The coach’s choice turned out to be a swing and a miss for Hinsdale.
Debra Braselton, Hinsdale

District 86 slate provides solid leadership
The Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of education slate of Dennis Brennan, DeeDee Gorgol, Kay Gallo and George Karavattuveetil provides the type of leadership and commitment that will be necessary for success in the turbulent economic times ahead.

They have a vested interest in the school — three of the four candidates currently have children attending District 86 schools. These individuals are committed to providing a curriculum that will challenge the students and provide the foundation for success in the 21st century.

They also are committed to ensuring the continued rich and robust offering of extracurricular activities while always looking at the district’s finances and operating within a balanced budget. And, they have shown an eagerness to work in harmony with the current board.

All are active members of the community and recognize the need to respect the opinions of all stakeholders, starting with the students. Each brings an individual expertise to the board and will seek new and creative approaches to the many challenges facing the district. They are volunteers, willing to make a commitment to the community for no other reason that their desire to make a difference. They just want to assure the future academic excellence which we have come to expect at our schools.

Please vote for positions 1, 2 , 3, and 5 for the District 86 Board of Education.
Peter McCabe, Hinsdale

Community owes debt of gratitude to ‘10M man’
I am always encouraged by examples, indeed living proof, in our community that we can make a difference one person, one issue at a time. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our Ten Million Dollar Man, Andrew Schmidt. He is certainly among the most solid citizens I’ve known in my roughly 13 years as an area resident.

Andrew spends most of his waking hours working as a public school teacher. And then he spends virtually all remaining hours being a father and husband, and representing the best interests of taxpayers as a member of the District 181 Board of Education.

When Andrew discovered the High School District 86 Board had approved the issuance of $10 million in working cash bonds, his waking hours grew even longer. The board could have asked taxpaying citizens for our permission to approve a $10 million commitment but the board did not. It had no intention whatsoever.

When Andrew took on the District 86 Board in the steely but polite manner that so many of us admire, those virtues were not evident on the other side of the table. All Andrew was seeking was process, transparency, integrity. These should be the guiding principals of every school board.
Few of us even bother to vote for Board of Education members, and fewer still pay attention to how they propose to spend our money once they are seated. On April 7, make sure to pay attention. This vote absolutely matters.
Steve Woodward, Hinsdale

Barrett has kept District 86 out of deficit spending
With regards to the upcoming District 86  School Board election, the one crucial consideration is school finances. Fortunately, Dianne Barrett has been a member of the Board for the past four years and is running for re-election.

Mrs. Barrett has been on the District Finance Committee these past four years, and has been instrumental in keeping the district out of deficit spending.

I would encourage everyone interested  in financial stability for the district to vote April  7 for  Dianne Barrett of Clarendon Hills. She is seeking one of the four positions open on the District 86 School Board. Mrs. Barrett is listed in the Final Four names on the ballot.
Colette O’Neil, Oak Brook

Williams already has broken campaign promise
Last week I received a mailer from Cindy Williams telling me her opponent, Tom Cauley, wants to raise my property taxes. To confirm her statement, I e-mailed Tom Cauley’s campaign Web site and asked him directly.

Tom Cauley replied and stated that not only has he never advocated raising property taxes, it has never been a campaign issue. Additionally, the 1991 Tax Cap Act prohibits the Village Board from materially increasing property taxes.

All of the candidates are promoting civility as one of the top planks of their platforms. All the candidates state a desire to stop the current pettiness and uncivil activity of our Village Board.  Now, I submit the question to all residents of Hinsdale: Is it civil to mislead voters by falsely representing your opponent’s position?

Not only is Cindy Williams leading the charge with negative campaign ads, Williams already is breaking one of her campaign promises — civility of our Village Board. The negative campaign tactics and false statements made by Williams and pushed by her via a mass mailing to residents should not be tolerated.

This type of activity is not fair to Tom Cauley, and more importantly it is not fair to the residents of our village. Will the negative campaigning and false advertisements continue? Our next village president should be, among other qualities, someone who is upfront and completely honest with residents.
Frank V. Gonzalez, Hinsdale

District 86 needs to exhibit fiscal responsibility
Some current and wanna-be Board members are not fiscally responsible enough to put the mutual best interests of the kids and taxpayers first.

Final Four are different. I have attended board meetings and observed incumbents Barrett and Skoda come extremely well prepared asking the hard questions. If they get an evasive or half-truth answer, they ask the question again. There is no snowing them. In particular, before spending $4 million for artificial turf and $10 million for a library where no sketch or estimate exists to show how the structure would be transformational to the learning process.

Barrett and Skoda’s continued requests for reports, inquiring about relevant laws and  repeated requests for open disclosure and community involvement are ignored by those who want to chain the next generation of students with untenable debt and the taxpayers with secret, extreme increases in property tax. The recent bad economy is an example of what happens when theft through big borrowing, big taxes, and big public payrolls takes place.

Please join me in supporting Barrett and Skoda for re-election. Their ability to fight for the kids and taxpayers is clearly evidenced by their voting record. They require a good team to join them to bring continued accountability and transparency. Support also their Final Four ticket of Andrew Schmidt and Matt McCann to continue the goal of outstanding education for future kids without reckless and irresponsible debt increases that, in the end, hurt the kids and their parents.
Kelly Glisan, Darien

Cauley would bring new direction to Hinsdale
The randomly chosen residents of the Hinsdale Caucus made the correct choice by endorsing Tom Cauley for village president. During his two years on the board, Cauley has been calling for restraint in spending, a fair and transparent process for all residents and a back to basics approach to village government.

Cauley is pro-development and will work to revitalize our downtown, but will not “change the rules” to fatten the profit margins of developers seeking to build noncompliant structures. On the other hand, Williams and Woerner have:

• Wastefully spent money on consultants and speech writers, which could have been used to fix a portion of our roads;

• Initiated or supported unnecessary lawsuits against residents and the ZBA chairman, only months before his term was to expire. Again wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars; and
• Spent money on studies and plans to build a power business, only to have it voted down by residents (they can’t fix our roads, how would they run an electric company).

Williams and Woerner have each been an elected official for six-plus years. They have put our village in its current state. Additionally, the public endorsement of Williams by Follett, Schultz and Orler is a good indication of what four years with Williams as president would entail. These four trustees have consistently voted together on wasteful spending, initiating lawsuits and ignoring Plan Commission recommendations.

It’s time for a new direction. I will vote Cauley on April 7.
Luke S. Stifflear, Hinsdale

Writer endorses Svoboda for COD School Board
My vote for Nancy Svoboda for the College of DuPage Board of Trustees supports the need for a commitment to balanced decisions regarding affordability, accountability and academic standards at the college, which serves the greatest number of students and residents obtaining job advancement knowledge in our county.

Ms. Svoboda’s 34-year background in education and counseling supplies extensive knowledge of the underpinnings of the community college scenario, and experience in building consensus to find resolutions to difficult situations. Ms. Svoboda envisions a focus that encompasses both quality student services and curriculum with transparent fiscal responsibility.

Nancy Svoboda, along with Kim Savage, Tom Wendorf, and Sandy Kim who are all endorsed Illinois Education Association for the four open board seats, will represent the needed commitment and the interests of our district by focusing on student needs, financial oversight and collaborative decision processes.
Carol C Wallace, Lisle