Hinsdale 'Spectacle': Officials Argue Over Donation To Village President

HINSDALE, IL – An engineering firm's political donation to the Hinsdale village president sparked an argument among officials Monday.

Such a public disagreement on the Village Board is virtually unheard of. Officials interrupted each other, with Village President Greg Hart calling the discussion a "spectacle."

On Oct. 8, Hart's political committee accepted $1,500 from Rosemont-based Christopher Burke Engineering.

At Monday's meeting, the board was asked to vote on a two-year, no-bid contract for Burke worth $138,000. It continued an existing agreement in which the firm reviews applications for development permits.

Hart's campaign also received $1,000 payments from Burke in January and before he was elected unopposed in April 2025.

The latest Burke payment was two days after the board first heard about the contract extension.

The contribution was part of a surge in money to Hart's committee, which has received nearly $30,000 this month, an unusually high amount for a local elected official. He is not up for election until 2029.

During the meeting, Trustee Scott Banke asked to remove the contract from the agenda, saying "some things have come to light."

Trustee Luke Stifflear agreed, saying a no-bid contract was unusual, although legal under state law for professional services.

He also said "certain campaign payments" had been made to "certain board members." He said a resident told him about it earlier that day.

"I believe that this matter deserves detailed attention, as the costs here are passed directly on to the property owners that are seeking evaluation of their permits," Stifflear said.

Hart said he received the donation from Burke, but that the money would not influence his decision-making. The village's staff brought forward the contract, which is set to expire at year's end.

Village staffers praised Burke's work, saying the firm is knowledgeable.

Hart said the timing of the trustees' concerns was "interesting," suggesting the motive was "political."

When Stifflear tried to break in, Hart said, "I have the floor. As the presiding officer, I'll recognize who gets to speak."

"I think all this is achieving is creating a spectacle when there's nothing really of substance here," Hart said. "Frankly, I think impugning someone's integrity or the perception of that just by mentioning this in a public meeting is very unfortunate for this village."

Trustee Neale Byrnes responded, "I think the one issue that caught people's eye was that they made a contribution to your organization two days after the first reading."

Hart said he couldn't say why the firm contributed.

Byrnes said he could not either.

(In response to a Patch inquiry, the firm said it contributed to Hart's committee as part of an October fundraiser, following the law.)

Hart suggested the issue was a "ruse."

Then, officials started talking over each other.

"I didn't accuse you of anything like you just did," Hart said. "I didn't impugn your character like you just did to me."

"We didn't go that far," Stifflear said.

Hart said, "Well, you suggested I would take action for campaign contributions. That's literally what you just said."

Stifflear said he wished the donation had been disclosed earlier. Hart replied that it had been reported on the state Board of Elections website.

"Do you want me to call you personally? Is that what you want me to do? I followed every law," Hart said.

Trustee Michelle Fisher said, "I'm sorry. Luke, can you finish, please?"

Stifflear said, "I have the floor."

Other trustees backed Stifflear, who said the board was obligated to look into such matters.

"When we have a situation such as this, the board should consider that disclosures are made up front and that we don't have to go and search through campaign filings to determine them," Stifflear said.

Fisher suggested the village create a form for such disclosures.

Hart said he was open to the idea, saying the DuPage County Board, on which he served, had such a form.

The board voted unanimously to remove the contract from the agenda. Trustees Alexis Braden and Matt Posthuma were silent during the discussion.

In a message to Patch on Wednesday morning, Hart said, "Under our normal procedures, contracts like this are voted on by the Village Board, not the Village President. The campaign contributions in question were fully and publicly disclosed in accordance with Illinois law. Village Manager (Kathleen) Gargano also clarified that Hinsdale's existing ethics code does not impose vendor contribution limits, additional disclosure requirements, or recusal obligations tied to political contributions."

For years, Christopher Burke Engineering has donated to politicians throughout the suburbs.

In April, Patch reported that Elmhurst Mayor Scott Levin's committee accepted $1,000 from the firm a couple of months earlier. His campaign had received a total of $3,000 from Burke over two years.

Burke is an Elmhurst contractor as well.

Asked about Burke's donations at the time, Levin said he knew the firm did a lot of work when Elmhurst embarked on major stormwater projects 15 years ago. But he said he was unaware of the current work.

Patch has reported on the mayors of both Bensenville and Lyons, who regularly take donations from their towns' vendors.

Hart's four-term predecessor, Tom Cauley, organized a political committee, but disbanded it in 2017. He did not receive money from Burke, according to the records.

In Western Springs, Village President Heidi Rudolph has no political fund. Darien Mayor Joseph Marchese formed a committee for his 2019 election, but closed it shortly after his victory.

In September 2025, Hart revealed he was considering running for village president. He said he had nothing against Cauley or the trustees, describing the village as well-run.

At the time, Hart hired a pollster whose results indicated that Hart would defeat Cauley or Stifflear by wide margins.

Cauley later said he would not seek another term. Stifflear considered running, but ultimately decided against it.

Recently, Stifflear, who is in his third term, told Patch that he wouldn't run again in April.