A four-person slate of Clarendon Hills challengers says the village's handling of its downtown redevelopment drove them to run for office.
Keith Chval, a former Hinsdale High School District 86 board member who served from 2017 to 2021, plans to run for village president in the April 6, 2027, election. Kathleen Hirsman, who served on the District 86 board from 2015 to 2023, is running for trustee alongside Erika Jones and Derek White. Patch first reported the slate's formation in October.
The slate said in a news release that residents have voiced concerns about the lack of public disclosure and discussion on village matters, according to the Chicago Tribune. Chval said transparency was "the sole motivating factor behind our coming together and volunteering to serve on the Board."
The downtown redevelopment has been a source of friction in Clarendon Hills for months. Village President Eric Tech proposed eliminating a right-turn slip lane at the Sloan Triangle at Prospect and Park avenues and replacing it with a plaza. After residents pushed back, the Village Board revised the plan to include retractable bollards for flexible closures during events.
In July, a Village Board majority rejected a no-bid streetscape contract. The Tribune reported the contract at $3.2 million, while Patch reported the figure at $3.3 million. A scaled-back $1.9 million no-bid deal later passed unanimously, despite protests from residents who questioned the rush.
The Chval slate's statement says no single current issue will be part of its platform. Chval framed the campaign as a critique of process, not of any specific proposal.
He said what "seriously irks" residents "is the way in which the board has gone about pursuing its agenda." He added that the campaign is about ensuring "this closed process is not applied to the next … significant board decisions."
Chval said Hirsman was the driving force behind organizing the slate about six weeks before the announcement. He said she suggested they bring their District 86 board experience to village government "after seeing all the avoidable drama of the past several months."
The slate is not alone in the race. A second group, Clarendon Hills Together, announced in late October with Corri Natarelli running for village president. Laura Donnelly, Trustee Ralph DeAngelis and Trustee Elizabeth O'Connell are seeking the three trustee seats. To some degree, all four candidates have taken positions friendly to Tech's push for downtown upgrades, according to Patch.
Former Trustee Taps Gallagher has also said he is running for a trustee seat.
Tech has not announced whether he will seek re-election. His term expires in 2027, along with the terms of Trustees Mark Peterson, DeAngelis and O'Connell.
"I will be glad to share my plans going forward at the appropriate time," Tech said in October, according to the Tribune.
Clarendon Hills has not had a contested village president election since the Obama administration, according to Patch. The last competitive Village Board election was in 2021.
