Village President Greg Hart is putting ComEd on notice: restore power faster, communicate better, or explain why Hinsdale's aging above-ground grid keeps failing.
In a formal statement published Thursday, Aug. 6, in The Hinsdalean, Hart announced he has sent a written letter to ComEd CEO Gil Quiniones documenting what residents endured during the July 27 storm and its aftermath. He committed to requesting a formal "after action" review with ComEd and said the village will explore infrastructure hardening options including targeted undergrounding of electrical lines, enhanced vegetation management and stronger system hardening.
The July 27 storm knocked out power to approximately 1,200 ComEd customers in Hinsdale, downing utility wires at nine locations. Nearly 3 inches of rain fell with wind speeds around 70 mph. Some residents near Third Street and Oak and North Street and Vine remained dark through at least July 30. ComEd missed at least two self-imposed restoration deadlines before power returned to nearly all homes by July 31.
Hart said residents reported flooded basements, spoiled food, medical concerns and no reliable information about when service would return.
"We cannot simply restore power and move on as though nothing happened," Hart wrote in the statement.
Five days of direct pressure
Hart said he remained in direct contact with ComEd's executive leadership for five consecutive days, demanding updates, challenging inconsistent restoration information and pressing for attention to the neighborhoods without power the longest. He also reached out to Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch and state Sens. Suzy Glowiak Hilton and John Curran. Speaker Welch personally contacted Quiniones to reinforce the urgency, according to Hart's statement.
As we reported July 31, Hart publicly called the situation "unacceptable" on July 30 after ComEd missed its second deadline. The Aug. 6 statement moves from frustration to a formal accountability roadmap.
Hart credited Village Manager Kathleen Gargano and the village leadership team for coordination that kept the response focused on residents. The village's Public Services Department fielded about 60 storm-related calls on July 27 alone, and crews deployed two woodchippers simultaneously to clear downed trees on the north and south sides of the village.
What comes next
Hart outlined several forward-looking commitments:
- A formal after-action review with ComEd examining what occurred and what improvements will be made before the next major storm
- Exploration of targeted undergrounding of electrical lines, system hardening and vegetation management
- A village review of its own emergency communication practices to provide better information during prolonged outages
- Continued work with state and regional partners on infrastructure resilience
Hart distinguished between ComEd's lineworkers, whom he praised for working "tirelessly, often in dangerous conditions," and the utility's planning and infrastructure decisions. He framed the push for undergrounding as a long-held concern, not a new position triggered by the storm.
ComEd has not responded publicly. No date has been set for the after-action review.
