Hinsdale trustees voted unanimously Monday, Oct. 19, to pull a $138,000 no-bid contract from the agenda after a public confrontation over a campaign donation to Village President Greg Hart.

The Rosemont-based engineering firm Christopher Burke Engineering gave $1,500 to Hart's political committee on Oct. 8, Patch first reported. That payment came two days after the board first heard about a proposed two-year contract extension for the same firm.

Burke reviews development-permit applications in Hinsdale, with costs passed directly to property owners.

Trustee Scott Banke asked to remove the contract from the agenda, saying "some things have come to light." Trustee Luke Stifflear backed the request, calling the no-bid arrangement unusual, though legal under state law for professional services. Stifflear said a resident had alerted him to the donation earlier that day.

The exchange quickly turned heated. Hart called the discussion a "spectacle" and suggested the trustees' concerns were politically motivated. When Stifflear tried to respond, Hart cut him off: "I have the floor. As the presiding officer, I'll recognize who gets to speak."

Officials began talking over each other.

Trustee Neale Byrnes told Hart the timing of the donation caught people's attention. Hart said he could not explain why the firm contributed but maintained the money would not influence his decisions. He said the donation was reported on the state Board of Elections website, as required by law.

Trustee Michelle Fisher intervened, asking that Stifflear be allowed to finish. Stifflear said the board was obligated to look into such matters and called for upfront disclosure when a vendor donates to an official involved in a contract vote.

Fisher suggested the village create a disclosure form. Hart said he was open to the idea, noting the DuPage County Board, on which he previously served, had such a form.

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

Hart's campaign committee has received nearly $30,000 in October 2026, an unusually high amount for a local official who is not up for election until 2029, according to Patch. Burke also made $1,000 payments to Hart's campaign in January and before he was elected unopposed in April 2025.

Hart's predecessor, Tom Cauley, who served four terms, did not receive money from Burke, according to campaign records. Cauley disbanded his political committee in 2017.

In a message to Patch on Wednesday, Oct. 21, Hart said the village's ethics code does not impose vendor contribution limits or recusal obligations tied to political contributions. He said Village Manager Kathleen Gargano confirmed that point.

The contract's current term expires at the end of the year.