Hinsdale Village President Greg Hart publicly rejected racially charged criticism from a local resident on July 31, writing on social media that he refuses to apologize for believing the community should be welcoming, safe, and full of opportunity for every law-abiding resident.
The target of Hart's response: Kristina McCloy, a Hinsdale resident and founder of the conservative group Concerned Parents of Illinois, who has ties to the Darren Bailey gubernatorial campaign. McCloy, appointed as a Republican Downers Grove Township trustee in fall 2023, introduced Bailey's running mate, Cook County Republican Party Chair Aaron Del Mar, at the campaign's Oak Brook launch event in fall 2025. Del Mar said at the event that McCloy had offered to run alongside him when he was exploring his own gubernatorial bid.
On the Concerned Parents social media page, McCloy criticized Hart for "participation in LGBTQ community events, Mexican parades, Muslim events, public support for (Black Lives Matter), publicly complimenting the NAACP, and thanking Joe Biden for his service," according to Patch, which first reported the exchange Sunday, Aug. 2.
Hart, a former Republican member of the DuPage County Board who became village president in 2025, let the quote speak for itself.
"In reading this op-ed, it seems like the views of the Concerned Parents founder belong in 1826," he wrote. "I'll keep governing in 2026."
Other Hinsdale Republicans push back
McCloy also targeted DuPage County Board member Kari Galassi, a Hinsdale Republican, posting a photo of Galassi wearing a headscarf at a Muslim community event and accusing her of political pandering. Galassi responded on social media that she had invited McCloy to meet for a respectful conversation, but that those invitations had been repeatedly denied.
Hinsdale High School District 86 board member Jeff Waters, a conservative, defended Galassi publicly on social media:
"That commentary is gum on your shoes, Kari – long on criticism and short on solutions … Keep being you, KG. Since you stepped up to serve your friends and neighbors, the community has benefited greatly."
The controversy extends beyond DuPage County. In June, Zoe Marsh-Leigh, an African American conservative from Chicago and co-founder of Chicago Flips Red, called McCloy and Del Mar "certified young racists" on social media and urged Black voters to sit out the governor's race until Del Mar withdraws from the ticket.
Pattern of inflammatory posts
McCloy's social media history includes a 2024 post on the Concerned Parents Facebook page asserting that schools are hiding attacks by Black children on white children. She also wrote in the DuPage Policy Journal that a Hinsdale robbery suspect did not speak English and lives in an area full of "illegal aliens," and criticized Galassi for backing money for "illegal alien assistance."
When asked about her statements, McCloy told Patch she had retained legal counsel and directed the reporter to a piece she wrote arguing the reporter is biased against conservatives. The Bailey campaign and Del Mar did not return messages for comment.
Bailey won the Republican primary for governor on March 17 and faces incumbent Gov. JB Pritzker in the general election.
