Junk Removal in Hinsdale, IL

HINSDALE, IL – Darien resident Liz Mitha has criticized the Hinsdale High School District 86 board, contending Hinsdale South has gotten the short end of the stick.

On Thursday, Mitha, a member of the Darien-based Cass School District 63 board, announced she would run for District 86's board in the April 1 election.

In a statement, Mitha said that in her time on the Cass board, test scores and attendance have increased and the district's financial rating has improved.

She also noted District 63 voters passed a tax increase referendum in 2022 to pay for construction projects at the district's schools.

At a District 86 board meeting in December, Mitha spoke about the disparity between Hinsdale South and Central high schools. The larger and wealthier Central has long offered a greater course selection than South.

Find out what's happening in Hinsdale-Clarendon Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"South students shouldn't be penalized because the board has decided to keep Central much larger than South," she said. "Students at South are 11 times more likely to have a course denied," citing the district's data.

In February, Mitha took exception to a petition read at a previous board meeting by Central area residents that said the two schools were "very different" and that discouraged completely equalizing course offerings.

Mitha said the petition insinuated that South's students were less intelligent and capable than their Central peers.

In April, Mitha questioned the board's handling of the teachers union's criticism of its actions. She referred specifically to comments from board member Jeff Waters at an earlier meeting when the room was full of union protesters. At that meeting, Waters called for the board to discuss the union contract behind closed doors, even though the union was the first year of a four-year agreement.

"Rather than try to validate any concerns or indicate a desire to work together, board members said things like, 'I want to add collective bargaining to the agenda' and 'It's an ambush,'" Mitha said.

Mitha serves on the School Association for Special Education in DuPage County. In Cass District 63, she has served on the finance, facilities and parent-teacher advisory committees.

Mitha is an education recruitment consultant and a former teacher with a master's degree in public policy from UCLA, where she focused on education policy.

She has also volunteered as a Cub Scout den leader, Big Brother Big Sister mentor, English-as-a-second-language teacher for refugees and a member of the Hinsdale South Community Action Team.

She lives in Darien with her husband, a partner at a corporate law firm, and two children, both future Hinsdale South students.

In April's election, five of District 86's seven board seats are up. Four are for four-year terms, one is for two years.

Mitha said she is running for a four-year seat. The only other publicly announced candidate, Jeff Waters, is seeking a two-year seat.

The filing period for candidates starts Tuesday and lasts through the following Monday.

The records reveal a personnel investigation at Hinsdale Central in August.

Patch Staff

|Updated Thu, Oct 31, 2024 at 9:38 am CT

HINSDALE, IL – School board members, even the president, are considered part time.

But according to Hinsdale High School District 86's August legal invoice, board President Catherine Greenspon had more contacts with the district's law firm than the full-time superintendent.

On Wednesday, the district released its August legal bills in response to a public records request from resident Yvonne Mayer.

The district's former law firm, Chicago-based Robbins Schwartz, billed the district $132,000 that month, an unusually high amount.

Last week, the school board voted unanimously against paying the firm, with members saying they wanted a fuller explanation.

Find out what's happening in Hinsdale-Clarendon Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Patch analyzed the 124 pages of the legal bills.

In August, Kari Smith, assistant superintendent of student services, appeared in 101 items in the bills. She deals with student matters and special education issues.

Coming in second was Deb Kedrowski, the superintendent's administrative chief of staff, whose name appeared in 83 items.

In the third position was Greenspon, who was listed in 60 items. She edged out Superintendent Michael Lach, who appeared 58 times. Board member Peggy James was next at 22 times. Filling out the list were various staffers.

At last week's board meeting, two members said they had no contact with the law firm. Another said she inquired about the bills, while still another said he reached out to the firm just once. (One member was absent.)

But Greenspon and James remained silent, not saying how often they reached out to the firm.

For her part, Greenspon's name appeared in sections of the heavily redacted bills dealing with the board's fight against a controversial proposed tax district in Clarendon Hills, board policies, personnel and Freedom of Information Act requests. And James, the board's policy committee chairwoman, was listed in the parts about policies and the Freedom of Information Act.

The board, particularly Greenspon, has been accused of micromanaging the administration. One of the board's more prominent critics is Greenspon's predecessor Erik Held, who decided against running again last year.

"They desire more and more micromanagement and direct responsibility of the day-to-day District operations," Held said in a June email to the board. "That is well beyond your purview, and inserting the president at all times between the superintendent and district attorney is a glaring example of this."

Held was commenting on a new policy in which the superintendent must notify the president when consulting with the attorney.

According to the bills, a fifth of the costs went to the district's battle with Clarendon Hills over a tax increment district, or TIF.

The next biggest category – 17 percent – involved bill titles that were blacked out, presumably because of the privacy of attorney-client communications.

Student matters and Freedom of Information Act requests each took up 11 percent of the costs. The other top topics were a personnel investigation (10 percent), special education (9 percent), board policies (7 percent) and personnel (6 percent).

The investigation appeared to involve a personnel issue in the athletic department. The items listed the names of Jodi Bryant, assistant superintendent of human resources; Michael Jezioro, Hinsdale Central's athletic director; and Bill Walsh, Central's principal.

In early September, Robbins Schwartz ended its relationship with the school board, saying District 86 was "unreasonably difficult" to serve.

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This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

The Hinsdale Central Girls Basketball Program held their 2nd Annual Skills Clinic-selling out again. Getting all girls ready for the season

Community Contributor

|Updated Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:46 pm CT

Bringing it in at the end of the Clinic where all the campers brought their fire!

Junior Adriana Giannini meeting the players she led during the clinic

Senior Julia Sherpitis and Junior Katherine Skinner giving solid instruction to get their players ready for the season

Hinsdale Central's Main Gym was where today's Red Devils basketball stars inspired the next generation of Red Devil basketball stars

Junior Sascha Mokhtarian, Sophomore Katie Coffey, and Freshman Riley Orozco going over the plan with their eager players

All lined up for a good passing drill

Coach Moore scouting and impressed with the talent coming his way in the future

Junior Kasey Quast providing solid instruction to her group of players

Dribbling under the bright lights of Hinsdale Central's Main Gym

Hinsdale Central Girls Head Basketball Coach Brett Moore, Assistant Varsity Coach Gia Pellizzari (Hinsdale Central Alum who was also a standout basketball player for the Red Devils) and players led the program's 2nd Annual Skills Clinic for girls in grades 1-6. For the second year the clinic sold out with all proceeds going directly to the Hinsdale Central Girls Basketball program. More importantly the clinic serves as a chance to bring more vibrancy and excitement to the girls basketball community throughout the D86 boundaries.

Over 50 girls were put into smaller groups that were led by Red Devil players. The smaller groups allowed more skill focus and just as importantly allowed all the girls to get to know their Red Devil player coaches better and hopefully inspire them to one day play on the courts of Hinsdale Central in high school.

Coach Moore has had a successful track record leading High School Boys varsity basketball programs and is beginning his first year leading the Red Devils Girls Basketball program - and from all indications he's working his magic yet again. The excitement around girls basketball has helped but more importantly Coach Moore and his staff have been working tirelessly since taking over the program in the Spring of this year. In June, the Hinsdale Central Girls Basketball Summer Camp led by Coach Moore smashed all previous attendance records with 89 attendees (the previous high was 58). The energy around Hinsdale Central Girls Basketball is palpable and was on clear display during Sunday's Skills Clinic.

Sunday's Skills Clinic allowed the girls that attended a great way to start their youth basketball season. It also provided an opportunity for the Red Devils players to take on leadership and realize how much of an impact they can make on their community.

Now, it's time to get ready for the season's tip-off and with Sunday's clinic all are more than ready!

Find out what's happening in Hinsdale-Clarendon Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Come see the Hinsdale Central Girls Basketball this season - great basketball and a great atmosphere! For the Red Devils schedule visit: https://schools.snap.app/hinsd...

The letter about Medicare Advantage was sent to local senior citizens.

Patch Staff

|Updated Thu, Oct 31, 2024 at 5:45 am CT

HINSDALE, IL – If you have traditional Medicare, you can go to the Hinsdale hospital for care.

You don't need Medicare Advantage to get service.

A recent letter from the hospital's chain – UChicago Medicine Advent Health – may require clarification.

In the message, the chain informed senior citizens about the Medicare open enrollment period from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.

"To help find the best Medicare health plan for your needs and make sure you are still able to get care with UChicago Medicine AdventHealth, we have partnered with Chapter, a team of licensed independent Medicare advisors," the chain said in the letter.

Find out what's happening in Hinsdale-Clarendon Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Those with traditional Medicare can get care at any hospital that takes Medicare. Virtually, all do, including the Hinsdale hospital.

According to the Medicare website, those with traditional Medicare "can go to any doctor or hospital that takes Medicare, anywhere in the U.S."

Patch asked the hospital chain about the letter. Its spokeswoman, Julie Busch, said the letter was intended to provide a helpful resource for Medicare patients to ensure they fully understand their coverage options through traditional Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan.

"The complexity and number of choices now available under Medicare health plans can be overwhelming for a patient," Busch said in an email. "Our partnership with Chapter is designed to provide our patients with a free resource to help them navigate this complexity and help the patient find the best Medicare plan for their unique situation."

If patients choose a Medicare Advantage plan, she said, their coverage is different or restricted depending on whether their healthcare providers are contracted with the Medicare Advantage plans known as "in-network" or "out-of-network."

"UChicago Medicine AdventHealth wants to ensure our patients understand which Medicare Advantage plans we are contracted with and can accept their insurance, allowing our patients to receive their highest level of health care benefits and coverage," Busch said. "We do participate with traditional Medicare and several Medicare Advantage plans."

Hinsdale resident Linda Burke is among those who received the chain's letter. She said it was misleading.

"Briefly, the letter raises fear that if you don't check your Medicare coverage by calling the phone number of 'Chapter' Medicare guides, you might not be able to receive treatment at Hinsdale Hospital," Burke said in an email to Patch. "This, of course, is a lie. Like virtually all hospitals, Hinsdale accepts Medicare with Medigap."

She said Medicare Advantage plans have major drawbacks.

"(The letter) fails to note that Medicare Advantage is run for profit, with very limited provider networks, geographically limited networks, burdensome prior authorizations, and frequent denials of care," Burke said. "None of these facts are mentioned in the letter."

In a statement, Chapter's chief executive, Cobi Blumenfeld-Gant, said his firm assesses all Medicare options – Medicare Supplement, Part D and Medicare Advantage plans.

"We are the only unbiased Medicare advisor in the country: we look at 100% of Medicare options (even those that don't work with Medicare advisors) and our advisors' compensation does not change based on plan enrollment type," he said.

However, Burke said in an interview that Chapter cannot claim to be objective when it allows its name to be used in misleading advertisements for a particular Medicare Advantage brand.

"I am not saying that our real healthcare providers at Hinsdale or LaGrange Hospitals have anything to do with promoting Medicare Advantage. People who actually treat patients are heroes," she said.

She pointed to a statement on Chapter's website: "Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract."