Brick Street Debate? Hinsdale Delays Project

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale planned to rebuild Sixth Street this year, but it revealed last week that it would delay the project until 2026.

In a memo, Village Manager Kathleen Gargano blamed the delay on uncertainty over the status of a federal grant.

The village was poised to set up a special tax district along Sixth Street to pay for keeping the street all brick. That would have meant steep property tax hikes for neighbors.

When officials first considered the project in 2023, they planned to keep the intersections brick but pave the rest.

Alerted by a Patch story, residents called for the village to pay for keeping Sixth all brick, saying the street was one of the village's attractions.

But officials said an all-brick street cost too much and that it would be unfair to residents who lived on asphalt streets. That's why the village pushed the tax district.

Last month, the village estimated the average homeowner's annual cost over a decade would be about $2,300. That drew a mixed reaction from neighbors at a Village Board meeting.

At last month's board meeting, Village President Tom Cauley said the local congressman included $1.1 million for sewer work on Sixth as part of a massive infrastructure bill. That's believed to be the money that is in question.

If the village received the money, it would defray some of the neighbors' costs for the brick street, Cauley said.