Hinsdale Official Retiring After 2 Decades With Village

HINSDALE, IL – Rob McGinnis, a Hinsdale official for nearly two decades, is retiring Jan. 2, with village officials praising his service Tuesday.

McGinnis, the village's community development director, was promoted to that job in 2009 after two years as the building commissioner.

He worked for nine years before that in municipal jobs in Des Plaines and Woodridge.

Trustee Scott Banke was among those thanking McGinnis for his hard work.

"There are a lot of egos in this town," Banke said at a Village Board meeting. "I can't imagine some of the complexity you went through in your job."

Trustee Alexis Braden, a historic preservation advocate, said she met McGinnis years ago when she "marched" into his office over concerns about a historic home's demolition.

"You started educating me on the code, and that was so helpful," she said. "With that, you kick-started an interest in preservation for me."

Village Manager Kathleen Gargano presented McGinnis with a small arbor vitae tree decorated with a paper garland containing messages from McGinnis' co-workers and village officials.

Arbor vitae trees have been caught up in local zoning controversies, such as the building of a chiropractor's office.

"Arbor vitae is a popular screening tree," Gargano said to McGinnis. "You and I have had a lot of jokes about arbor vitae."

McGinnis said it had been his pleasure to serve Hinsdale.

"I'm proud to be able to say that I made a difference and left it better than I found it," he said.

Bill Heniff is set to serve as the interim community development director. Earlier this year, he retired from that position in Lombard.

He is now working for staffing company MGT, formerly GovHR, through which he got the Hinsdale assignment.