Pro-Choice Group Targets Hinsdale D86 Board Hopeful

HINSDALE, IL – Schools have no power over abortion, but a pro-choice group is spending money attacking school board candidates in Hinsdale and Elmhurst.

Chicago-based Personal PAC sent mailers recently against Andrew Catton, a candidate for the Hinsdale High School District 86 board. It issued a nearly identical flyer targeting Tom Chavez, a candidate in Elmhurst School District 205.

Both men are considered conservative.

The political action committee's stated mission is to help pro-choice candidates at the state and local levels.

At the end of last year, the group reported having $1.2 million in its bank account.

In the mailer, the committee said, "Extremists like Andrew Catton want to wreck our public schools." It also accused Catton of seeking to "control what we can read and what teachers can teach."

Additionally, the flyer said that Catton wanted to "deny resources from children based on what they look like and where they come from."

The mailer against Catton drew a condemnation from one of his critics.

Hinsdale resident Linda Burke, who has attended school board meetings since the 1990s, called the flyer "scurrilous" and said it made "evidence-free" allegations.

"For example, the mailer claims he wants to ban books, when Catton specifically denied the intent to ban books, as did the other candidates, at The Hinsdalean candidates' forum," said Burke, who refers to herself as a "moderate-learning progressive." "It says he wants to cut funding for public libraries, when there has been no discussion of public libraries in the 2025 D86 campaign."

She continued, "I oppose the election of Andrew Catton for school board, but my reasons are drawn from his own stated policies and intentions in the 2025 campaign. I don't make stuff up."

She supports candidates Liz Mitha, Mary Satchwell, Bobby Fischer and Baron Leacock.

Chavez, the Elmhurst candidate, forwarded the mailer to Patch, calling it an "ugly attack" but saying he was used to it.

"It’s promoting more of the same politics and ideology, instead of academics and education," Chavez said in a text.

Patch asked Personal PAC why it was spending money on school board races. The group issued a statement from Sarah Garza Resnick, its president and CEO.

"Personal PAC is committed to electing pro-choice candidates, and we believe in the importance of local races, including for the school and library boards," Resnick said. "These elections have a critical impact on the everyday lives of Illinois residents, and we also know that local seats can often be a stepping stone to higher office, so it is imperative that we elect candidates to these roles who are committed to protecting reproductive rights, freedom of speech, age-appropriate and thorough sex education, and more. All of our mailers include citations, and we encourage voters with any questions to review them."

Patch left a message for comment Friday with Catton.