Dupage Policy Journal

DuPage County Board member Greg Hart is taking pride in standing in the way of some of his colleagues’ latest plans.

“DuPage County Board members proposed spending your hard-earned tax dollars on redesigning their own private office space and board member lounge,” Hart posted on Twitter. “I stood up to oppose this wasteful spending proposal.”

In August, the Hinsdale lawmaker announced he plans to run for board chairman in 2022, with the financial backing of current chairman Dam Cronin.

By the end of June, Hart had $267,627 in his campaign account, roughly all of it coming during the quarter in a fundraising blitz that included a $10,000 contribution from Cronin.

According to Patch.com, the only other board member with a comparable war chest is Republican County Board member Pete DiCianni of Elmhurst, who is also expected to make a run for the board chairman post.

As of June 30, Illinois Board of Elections records indicate that DiCianni, a former Elmhurst mayor, had $337,404 in his campaign fund, including $250,000 he lent his campaign.

DiCianni came under fire during the summer of 2020 when a videotaped confrontation between him and Black Lives Matter counterprotesters surfaced during a pro-police rally in front of the Elmhurst police station. During that confrontation, he told them, "You leave our town then," Patch.com reported. He later responded to an email from a constituent who supported Black Lives Matter by telling her to "stick" her vote in her "a--."

DiCianna later stepped down as chairman of the board's Health and Human Services Committee.