Darby Hills chosen — again — to succeed Dan McConchie in state Senate

For the second time in a month, Barrington Hills Trustee Darby Hills has been named the new state senator for the 26th District — but her selection remains the target of court action.

During a 15-minute meeting on Friday at Palatine Township Republican headquarters, GOP leaders representing various parts of the Northwest suburban district chose Hills to succeed state Sen. Dan McConchie of Hawthorn Woods, who resigned Feb. 2.

Hills didn’t attend the meeting but arrived shortly afterward to sign her oath of office. She later participated in a swearing-in ceremony at Barrington Hills village hall.

Hills was first chosen for the state Senate seat from a field of four applicants on Feb. 14. The other hopefuls were state Rep. Martin McLaughlin of Barrington Hills, Ela Township Trustee Tosi Ufodike of Hawthorn Woods and Long Grove Trustee Chris Borawski.

The start of Hills’ senatorial service was delayed, however, when Algonquin Republican Brittany Colatorti filed a lawsuit in McHenry County court claiming the Feb. 14 meeting wasn’t properly advertised to the public.

Colatorti also alleged Hills was ineligible to be appointed because she lacked qualifying GOP activity. Colatorti’s lawyer in the matter is former GOP attorney general candidate Thomas Devore, who has been critical of Hills’ appointment in social media posts.

To settle the complaint, the suburban GOP group agreed to reopen the application process and vote again. No new applicants stepped up.

Additionally, Lake County Republican Party Chair Keith Brin, who led the legislative committee overseeing the appointment, named Hills to an open Republican precinct committee post in an effort to boost her GOP bona fides.

But that didn’t satisfy Colatorti, who on Friday afternoon filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order seeking to prevent Hills from being appointed or participating in the state Senate “in any representative capacity.”

Brin declined to comment on the latest court filing, saying he hadn’t seen it yet.

The 26th District encompasses much of southern, central and western Lake County; smaller parts of Kane and McHenry counties; and portions of Barrington and Palatine townships in Cook County. Representatives of those five regions were tasked with naming McConchie’s successor.

Brin’s vote for Hills had the most weight because more of the people who voted for McConchie in 2022 live in Lake County. He backed Hills for the post the first time, too.

Also voting for Hills on Friday were Kane County Republican Party Chair Andro Lerario and Palatine Township GOP Chair Aaron Del Mar.

McHenry County GOP Chair Jeff Thorsen and Barrington Township GOP Chair Peter Kopsaftis supported McLaughlin for the post.

In remarks to the audience, Del Mar praised McLaughlin but said he would vote for Hills because he believes McLaughlin is the Republican Party’s best chance to defeat a Democratic opponent in the increasingly purple 52nd House District in 2026. McLaughlin defeated Democratic challenger Maria Peterson of North Barrington by a mere 47 votes in November, and the races for that state House seat and the 26th Senate seat are expected to be among the closest and most expensive in the state in 2026.

Moving McLaughlin to the Senate and creating a vacancy in the 52nd District “would be a tragic mistake,” Del Mar said.

Hills, who wasn’t available for an interview Friday, was appointed to fill a vacancy on the village board in 2022. It wasn’t clear Friday if she would resign that post.