Hinsdale 'Dream House' to Be Raffled Off for Autism Cause

The house at 532 Justina Street is currently unoccupied, but on Tuesday night it certainly wasn't empty. 

It was open house night at the $1.2 million home, the grand prize of the Chicago Dream House Raffle.

The Hope Institute for Children and Families, a Springfield-based provider of "living, learning and health care services" for children with developmental and physical disabilities, and Ethan Allen have partnered to put on the raffle, for which $150 tickets have been on sale since September.

The grand prize drawing will be held Feb. 4. Multi-ticket purchasers will be entered to win additional prizes, such as a Porsche Boxter or a Hawaiian vacation. 

Tom LeClair, the Hope Institute's chief development officer, said the organization picked a Hinsdale home based on the village's convenient location.

"People from the north side don't want to move to the south side and people from the south side don't want to move to the north side," LeClair said. "We figured we'd find somewhere in between."

LeClair said 8,000 raffle tickets have been sold so far. To enter the raffle, call 1-800-697-7734 or visit www.chicagoraffle.com. 

For Tuesday night's open house, several of the Hinsdale home's rooms were furnished by Ethan Allen in a way that would be conducive to a family with an autistic child. 

Talitha Mueller of Helping Hand Advocacy Services, an organization that helps guide parents of autistic children, was on hand to talk about the rooms and how the way were laid out benefits autistic children.