Police, firefighters and Maximum Towing & Recovery crews respond after a semi-truck hauling a dump trailer overturned and spilled nearly 20 tons of sand across Route 14 just north of Berry Road in Barrington Wednesday, shutting down the roadway for almost three hours. | Photo: Nick Rusin
By Sam Borcia | Lake & McHenry County Scanner
(In case you were wondering last week) A semi-truck driver was pulled out through the windshield by two passersby after the truck and its dump trailer overturned and spilled nearly 20 tons of sand across Route 14 in Barrington, police said.
The Barrington Police Department and Barrington Fire Department responded around 11:18 a.m. Wednesday to Route 14, also known as Northwest Highway, just north of Berry Road in Barrington for a report of an overturned semi-truck.
Barrington Police Chief David Daigle said a 2007 Freightliner semi-truck hauling a dump trailer was traveling southbound on Northwest Highway about 200 feet south of Lake Zurich Road.
The driver noticed the load of sand being hauled in the trailer was tipping over.
The overturned truck, trailer and sand covered all lanes of Northwest Highway.
The driver, a 33-year-old Chicago man, was pulled out of the cab through the front windshield by two passersby who have not been identified, Daigle said.
The driver suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.
Full report can be found here.
Posted in Lake & McHenry County Scanner, Traffic | Leave a Comment »
Republican state Rep. Martin McLaughlin of Barrington Hills spoke out in February against Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to reduce local control of residential zoning rules in a news conference in South Barrington. Flanking him were Algonquin Village President Debby Sosine, left, and South Barrington Mayor Paula McCombie. | Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
Daily Herald Editorial Board
In District 52, incumbent Republican Martin McLaughlin brings a lengthy Springfield record focused on fiscal responsibility. We endorsed him in 2020 for his energy and resourcefulness, in 2022 for his measured approach to state government and in 2024 as a steadfast voice for controlled spending. Democratic challenger Maria Peterson emphasizes lower costs for working families, affordable housing, gun-violence prevention, health care and tax changes. While Peterson is a strong candidate, McLaughlin’s experience and focus on fiscal restraint and oversight continue to make him the stronger choice. McLaughlin is endorsed.
Endorsement can be seen here.
Related: “Editorial: Martin McLaughlin for Illinois 52nd House District” – Chicago Tribune
Posted in Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce, Commodius Maximus, Cost of Living, Daily Herald, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Education, Elections, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Immigration, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, League of Women Voters, OP/Ed, Outmigration, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Rights, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Unions, Village Code | Leave a Comment »
The Barrington Hills Park District Board/Riding Club of Barrington Hills will hold their monthly meeting this evening in person and via Zoom at 6:00 PM. Some topics on their agenda include:
- Discussion of equine emergency stabling
- Discussion of Treasurer’s overview
- Grant Applications
A copy of their agenda can be viewed here. Instructions for accessing the meeting remotely can be found here.
Posted in Agendas, Algonquin Rd, Animal Welfare, Aunt Blabby, Barrington Hills Park District, Barrington Hills Polo Club, Bicyclists, Big Red, Commercial Horse Boarding, Countryside Elementary School, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Don't Change Barrington Hills, E-bikes, Elections, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Fox River Valley Hunt, FPDCC, FRVPC, Horizon Farm, Horse Boarding, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Look For The Union Label, Open Meetings Act, Overhead, Privacy, Property Rights, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club Commission, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Save 5 Acres, Simple Minds, Taxes, The Other Half, Transparency, Unions, Your Barrington Hills | Leave a Comment »
By Steve Zalusky | Daily Herald
In the wake of four (4) school board members coming under investigation, Barrington Area Unit School District 220 has updated a key policy governing political activity by elected officials.
The update, approved by board members last week, allows board members seeking elected office to mention District 220 or use incidental photos of district property in campaign materials, but only as long as they don’t suggest a district endorsement.
“Not to say that the prior policy wasn’t great, but this, I think, clarifies a lot of things,” board member Steve Wang said.
The policy update comes after board member Erin Chan Ding was found to have violated district policies by using school resources, property and social media for prohibited political campaign activities related to her campaign for the Illinois House.
Fellow board members Leah Collister-Lazzari and Barry Altshuler also violated policies by posting images of students, district property and the district’s chess piece logo on campaign social media sites during their 2023 runs for school board.
School board President Sandra Ficke-Bradford was investigated and cleared of wrongdoing regarding a photo of her in front of Barrington High School that appeared in a news article related to the 2025 election.
The board next will be examining its ethics and gift ban policies, officials said
Report continues here.
Related: ““District 220 board members violated campaign policies, investigation finds,” “Proposed Policy Change Would Strip Anonymous Formal Grievances in Barrington District 220,” “CUSD 220 Board delivers second (slappier) slap on the wrist to member Erin Chan Ding,” “CUSD 220 Board of Education public comments we applaud,” “Over $100,000 in Special Interest Funding gifted to 220 Board member’s campaign in failed bid for State Rep job,” “New Evidence of Chan Ding’s Policy Violations and Conflicts of Interest,” “The D220 Board of Ed gets another ‘F’ in accountability & transparency,” “The Real Issue in Barrington 220 Isn’t Parking or Levies — It’s Leadership Culture,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS – Part 2,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS,” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency (Updated),” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency” and “Change.org Petition: ‘For the Resignation of Erin Chan Ding ~ D220 Resources are Not for Political Campaigns’”
Posted in 220, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Daily Herald, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Ethics, Fundraisers, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Organizations, Politics, Property Taxes, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, Taxes, Transparency, What the Ficke (Bradford)? | 5 Comments »
Cole Rogerson works on a graphic organizer during a seventh-grade English language arts class on Sept. 25, 2026, at Hinckley Big-Rock Middle School in Big Rock. The school banned cellphones and aims for their students to do more work on paper. | Dominic Di Palermo/for the Aurora Beacon-News
By Molly Morrow | Aurora Beacon-News
Before Hinckley-Big Rock banned cellphones, things looked a lot different at the district’s three schools. Students were using their phones throughout the school day, and there was more technology-based discipline and concern about kids recording each other without permission, school leadership says.
Even during lunch, students would often be on their cellphones.
“They would sit next to each other, but they wouldn’t be interacting with each other,” Becky Lauer, Hinckley-Big Rock High School’s principal, recalled.
In the fall of 2024, when the district implemented a strict no-cellphone policy, that all changed.
It was an adjustment — and an awkward one, at that, according to Lauer. But, in time, the high-schoolers got used to it.
Nowadays, the high school cafeteria’s a lot louder. But it’s a good kind of noise, she says.
Hinckley-Big-Rock was among the Illinois school districts that banned or restricted cellphone use well before the passage of state legislation that will prohibit students in Illinois public schools from using cellphones throughout the day starting next school year.
Brantley Karns, right, works on a graphic organizer while paraprofessional Rebekah Hett helps Micah Simonson with his work during a seventh-grade English language arts class on Sept. 25, 2026, at Hinckley Big-Rock Middle School in Big Rock. | Dominic Di Palermo/for the Aurora Beacon-News
But Hinckley-Big Rock decided to take it a step further this year, shifting away from all students having their own personal computers and instead housing district computers at school for them to be shared. In tandem with that change, administrators and teachers describe a general reduction in computer use in the classroom district-wide.
Generally speaking, students are now doing lots of reading and assignments on paper. Rough drafts of essays are being handwritten, with only the final copy typed up. The school is even looking to switch back to paper standardized tests, staff say.
Handwriting’s back, too, with more focused instruction than had been offered in recent years.
Article continues here.
Related: “Barrington parents ask District 220 to reduce students’ screen time”
Posted in 220, 300, Aurora Beacon-News, Barrington Education Association, Chicago Tribune, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Entertainment, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Politics, Property Taxes, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, What the Ficke (Bradford)? | Leave a Comment »
Martin McLaughlin is a Republican running to represent Illinois’ 52nd House District. (George Papadakis)
By The Editorial Board | Chicago Tribune
Republican state Rep. Martin “Marty” McLaughlin barely survived his last election, defeating Democrat Maria Peterson by just 47 votes in 2024. The two are facing off again in this northwest suburban district.
McLaughlin, 61, an investment manager and former Barrington Hills village president, has been a consistent voice for fiscal restraint in Springfield. He identifies property taxes as the district’s most pressing problem and has helped residents navigate the appeals process. “If government is going to keep raising the bill, taxpayers at least deserve to know how to fight an unfair assessment,” he told us.
McLaughlin’s fiscal conservatism is important in a state that desperately needs greater discipline in that area.
Martin McLaughlin is endorsed.
Read the full editorial endorsement here.
Editorial note: Representative McLaughlin is also endorsed by:
- Eleanor Sweet McDonnell, Mayor, North Barrington*
- Paula McCombie, Village President, South Barrington*
- Karen Darch, Former Mayor, Barrington*
- Andrew Burke, Mayor, Lake Barrington*
- Kevin Richardson, Former Mayor, Lake Barrington*
- Keith Vogeler, Mayor, Port Barrington
- Jeff Sode, Mayor, Wauconda
- Debby Sosine, Village President, Algonquin
- Ray Bogdanowski, Village President, Lake in the Hills
- Donna Johnson, Mayor, Libertyville
- Richard McLaughlin, Mayor, Island Lake
- Steve Henley, Mayor, Volo
It’s important to note McLaughlin’s campaign rival lives in North Barrington yet she could not garner an endorsement for this or her prior campaigns.
*Present and former members of the Barrington Area Council Of Governments (BACOG).
Posted in BACOG, Board of Education, Chicago Tribune, Data Center, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, District 220 referendum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Education, Elections, Ethics, Fat Bastard, Illinois State Board of Elections, Immigration, Land Use, Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Outmigration, Overhead, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Rights, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, South Barrington, Springfield, Taxes, Transparency, Unions, Village Code | 1 Comment »
By Sarah Roderick-Fitch | The Center Square
A majority of American voters are concerned with socialist candidates running and possibly winning political office, according to a new poll.
The Center Square Voters’ Voice poll found that 55% of American voters are concerned about Democratic Socialist candidates running for and winning elected office in the U.S., while 37% aren’t concerned.
A slew of candidates running as democratic socialists appears to be raising alarms with a majority of American voters.
Of the 55% who are concerned, 35% are very concerned, while 20% say they are “somewhat concerned.”
(Click on image to enlarge)
Of those not concerned, only 17% say they are not too concerned, while 20% say they are not at all concerned.
The poll comes as several Democratic Socialist candidates have risen in popularity across the country. The Democratic Socialists of America are touting 67 wins across the country, with 93 running. However, the group includes 62 DSA candidates who have lost.
Report continues here.
Posted in Blame Canada, Commodius Maximus, Cost of Living, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Ethics, Fat Bastard, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Property Taxes, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, The Center Square, Village Code | Leave a Comment »
“Village of Barrington Trustee Todd Sholeen, Fire Chief John Christian, Deputy Police Chief Lori Allsteadt, and Village staff joined Vintage Luxury Homes President Joe Elias, Development Director Brooke Elias, other Vintage Luxury Homes staff, and community members today for the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Claremont subdivision.
The development will feature 88 custom luxury single-family homes along with a wide range of on-site amenities, including more than 40 acres of open space, a clubhouse, a fitness facility, a swimming pool, sports courts and more.
For more information, visit Claremont’s website.”
Posted by the Village of Barrington
Posted in Barrington High School, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Privacy, Real Estate, Traffic, Village of Barrington | Leave a Comment »
Ageratum is a sun-loving annual that can provide color in gardens that are challenged by rabbits. | Jeff Carrion/Chicago Botanic Garden
By Tim Johnson | For the Chicago Tribune
I am having a problem with rabbits eating many of my plants. It’s so incredibly frustrating and I’m looking for a solution.
— Sophie Calloway, Winnetka
Like many gardeners on the North Shore this year, I have also been challenged by rabbits in my backyard. I chase a rabbit out through the fence, and it jumps right back in at the other side of the yard. The damage they can cause is extensive and very frustrating. They wiped out all the new milkweed plants that I hoped would attract butterflies even after I routinely sprayed the plants with a repellent. My two dachshunds, normally a prey-driven breed, are somewhat defective — they pay no attention to rabbits other than lifting their ears.
As with any pest problem in the garden, it is important to correctly identify it before implementing any control efforts. Rabbits are easy to spot in the garden during the growing season. The damage they cause results in neatly clipped stems on tender shoots and small, chiseled, gnaw marks on woody plants in winter. Branches may have clean-cut surfaces that are similar to having been cut with a pair of pruners at a 45-degree angle. Damage to bark is typically done in the winter and can occur high up on the plant if there is a lot of snow. In general, rabbits eat herbaceous plants in spring and summer and cause damage to woody plants in fall and winter.
Cottontail rabbits generally live less than two full years in the wild and typically raise two to three litters per year (up to as many as five or six litters). The young leave the nest in two to three weeks. Rabbits generally spend their entire lives in an area of 10 acres or less, so if there is suitable habitat in the vicinity of your garden, you are likely to encounter rabbits. Rabbits like open, grassy areas with cover such as that provided by groupings of shrubs, ground covers, grasses or brush piles that are typical in the home landscape. During cold weather, they use natural cavities and burrows of other animals for their dens.
The best way to prevent rabbit damage in the growing season is to exclude them with fencing. Use 2-foot-tall chicken-wire fence or hardware cloth with the bottom buried 2 to 3 inches deep or firmly pinned to the ground to stop them from going under the wire. The wire should have 1-inch or smaller holes. Use ¼-inch wire hardware cloth spaced 1 to 2 inches from the trunk to protect trees over winter.
Another option is to spray repellents that make the plants distasteful to rabbits. You will need to reapply after rain and to protect new growth as the plants continue growing. The repellent I used did not work because it was the only one I used. Tom Tiddens, supervisor of Plant Health Care at the Garden, advised me to rotate among three different repellents for it to work properly.
I can suggest the following plants for color and structure in your rabbit-infested garden:
Annuals: Geranium, ageratum and wax begonia
Perennials: Hardy geraniums, epimedium, bee balm, peony, Russian sage, astilbe and perennial salvia
Bulbs: Daffodils and ornamental onions
Vegetables: Tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers and squash
Shrubs: Yew, boxwood, lilac, forsythia, spirea
Ground covers: Pachysandra and barren strawberry
For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at plantinfo@chicagobotanic.org. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Posted in Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago Tribune, Topics Of Interest | Leave a Comment »
By Paul Vallas | John Kass News
October 11th, 2026
Illinois leadership is sustaining policies that have done nothing to improve equity or affordability while swapping out middle- and upper-income families for the poor and illegal migrants.
JB Pritzker’s greatest legacy will be the acceleration of the “Great Displacement,” the demographic upheaval in which Illinois is losing scores of affluent residents through outmigration while gaining relatively poorer ones through both interstate and international migration.
This shift is largely the product of the state’s so-called progressive policies. High taxes and fees remain the primary reason Illinoisans cite for leaving, followed by failing schools, rising crime, limited economic opportunity, and expansive sanctuary measures that encourage low-income in-migration.
According to Wirepoints, Illinois continues to hemorrhage wealthy residents. Since 2000, the state has lost roughly 1.6 million people — third most in the nation, behind only California and New York. Chicago’s population, even with the recent influx of migrants, is now at its lowest level in nearly a century. Almost every county in Illinois has experienced a decline in population. Even more troubling, Illinois isn’t merely losing residents — it’s losing income. [1]
The IRS reports that in 2022 alone, 87,311 residents left Illinois, taking with them $9.9 billion in adjusted gross income. The real damage runs deeper: The outflow disproportionately includes residents in their prime earning and spending years. This brain and income drain erodes the tax base, shrinking critical property, sales, and consumption tax revenues that support state and local budgets. [2]
A detailed Wirepoints analysis of IRS migration data for 2022 shows Illinois was the nation’s second-biggest loser of households aged 26-35 earning more than $200,000. Unsurprisingly, zero-income-tax states such as Florida and Texas were the leading destinations for these upwardly mobile millennials. Illinois has been bleeding this cohort for more than a decade, but the acceleration is alarming. [3]
Wirepoints also found that in 2022, the average adjusted gross income for these departing young households was $435,000. The exodus continues among those aged 35-45 with incomes over $200,000 — another key demographic of high earners. Illinois ranks 48th nationally for losses in this income bracket. More concerning, the average AGI among this group leaving approaches $700,000. [4]
Vallas’ report continues here.
Paul Vallas formerly ran the public school systems in Chicago, Philadelphia and the Louisiana Recovery School District. He was a candidate for Mayor of Chicago.
Posted in Commodius Maximus, Cook, Cost of Living, County, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Education, Elections, Ethics, Illinois Policy Institute, Immigration, John Kass News, OP/Ed, Outmigration, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, Unions, Wirepoints | Leave a Comment »
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