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Subcontractors said they’re owed millions as the $850M presidential center prepares to open after years of cost overruns and delays | Obama Presidential Center (Obama.org, Getty)

By TRD Staff | The Real Deal

Contractors on the Obama Presidential Center say their invoices are going unpaid, reportedly missing millions in payments and jeopardizing the future of businesses.

The Obama Center has gone hundreds of millions over its original $300 million cost estimate. The 19-acre museum and library’s construction cost has ballooned over the years to a staggering $850 million, nearly tripling the projected budget.

African American Contractors Association president Omar Shareef said that a total of seven separate subcontractors have contacted him for help with pursuing missing payments in the past several months, according to Crain’s. Some of the contractors are owed seven figures. They’re willing to settle for less, as long as they can keep their businesses running.

“It’s to the point that they wished they had never done (the project),” Shareef told the outlet.

The delays and skyrocketing costs were caused in part by the pandemic and in part by a half-decade legal battle. By the time the groundbreaking ceremony was held in 2021, the cost was pegged at $830 million. The center will finally open on next Friday, the Juneteenth holiday, and the public will gain access to the work of roughly 475 subcontractors, according to the outlet.

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The Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District (BCFPD) Board of Trustees should be meeting tonight at 6:30 PM at 22222 N. Pepper Road in Lake Barrington according to there website that  states, “Meetings are held on the 3rd Monday of the month.”

No agenda is posted, and the last time they published an agenda was in April. For more information on District activities and events, call 224-848-4800.

Related:Website posting requirements for local governments in Illinois

The recently painted West Dundee water tower sits just north of the Spring Hill Mall site. |Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com

By Alicia Fabbre | Daily Herald

For the past 10 years, the fate of Spring Hill Mall property has been a concern for West Dundee officials.

As the mall floundered, village officials looked for ways to breathe life into the regional shopping center that straddled West Dundee and Carpentersville.

Ultimately, West Dundee spent more than $13 million to buy the mall, demolish it and clear the way for redevelopment. Now the former mall is gone, and all that remains on the site is a Cinemark Theater.

West Dundee trustees Monday will get a glimpse of what could go on the former Spring Hill Mall property. The concept design plans serve as a starting point for a redevelopment of the mall. | Courtesy of Houseal-Lavigne Associates

On Monday night, West Dundee trustees will get a glimpse of what a reimagined mall property could look like with a mix of housing, retail, dining and other commercial uses. Consultants with Chicago-based Houseal-Lavigne Associates will present visualization plans that give off town center vibes, focused on a walkable community.

The plans are meant to be a starting point and can evolve as the site is redeveloped.

“This is really just putting down a marker so we can just start the conversation not only with residents but also with interested developers,” West Dundee Village President Chris Nelson said.

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The Hoffman Estates Board of trustees will meet Monday at 7 PM at 1900 Hassell Road.

As previously reported, “(The Plum Farms) data center development will not appear on the agenda of Monday’s village board meeting.” However, Friday South Barrington Mayor Paula McCombie posted:

“The Plum Farms property zoning on rt 59 and 72 across from the Woods of South Barrington is not presently on the schedule for the Village Board meeting in Hoffman Estates on Monday, but while Mayor McCleod and the Hoffman Estates Trustees decide whether or not to take the Plan Commissions recommendation against the change of zoning allowing a data center, I encourage you to attend their next meeting on Monday the 15th. This gives their leaders time to consider residents voices while contemplating the way they will vote.”

A copy of the agenda can be viewed and downloaded here. Monday’s meeting will be available live via YouTube and the link can be found here.

Related:Hoffman Estates board won’t consider rezoning for potential data center Monday

Photo: BlueRoomStream / Screenshot

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

A new public opinion poll says Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker remains low on the list of voters’ preferred choices in the 2028 Democratic Party primary election for president.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll was conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, a nonpartisan public opinion polling firm, from June 1-4, 2026 and surveyed registered voters nationally.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris finished first with 27% of the vote among 1,013 Democrats who responded. 17% said they were not sure.

Next was California Gov. Gavin Newsom at 14%, former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 11% and New York U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 8%.

Pritzker and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear both came in at 2%.

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A list of Barrington Hills trustees who currently follow The Barrington Hills Observer posts on Facebook.

On Saturday, May 23rd, around 7:30 AM, we posted, “(Plum Farms) NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING JUNE 3,” shortly after we received a copy of a notice sign posted on Old Sutton Road. That post was sent to all subscribers of this publication’s website and all those following our Facebook page, including those Trustees pictured above.

Subsequent to our posting of the Hoffman Estates Plum Farms notice, we followed up with subtle hints to our Board of Trustees (BOT) to take action, including:

Shortly after the Hoffman Estates Plum Farms meeting ended on June 3rd, CBS News reported, “Hoffman Estates Plan Commission rejects zoning change for new data center project.” The next day, the Daily Herald reported, “Hoffman Estates plan commission rejects rezoning request for possible data center,” and residents were quick to react to the news commenting:

  • “NOT A SINGLE MEMBER OF THE BARRINGTON HILLS BOARD OF TRUSTEES WAS THERE THAT I SAW. WOW!!!!!”
  • “Where was the leadership from Barrington Hills? No one from the Board was there. Paula (McCombie)and the numerous South Barrington Trustees were there and stayed for the entire meeting. Grateful for their support.”

We also posted, “South Barrington Mayor Paula McCombie shares an update on Hoffman Estates/Plum Farms Plan Commission meeting,” last Friday, June 5th, but outside of the hearing notice posted on the Village Facebook page, residents heard absolutely nothing from our elected trustees.

Then on Monday, June 8th, our Village posted, “UPDATE: HOFFMAN ESTATES PLUM FARMS REZONING REQUEST” on their Facebook page (SeeVillage Board once again tests our tolerance for fabrications (BS)”) that included a letter from Brian Cecola that was clearly backdated to June 2nd, since:

  • No one is copied on the letter. That is unheard of considering the number of interested parties in the matter.
  • No one read the letter aloud at the Hoffman Estates Plum Farms hearing.
  • The letter would have been “shouted out” via social media and a press release June 2nd given the embarrassing position Cecola put himself in when he fronted a, “110 Acre AI data center campus pitched to Village Board,” next to Pond Gate last December that he caught Hell for.

It is well known that Mr. Cecola is not the sharpest tack in the box. However, he can be smart from time to time.  This is not one of those times and he has insulted the intelligence of residents and his peers.

As for not one member of our Board of Trustees attending the well-publicized Plum Farms hearing, shame on them. There is no excuse.

But to a person, BOT members will whine, “But the Director of Administration (Anna Paul) went to the meeting.” The problem is she is not an elected official of the Village of Barrington Hills. They need to be reminded she has no standing to act on behalf of the Village of Barrington Hills, nor does she present herself that way. The BOT, unfortunately, seems to conveniently forget this.

This Board must show up and speak their mind at the next Plum Farms meeting which may be July 6th. Not to do so would likely decimate any remaining credibility they may have among many residents.

Related:Village Board once again tests our tolerance for fabrications (BS),” “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Follow-up),” “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Part 3),” “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Part 2),” “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Part 1),” “7 things to know about Illinois data centers,” “Data Center group concerned over pause,” “110 Acre AI data center campus pitched to Village Board

Hoffman Estates’ village board meeting Monday will not include consideration of the rezoning request for a potential data center proposal on the 186-acre Plum Farms property northwest of Higgins Road and Rout 59. | Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com

Daily Herald report

A proposed rezoning of the 186-acre Plum Farms property in Hoffman Estates that could pave the way for a data center development will not appear on the agenda of Monday’s village board meeting.

When plan commissioners voted 4-2 against recommending the requested rezoning to manufacturing use June 3, Monday’s meeting was the earliest time the village board could consider it.

While the next village board meeting Monday, July 6, would be the next possibility, nothing has been confirmed for that date, Mayor Bill McLeod said.

More here.

Photo: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

By Sam Borcia | Lake & McHenry County Scanner

Health officials said Wednesday they are warning the public after a batch of mosquitoes tested positive for West Nile virus for the first time this year in McHenry County.

A mosquito “pool,” also known as a batch of mosquitoes, was sampled on Friday in Fox River Grove and later tested positive for West Nile virus.

The McHenry County Department of Public Health (MCDH) said this mosquito pool is the first confirmed indicator of West Nile virus presence in McHenry County in 2026.

No human cases of West Nile virus have been reported in McHenry County this year so far.

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Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s 2019 “Rebuild Illinois” plan created automatic inflationary adjustments in the state gas tax, which could reach over $1 per gallon by 2056.

By Patrick Andriesen | The Center Square

Illinois’ state gas tax is slated to go up every year without lawmakers ever voting on the increases.

The state went almost 30 years without raising the tax, which was 19 cents a gallon from 1990 to 2019.

That year, as part of his “Rebuild Illinois” infrastructure program, Pritzker doubled the tax to 38 cents a gallon.

More consequentially, the law created automatic yearly increases linked to inflation. Because of that, Illinois drivers will likely pay more in state gas taxes each year for the foreseeable future unless lawmakers take action, as there’s no expiration date on the annual adjustments.

The gas tax could more than double in the next 30 years. By then, it could be over $1 a gallon, five times more than before Pritzker took office.

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A picture of the corner of Cook and Station streets shows a tree that was recently taken down as part of the Barrington streetscape improvements. | Courtesy of Bill Hartman

By Steve Zalusky | Daily Herald

The owner and manager of a downtown Barrington building are upset that a mature tree was cut down during the village’s streetscape improvements around Cook Street Plaza.

Holly McClintock, who owns the plaza near Cook and Station streets, and Kristin Beecher, who manages it and lives above Cook Street Coffee, which is part of the development, confronted the village board Monday, as did another concerned resident, Bill Hartman.

Beecher and McClintock said the village the tree, located on the east side of Cook Street Coffee at Cook and Station streets, could stay.

“We were told the tree would stay,” Beecher said. “Twenty years to grow and 20 minutes to cut down.”

Beecher said she was told May 15 the tree needed to come down, but she scheduled a meeting with village officials the next business day to discuss it. Before the meeting could be held, she said, a crew cut it down. She said a street superintend

The corner of Cook and Station streets, the former location of a tree recently removed as part of ongoing streetscape improvements. | Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.com

In its place the village is building a seat wall where downtown visitors can sit. Beecher is concerned new trees will struggle to grow within the four-foot-deep fixture.

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