Candidate packets are now available at Village Hall for the April 9, 2013, Village Board of Trustee elections. There are three trustee seats up for reelection and, of course, the position of village president will also be decided next April. All positions carry four-year terms.
The Observer is asking our readers to take some time over the Labor Day weekend to give serious consideration to running for these elected positions in our Village. Labor Day is an apropos time since most all of us have labored so hard and long to achieve our goal of living in a village like ours. Most residents who live here do not view their homesteads as an interim place to live as they climb their career ladders. Quite the contrary, the majority who move here view Barrington Hills as a destination– a place to put down roots, raise a family and finally invest in a home they know they will own for decades to come.
It should now be obvious to most residents that we have a serious imbalance of power on our Board of Trustees when it comes to decisions affecting all residents which are mostly skewed towards the ultimate personal desires of our current village president. Unfortunately, this imbalance has cascaded down to those who control majorities on our Village boards, commissions and committees through Bob Abboud’s handpicked appointments regardless of qualifications.
The April 2013 election outcome will result in one of two scenarios. The first would be maintaining the status quo. The second would be bringing new, more considerate and fair leadership through decent and sincere candidates from those who choose to make a difference for the good of our entire Village.
Will new and unencumbered candidates finally begin to put our Village back on track if elected? We believe they can. Please consider serving your community. Your first step is to download a copy of the candidate packet here.
– The Observer
Thanks for keeping us posted; we don’t want this very important (Village) election to get lost as we ramp up for November 6th. We’re very much aware of how closely Village government affects our daily lives. The Pres and Board of Trustees has gone far beyond what anyone could ever have imagined in personalizing decisions, favoring their benefactors, “friends” Theirs is a vindictive arrogance that doesn’t belong in Barrington Hills, or any other Village that cares about its residents. Don’t be confused that this Board has anything to do with “saving 5 acres.” .They lost the biggest chunk of 5 acre zoning we’ve ever seen in this Village when they drove the Duda corporation OUT of Barrington Hills and into an area where we have little, if any, say-so as to what zoning will eventually govern the former MacArthur farm. Yet, Bob Abboud continues to say “we won that battle.” Get Bob Abboud out of that narcissistic bubble he operates in and elect people who make decisions based on fact, fairness, and respect. Good luck candidates, we need your petitions ASAP.
My vote is for Don Schuman. Here is a guy employed by the Village of B.H. as a zoning compliance officer who ostensibly issued a letter (30 days after LeCompte’s Campaign donation to the Abboud endorsed slate of “Save 5 Acres”) legalizing Commercial Horse Boarding on Oakwood Farm overturning the unanimous decision of the ZBA; The Honorable Nancy Arnold’s decision at the trial level; the Illinois Appellate Court Decision affirming Judge Arnold’s decision; the legal opinion of our Village attorney Burke-Warren; the sworn testimony of Trustee Messer before the Illinois Election Board and even Dr. Barry LeCompte’s own sworn testimony before the ZBA wherein LeCompte testified that Oakwood Farm could never fall under B.H. Home Occupation Ordinance because its primary use is that of a “Farm”. Schuman changes all of this with a $5.00 letter without objection or even the slightest wimper from Abboud and his obedient Board. This is real power!
For (un)explained reasons, Abboud, Gianopulous, Ramesh, Messer, Gohl, Selman and Meroni have abandoned their legal obligation to “we the people” for the implausible and illegal opinion expressed in the Schuman letter. Abboud and the Board did this after spending in excess of $200,000 of Village tax payer funds on legal fees to Burke-Warren to shut down commercial horse boarding activities on Oakwood Farm. In spending this exhorbitant (wasteful) amount of money, the Village successfully obtained in court (trial and appellate) a ruling to shut down commercial horse boarding activities on Oakwood Farm; that is to say, until Donald Schuman issued his letter in February of 2011, approximately 30 days after an illegal $15,000.00 campaign donation from LeCompte to Messer, Meroni and Selman.
Now our elected officials (inexplicably) refuse to act on the court’s decision which they spent $200,000 of our tax money to get capitulating their obligation of enforcement of our Village laws to the illegal opinion expressed in the Schuman Letter! This leads me to ask, who is Donald Schuman and what kind of power does this man possess controlling our elected officials in this fashion? If Abboud and his compliant Board refuse to stand-up to Schuman now by taking the side of the rule of law, then what will it be next; paint all structures in the Village red and rename our town “Hell” simply because Schuman or some other Village employee directs Abboud and the Board to do so?
Truth be told, it is conniving donors who make large campaign donations to immoral and small minded politicians like Abboud, Messer, Meroni and Selman who possess the real power in B.H. While you might not be affected by Oakwood Farm’s commercial boarding operation, we are all affected by their assault on the rule of law and actions intended to undermine our democratic election process.
We must change this. The first step in doing so is to join me in my effort to convince Don Schuman to run for Village office and elect him so that we the people might finally get to witness first hand, who this man is and be able to ask him (without shield from Abboud and the Board) under what or whose authority did he act when he issued his letter overruling the final decision of the ZBA, the decision of the trial and Illinois Appellate Court, the opinion of our Village Atttorney Burke-Warren, sworn testimony of Trustee Messer and sworn testimony of Dr. LeCompte, the owner of Oakwood Farm?
Before Mr. Schuman is asked these questions though, we must first ask whether Mr. Schuman actually wrote the letter bearing his name. There are those that surmise the Schuman Letter was written by one of our elected officials masquarading around Village Hall as Donald Schuman? Hint, it is the same imposter who currently masquarades around the Village Hall as B.H. Village President.
I like Bob Abboud!
He is just so approachable, much like Spiro Agnew. That’s a good thing for my horse cartel.
I desire to run a mega barn and I can count on him for counsel. He can get me a letter from that shoeless “Schuman” guy that really runs the village. I believe that he “shoeless” is the real power behind the president, sort of a shadow president.
I have a hunch that I had better hurry up with my plans, because I have heard a rumor that the “G” is growing inquisitive about our little thiefdom!!