Following are some of the articles published by The Observer for the month of March since 2009. These articles, gathered from various publications and editorials, are noteworthy for residents in that they remind us of where we’ve been as a community.
Gentlemen’s agreement fractures, and so does homeowner’s driveway – 2011
Joseph Evans has driven down the same road to get to his Barrington Hills home for years, a road he said had been there for 88 years, and which he paid to improve a few years ago. No more. Earlier this month, his neighbor put a fence across the road. Last week, his neighbor started digging up the road, which Evans said leaves him with no viable way to drive to his house.
Read the full Daily Herald story here.
Candidates claim no deception with donations – 2011
Members of the Save 5 Acres slate of candidates for Barrington Hills Village Board testified Tuesday at a state election board hearing in Chicago that no deception was intended with donations to their campaigns.
The three-hour hearing was adjourned, with no new date set, because the clerk said to be responsible for filing the campaign paperwork was in Florida. No ruling on the complaint that certain donations sidestepped legal limits is likely before the April 5 municipal election.
The TribLocal story can be read here.
A profile of new leadership to restore integrity to Barrington Hills – 2012
These pages have chronicled the many and varied flaws and predilections of the current government in Barrington Hills, including those of President Robert Abboud. Criticism is easy. Now it is time to begin considering the profile of new leadership for our Village.
Read this very timely Observer editorial here.
Failed electrical aggregation vote: A vote of “no confidence” – 2012
Last Tuesday, residents turned out to vote in relatively large numbers for a primary election, which included a ballot referendum on electrical aggregation. Preliminary numbers show that over 900 residents did vote on the question and the majority said “No,” in three out of four counties that make up Barrington Hills.
The full editorial can be read here.
– The Observer
Sadly, we cannot read any of the stories because the Alexian Brothers ad will never go away. It just keeps recycling. It’s just another reason never to go there!!
Karla, the issue with the Daily Herald article has been corrected. Sorry for any inconvenience.
March “flashback” references a dispute involving BH resident Joe Evans. Mr. Evans died last summer. The dispute caused horrific stress to Mr. Evans, but was settled in 2012. His easement rights were protected and his legal driveway that had been destroyed was restored.
Joe’s fight for his home was hindered by “city hall’s” favoritism. BH police informed Evans they would not allow his drive destroyed. The Countryside Fire Department formally informed the Village that they would have no access to Joe’s home for emergency service for him or his daughters. A second neighbor’s undisputed legal easement was fenced, chained and padlocked. The Village Administration allowed destruction of the road and ignored the illegal blockage of the easement.
Against objections of all neighbors, Mr. Abboud authorized the Village to spend approximately $10,000 for surveys of their private property. These were never shared except with the neighbor who destroyed the road. They appeared in that neighbor’s variance request for his personal benefit. That neighbor also contributed $30,000 to the Save5Acres Campaign in the last election.
The past Chairman of the ZBA made public allegations that Mr. Abboud, with Trustee Messer listening, attempted to influence the outcome of a Zoning hearing. After neighbors demanded an independent investigation into the allegations, the Village hired Mr. James Kelly to conduct an “independent” review. Despite promises, none of the harmed parties were interviewed. Mr. Kelly received in excess of $500,000 in legal fees from the Village prior to his appointment as “independent” reviewer and, since August, 2011, received an additional $75,000. Not surprisingly, Mr. Kelly found nothing wrong and the BOT ignored pleas from the harmed residents for participation.
Public record will verify these comments. Additional tactics were employed by the Village to pressure Evans and neighbors.
Current campaign rhetoric is disingenuous in assertions that the problems in our Village originate from only a few disgruntled neighbors. These neighbors are not the root cause. Restoring harmony and civility to our Village will best be served by electing new candidates and return balance and honest governance to BH.
IF THE ABOVE LISTED ARTICLE IS TRUE, (AND I’M SURE IT IS) ABBOUD AND MESSER SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO A FEDERAL INVESTIGATION! WHY WAS THE AG’S OFFICE NEVER INFORMED?
They were…..
Nick and Nora,
If the AG was informed, why wasn’t an investigation conducted? Claims on this site and others are quite serious. No news source (print or other media) has published information that has been taken seriously enough to pursue BH administration wrongdoing. Are we ever going to see a serious investigative effort into possible pay for play politics in the Oakwood Farms or other issues?
Seems like no one cares, none of the claims are valid or it’s just accepted special interest political behavior in Illinois.
Alice,
How do you know an investigation was NOT initiated, conducted, or completed? Because you do not know about it? It took how many years for the Jesse Jackson debacle to be resolved? How many years for Blago – just to name a few of the most recent embarrassments of this state. And it is not up to any media source to pursue BH administration wrongdoing – everyone is fearful of lawsuits. Which if you have been following this website – is the mode of attack this village uses as a weapon against the citizenry. You know very well these claims are valid – if you want to insure that an investigation is ongoing then you should make your voice heard. There is safety in numbers. Time for everyone to get off their collective duffs and DO SOMETHING instead of whining or waiting for someone else to solve the problems…..