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Archive for June, 2019

The cows are coming back to Michigan Avenue

Posted in Topics Of Interest on June 29, 2019| 2 Comments »

Chicago’s ‘Cows on Parade’ is back for July, celebrating 20-year anniversary with one last roundup

Two decades ago, Chicago got caught up in cow fever — not bovine spongiform encephalopathy, but a benign form of art-cow madness.

Craft-augmented cow statues in that summer of 1999 started up across the downtown area: a cow festooned in flowers, a cow painted in red and yellow zebra stripes, a cow tiled over like a shower stall.

One particularly clever cow, outside of Columbia College, had “HOW” stenciled on one side, “NOW” on the other. The underlying color was, of course, brown.

“Cows on Parade,” conceived as a canvas for local artists, “went crazy,” recalled Peter Hanig, the Michigan Avenue shoe-store owner whose family vacation in Switzerland the year before inspired the cow invasion. “I took people on tours. It was a crazy summer.”

Read more in the Chicago Tribune here.

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Brats, bands, beer highlight Barrington’s Fourth of July fest

Posted in Topics Of Interest on June 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Compared to some other festivals, Barrington’s Fourth of July celebration may seem more low-key. For instance, there’s no carnival. There is, however, a parade, a fireworks display, and plenty of good food and music.

Events, which kick off Wednesday, July 3rd, and run through Saturday, are centered around the Brat Tent hosted by the Barrington Lions Club, where members will be grilling bratwurst and other festival favorites, and around the stage in the north Metra commuter parking lot, just south of Main Street in downtown Barrington.

Admission is free; however, there is a $5 cover charge after 5 p.m. for adults 18 and older. No outside food and drink is allowed.

For more information, visit the Barrington Lions Club 4th of July Celebration website by clicking here.

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Plan Commission requests feedback on Village Comprehensive Plan updates

Posted in BACOG, BACT, Citizens for Conservation, Community Alerts, EJ&E/Canadian National, Flint Creek/Spring Creek Watersheds Partnership, FPDCC, Horizon Farm, Horse Boarding, IDOT, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Disconnection, Land Use, Longmeadow Parkway, Plan Commission, Real Estate, Traffic, Uncategorized, Village Government, Well Water Quality on June 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

In May of last year, the Board of Trustees directed the Plan Commission to review the Village Comprehensive Plan and make recommendations for any changes they saw fit for the Board to adopt. The last time the Comprehensive Plan was updated was 2005 and amendments were approved in 2008.

After nearly a year of work and meetings, the Plan Commission has agreed to the changes they would like seen in the Plan. A copy of their proposed 2019 Village Comprehensive Plan can be viewed and downloaded here.

A public hearing is scheduled for July 8th at 6:30 PM to allow residents to voice their comments, or feedback can be provided to the Village Clerk at clerk@vbhil.gov.

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Cook County forest district poised to regain 400-acre Barrington Hills farm, but foreclosed owners hope hemp crop can bail them out

Posted in Cook, County, FPDCC, Horizon Farm on June 25, 2019| Leave a Comment »

One of the largest pieces of open land available in Cook County, a 400-acre horse farm in Barrington Hills, is expected to become a forest preserve again, after a court ruling granting foreclosure of the property.

That is, unless a plan to grow cannabis on the site interferes with the process.

Horizon Farm, consisting mostly of rolling pasture along Algonquin Road west of Illinois Route 59, has been in litigation since shortly after a private sale in 2006. Richard Cannon and his wife, Meryl Squires Cannon, borrowed $14.5 million from Amcore Bank to buy the land.

After the property fell into foreclosure once before, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County bought the farm for $14 million in 2013, and briefly opened it as a preserve, but the Cannons fought in court to keep the land.

Read more from the Chicago Tribune here.

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IDOT is conducting a second IL62 Public Meeting tomorrow

Posted in Algonquin Rd, Cook, County, IDOT, Kane, Land Use, Longmeadow Parkway, Politics, Public Safety, Real Estate, Road construction, Taxes, Traffic on June 24, 2019| Leave a Comment »

The Illinois Department of Transportation will be conducting a second public meeting tomorrow, June 25th, regarding their, “Illinois Route 62 Phase 1 Study.” The meeting is scheduled from 4PM – 7PM at the Barrington Park District located at 235 Lions Drive, Barrington.

IDOT’s first public meeting on the topic was held November 9th, 2017, so clearly they are taking their time. For those wishing to review what was covered at that first meeting, click here.

Those wishing to explore IDOT’s website covering further information on their progress (or lack thereof), on plans to widen Algonquin Road to four lanes in Barrington Hills, click here.      

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Old Sutton Rd closed between Penny and Higgins Roads starting tomorrow

Posted in Community Alerts, EJ&E/Canadian National, Traffic on June 23, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Old Sutton Road will be closed to through traffic from 9:00 AM, June 24th, through the 28th between Penny and Higgins (Route 72) Roads for grade crossing improvements to the Canadian National Railway (EJ&E) line.

 

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Democrats, Lauzen relationship hits new low over Longmeadow Parkway funding

Posted in Algonquin Rd, County, Kane, Land Use, Longmeadow Parkway, Politics, Topics Of Interest on June 21, 2019| 2 Comments »

The injured relationship between Kane County Board Democrats and the board’s chairman, Republican Chris Lauzen, entered the week as a light sprain but left on crutches after Lauzen described recent Democratic lobbying efforts as “pathetic.”

The confrontation occurred during a meeting of the board’s legislative committee, which is co-chaired by Democrats Jarett Sanchez and Matt Hanson. The committee’s focus during the state budget process was securing about $45 million for the Longmeadow Parkway to avoid the need to for a toll bridge to complete the project.

There are still pools of money in the state budget not yet attached to specific projects, but no money has been earmarked for Longmeadow so far.

Read more here.

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FRVPC Horse Trials begin today

Posted in Barrington Hills Park District, Fox River Valley Hunt, FPDCC, FRVPC, Property Taxes, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club of Barrington Hills on June 20, 2019| Leave a Comment »

The Fox River Valley Pony Club Horse Trials run today though Sunday at the Barrington Hills Park District located at 361 Bateman Road.

For more information, click here.

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For Democratic state leaders, taxing the rich carries risks for suburban strategy

Posted in Politics, Springfield, Taxes on June 19, 2019| Leave a Comment »

BARRINGTON, Ill. — Every Thursday in this affluent village about an hour northwest of Chicago, residents gather for classic car night, a sumptuous display of pricey, refurbished vehicles. Lately, conversation has turned to the new Democratic governor, J.B. Pritzker, and his plan to raise taxes on the richest 3 percent of Illinois residents.

Kim Flores, a retired accountant showing off his restored ­horizon-blue 1949 Cadillac, said he has supported Democrats for years, but the tax plan is causing him to reconsider.

“Increasing taxes on the rich is just nonsense,” said Flores, 72. “I completely agree that middle-income people are hurting versus the higher-income people, and that is just wrong. But what are you going to do?”

Emboldened by major state-level gains in 2018, Democrats in Illinois are pressing to raise taxes on the rich to address ­long-neglected needs, such as schools and roads. Plans to raise taxes on the rich also have been considered in New Mexico, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey this year.

Read the full Washington Post article here.

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District 220 parents call new facility for special-needs transition program inadequate

Posted in 220, Board of Education, Property Taxes, School Districts on June 19, 2019| Leave a Comment »

1525 S. Grove Ave.

An advisory board of parents of children with special needs told the Barrington Unit District 220 school board Tuesday night a new facility in the works for a program that prepares high school graduates of varying abilities to live as independently as possible was inadequate.

The parents suggested parts of the district’s new administration building or the old one as alternatives. The school board did not commit to a course of action in front of the standing-room-only crowd, but it scheduled a meeting with the group for 8 a.m. this Thursday, June 20, at the administration building at 515 W. Main St. in Barrington.

Members of the advisory board BEST 220 said the 1,658-square-foot leased space being prepared in the office building at 1525 S. Grove Ave. in Barrington is far from the upgrade they were hoping for in the transition program’s planned move from a house on Sturtz Street next to St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, where it’s been for 12 years.

Read more here.

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