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East Dundee Public Hearing Nov. 5th Re: Data Center Text Amendment Proposal

Posted in AI, Community Alerts, County, Data Center, East Dundee, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Kane, Land Use, Lennie, Politics, Privacy, Public Hearing, Public Safety, Real Estate, Special Use Permits, Taxes, Transparency, Village Code on October 30, 2026| Leave a Comment »

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

“Notice is hereby given that the Planning, Zoning, and Historic Commission of the Village of East Dundee will hold a special meeting for a public hearing on November 5, 2026, at 6:30 P.M. at the East Dundee Police Station 2nd Floor Village Board Meeting Room, 115 E. 3rd Street, East Dundee, Illinois, to consider the following Village-initiated request:

A proposed text amendment to Chapter 157 of the Village of East Dundee Zoning Ordinance in Section 157.065(A)(1)(h)(1) to reclassify data centers in the M-1 and M-2 Manufacturing Districts from a (P) permitted by-right land use to a (S) permitted by special use permit land use in those areas of the Village north of IL Rt 72 and west of Commonwealth Drive, and in those areas of the Village south of IL Rt 72 and west of Commonwealth Edison transmission right-of-way. PIN: Village-wide Legal Description: N/A All interested persons will be given an opportunity to be heard.

Any questions regarding this public hearing process may be directed to Franco Bottalico, Interim Village Administrator, in person at 120 Barrington Avenue, East Dundee, Illinois, 60118, via email at FBottalico@eastdundee.net, or by phone at (847) 8150472. Published in Daily Herald October 21, 2026 (169833)​”

A copy of the agenda packet can be viewed and downloaded here. East Dundee public maps can be found here.

Related: “Proposed East Dundee annexation deal would allow future data center”

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Illinois Senate 26th candidates divided on immigration enforcement, data centers

Posted in AI, Daily Herald, Data Center, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Immigration, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, Village Government on October 28, 2026| 2 Comments »

Republican Senator Darby Hills and Democrat Rep. Nabeela | Photos by Jerry Nowicki

By Steve Zalusky | Daily Herald

The race for the Illinois Senate’s 26th District seat matches incumbent Republican Sen. Darby Hills against Democratic challenger Nabeela Syed, the representative for the state House’s 51st District.

The candidates have different approaches on two hot-button issues: immigration enforcement and data centers.

Immigration enforcement

Hills, a former Barrington Hills village trustee who was appointed to the state Senate in February 2025, says local police should not be turned into immigration agents.

But she said she also believes Illinois’ TRUST Act goes too far in preventing local authorities from honoring federal immigration detainers, even for someone charged with or convicted of a violent felony.

Under the TRUST Act, local police can only hold someone on an immigration detainer if there is a federal criminal warrant signed by a judge.

Data centers

In June, Gov. JB Pritzker announced a pause on processing new data center tax incentives and proposed a seven-point framework that included a call for centers to pay their fair share of electrical grid and water costs.

Hills called the governor’s pause a reasonable timeout but said it is not a policy.

“The state handed out hundreds of millions in tax breaks without asking what data centers would cost ratepayers,” she wrote in her response to a Daily Herald questionnaire.

Hills has called for a moratorium of at least one year on new data centers and supports legislation that would put limitations on such projects. She has sponsored or co-sponsored a number of related bills, including Senate Bill 1050.

Full article appears here.

 

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Editorial: Martin McLaughlin for Illinois 52nd House District

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 on October 12, 2026| 1 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).

 

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Editorial: Darby Hills for Illinois 26th Senate District

Posted in BACOG, Chicago Tribune, Data Center, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Education, Elections, Flock Cameras, OP/Ed, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, Unions, Village Code on October 9, 2026| 1 Comment »

State Sen. Darby Hills talks with a colleague during the legislative session at the Illinois State Capitol on Oct. 28, 2025, in Springfield. | John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune

By The Editorial Board | Chicago Tribune

This north suburban district stretches from Palatine and Barrington north to Lake County municipalities including Lake Zurich, Hawthorn Woods and Wauconda. Republican Darby Hills, 50, was appointed to the seat in early 2025 after fellow Republican Dan McConchie resigned to start a national nonprofit advocating for better access for the disabled. Hills, formerly a Barrington Hills village trustee, is running to be elected in her own right against Democrat Nabeela Syed, 27, an Illinois House member from Palatine in her second term.

Syed tells us she opposed the transit rescue legislation enacted in late 2025 because it included a “regressive” sales tax increase. Except she didn’t oppose it, at least on the floor of the House. As Hills points out to us, Syed didn’t vote on the package. For something so consequential to her constituents, Syed can’t have it both ways. She should have voted no if that was her position.

Hills did vote against the package in the Senate with the fair reasoning that transit-agency reforms should have preceded the hefty toll hike and sales tax increase that bailed out the system.

Hills has voted against her party leadership more than once, including on a measure this year to allow for state regulation of auto insurance rates for the first time, which was signed into law. The last thing the Illinois Senate needs is an even larger Democratic supermajority, and Hills has proven herself the sort of Republican who will work with the other side of the aisle. Darby Hills is endorsed.

Full editorial here.

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The Democratic Socialists of America in their own words

Posted in AI, Cost of Living, Data Center, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Elections, Ethics, Fundraisers, His Master's Voice, Illinois State Board of Elections, Immigration, Land Use, Look For The Union Label, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Privacy, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, The New Normal?, The New York Times, Transparency, Unions, Village Code on October 6, 2026| 6 Comments »

Maria Peterson is running for the IL House District 52 seat. Nabeela Syed is running for IL Senate District 26. Currently both choose only to campaign publicly as “Democrats.” | Images courtesy Facebook

Much has been said and written about the, “Democratic Socialists of America (DSA),” in recent months leading to the mid-term elections. Their website states:

“Capitalism is a system designed by the owning class to exploit the rest of us for their own profit. We must replace it with democratic socialism, a system where ordinary people have a real voice in our workplaces, neighborhoods, and society.

We believe there are many avenues that feed into the democratic road to socialism. Our vision pushes further than historic social democracy and leaves behind authoritarian visions of socialism in the dustbin of history.

  • We want a democracy that creates space for us all to flourish not just survive and answers the fundamental questions of our lives with the input of all.
  • We want to collectively own the key economic drivers that dominate our lives, such as energy production and transportation.
  • We want the multiracial working class united in solidarity instead of divided by fear.
  • We want to win “radical” reforms like:
    • Single-payer Medicare for All,
    • Defunding the police/refunding communities,
    • The Green New Deal, and
    • More as a transition to a freer, more just life.

We want a democracy powered by everyday people. The capitalist class tells us we are powerless, but together we can take back control.”

They have further stated their priorities, including:

That’s pretty much all we needed to read to form our opinions, and most who have read these pages for nearly two decades know what they likely are.

However, feel free to visit the Democratic Socialists of America website to learn more so that you might be enlightened before reaching your own opinions before casting your ballots.

Related: “Inside the DSA’s audacious quest for power in the Democratic Party“

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Your vote can make a difference in Illinois elections

Posted in AI, Cost of Living, Data Center, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Education, Elections, Ethics, Illinois Policy Institute, Immigration, Land Use, Look For The Union Label, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, The Chicago Way, Transparency, Village Code on October 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Illinoisans can vote on races ranging from U.S. Senate and governor to state lawmakers and local officials in the Nov. 3 election.

By Jon Josko and Lilly Rossi | Illinois Policy Institute

Some recent Illinois state legislative races have been decided by just dozens or hundreds of votes.

A look since 2022 shows where the closest races have been, how few votes separated the candidates and what voters in competitive districts identified as their biggest concerns.

Casting a ballot gives Illinoisans a voice in who represents them, while understanding voters’ concerns gives lawmakers a clearer picture of what their constituents want addressed.

How close are races in Illinois?

In 2024, a mere 47 votes out of nearly 59,000 decided who represents Illinois’ 52nd House District. State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Lake Barrington, held onto his seat over Democrat Maria Peterson by less than one-tenth of 1% of the votes.

That was the slimmest margin in Illinois’ most recent two election cycles, but not the only close one. Nine other state House and Senate races since 2022 were decided by fewer than 1,700 votes apiece — and they were concentrated in a handful of places worth knowing if you live nearby.

10 closest state legislative races 2022-2024

Margin of victory in the 10 closest Illinois House and Senate races, 2022-2024

Seven of the 10 sit in Chicago’s outer suburbs and exurbs, stretching from Lake and McHenry counties through DuPage, Kane and Will. The other three are downstate: one anchored around Danville and Champaign, one around Springfield and Decatur and one in the Metro East region across the river from St. Louis.

10 closest state legislative races 2022-2024

Margin of victory in the 10 closest Illinois House and Senate races, 2022-2024

How many people does it take to decide these races?

If you’ve ever wondered whether your vote matters in a state regarded as relatively uncompetitive, consider this: Among the 175 contested state House and Senate races since 2022, half were decided by a margin smaller than 1-in-10 of the eligible adults in that district. A quarter of contested races came down to fewer than 1-in-17.

90 contested legislative races decided by fewer than 1 in 10 adults

Number of contested state legislative races, 2022-2024, by win margin as share of district’s eligible adult population.

That pattern held across both chambers and both years, though state Senate races have generally been decided by a somewhat smaller share of eligible adults than House races. Roughly 6-in-10 Senate races came in under that 1-in-10 mark, versus about 46% of House races, consistent with Senate districts being larger and drawing more votes.

What do Illinoisans care about?

In districts with tighter election margins, candidates will have to make sure they are addressing their constituents’ major issues.

In the Illinois Policy Institute’s statewide tracking poll, fielded quarterly since 2025, high taxes has been the single most-cited concern every time, named by 52% to 60% of respondents as one of their top two issues, roughly double the next-closest answer.

In the most recent poll, from August 2026, 58.1% named high taxes as their No.1 or No. 2 issue, compared with 32.5% for the economy generally and 20.7% for state governance.

Property taxes in particular seem to be the aggravation behind that number. The May 2026 version of the same poll asked residents how satisfied they are with the value their community receives for the property taxes paid. Over 61% said they were dissatisfied, against just 23.5% satisfied.

Article continues here.

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State House District 52 candidates debate taxes, budget and AI

Posted in AI, BACOG, Chicago Tribune, Data Center, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Elections, Lake County News-Sun, Land Use, Pension Funding, Politics, Property Taxes, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Village Code on October 1, 2026| 2 Comments »

State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, and Maria Peterson debate issues at a League of Women Voters forum in Barrington on Tuesday ahead of the Nov. 3 election. | Steve Sadin/For the Lake County News-Sun

By Steve Sadin | For the Lake County News-Sun

A mere 27 votes separated state Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, from his 2024 Democratic challenger and current reelection opponent, Maria Peterson of North Barrington.

While Peterson and McLaughlin agree that making changes in the tax laws is legislation they will attempt to tackle in the 105th Illinois General Assembly, their approach to easing taxpayers’ burdens is different.

McLaughlin said he lowered the real estate tax levy seven of the eight years he served as mayor of Barrington Hills. He sees providing municipalities the 10% of state income taxes they once received instead of the current 5% as giving the towns an alternative source of revenue.

“That money would come back to your community and your community could lower your property taxes,” he said.

State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, left, talks to a voter before a League of Women Voters forum in Barrington on Tuesday ahead of the Nov. 3 election. | Steve Sadin/For the Lake County News-Sun

McLaughlin and Peterson shared views on taxes, artificial intelligence, reduced federal funding, and more, campaigning for the Nov. 3 election before more than 150 people Tuesday at a Barrington forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

After the moderator asked the candidates what they would do to reduce property taxes for homeowners, she queried them several questions later about their top priorities should they be chosen to serve in the 105th General Assembly. Taxes were on both their lists.

Using tax credits as a form of relief, McLaughlin said he had ideas for both younger people and seniors. He would push for a tax credit for young families to “make life more affordable for young families so they can afford a home.”

“I will push for the senior tax credit to be increased to $75,000,” McLaughlin said. “If two seniors are in a home with Social Security, it’s too low. It should be higher, at least $95,000 so seniors can get a break on their property taxes.”

Read the full article here.

Related: “League of Women Voters 52nd District Candidate Forum recordings released”

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Legislative panel weighs in on children’s mental health, data centers and state vs. local control

Posted in Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce, Daily Herald, Data Center, Democratic Socialists of America, Dinky, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Education, Elections, Ethics, New Normal?, Politics, Property Taxes, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes on September 17, 2026| 1 Comment »

By Steve Zalusky | Daily Herald

A panel of Republican and Democratic state legislators came together Wednesday in Barrington to discuss a variety of topics, including the impact of social media and technology on children’s mental health and whether data centers should be under state or local control.

Two Republicans, state Rep. Martin McLaughlin and state Sen. Darby Hills, both of Barrington Hills, and two Democrats, state Reps. Nabeela Syed of Inverness and Anna Moeller of Elgin, fielded questions during the Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce legislative breakfast, held at the Barrington Park District headquarters.

Barrington Area Unit District 220 Superintendent Craig Winkelman, one of the moderators, asked what role the state should play in helping school districts support children’s mental health.

He cited figures provided by Lurie Children’s Hospital that 49% of Illinois youth are experiencing worsening mental health.

Syed, who represents the 51st District, said the state has taken action by passing a law mandating mental health screenings in schools, with parents able to opt out.

McLaughlin, who represents the 52nd District, echoed Syed on the impact of technology but focused less on what the state can do and more on channeling children into activities that encourage social interaction and team building.

“You cannot spell team with ‘I,’ but you can certainly spell ‘iPhone,’ with an ‘I,’” he said.

Panelists also weighed in on data centers.

McLaughlin criticized the governor and the Democratic majority for passing hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives to attract data centers. He said he supports local communities retaining zoning and planning controls.

Although he agreed data centers are needed, he said, “That doesn’t mean that we should stick data centers in Algonquin next to residents in Barrington Hills, which I oppose. That doesn’t mean we should put data centers across the street from South Barrington residential units, which I oppose.”

Read the full article here.

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Editorial: The AI vultures are monetizing the dead. Your old emails might be worth millions.

Posted in AI, Chicago Tribune, Data Center, OP/Ed, Privacy on August 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Spirit Airlines data has never been more valuable | Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune

By The Editorial Board | Chicago Tribune

If you recently left a job, it’s likely you lost access to your old inbox and the saved records of those tedious Zoom or Teams meetings. Leaving such digital detritus behind now is part of life. But we doubt you anticipated your employer being able to make money from what you had to say while gainfully employed.

Consider what just happened with the remains of what used to be Spirit Airlines, the bankrupt ultra-low-cost air carrier. Earlier this month, Google was the winner of a highly competitive auction not for the dead airline’s planes or equipment but for the corpse’s data trove. Reportedly, the treasure included 100 million emails and 500 million Teams messages, not to mention a ton of lines of code.

Why did Google blow $10 million on such seeming scrap? To train its artificial intelligence agents.

We’ll try not to get too in the weeds here, but in essence the Spirit purchase was like buying a massive business-school case study with bots as the intended students.

By seeing what humans did in actual life, the AI creepy-crawlies can learn about, well, what humans did in actual life. It doesn’t matter if they did what they did well (and, in the case of Spirit, it all failed in the end). It’s all about using this specific business as a way for AI to learn how an airline actually operates in real life or, yet more generally, how humans typically work together in organizations.

And you thought those AI agents were merely ingesting books and newspapers. Nope. They are looking at your old out-of-office replies and ill-considered rants on Teams.

Read on here.

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‘Not 1984’: Flock cameras watching millions of Americans spark bipartisan revolt

Posted in AI, Big Brother, Cell Towers, Clown Car, Data Center, Deception, Flock Cameras, Fox News, One Barrington Hills, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Transparency, VBHPD on August 26, 2026| 1 Comment »

A pigeon perches on a Flock Safety camera, mounted high on a traffic signal pole at the intersection of Chapman Avenue & Harbor Boulevard in Garden Grove, Calif., on Aug. 14, 2026. | Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

By Elizabeth Elkind, Alex Miller | Fox News

There’s a new frontier in the national privacy debate that’s uniting people on the right and left, and it’s a tool that millions of Americans encounter every day without even realizing it.

Automatic license plate reader (ALPR) companies have been brought under scrutiny by lawmakers in Washington as privacy hawks warn that the growing sophistication of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is testing the bounds of what ALPR devices can legally learn about drivers on the road.

One company in particular, Flock Safety, has been taking hits in the media and political sphere as news of Flock cameras’ misuse — and occasional success — dominates headlines.

“There’s cameras everywhere, people know that, but if law enforcement has the ability to monitor the comings and goings of citizens, I think that’s wrong. I mean, we’re not the CCP, we’re not 1984 and an Orwellian society, and Americans have rights,” Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital.

LICENSE PLATE CAMERAS ARE TRACKING DRIVERS EVERYWHERE

He pointed to a recent incident in his district where a now-former Sarasota police officer was fired and arrested after being accused of misusing Flock camera technology, using it to spy on one particular license plate over 300 times.

FLOCK SAFETY CAMERAS NEED CONSTITUTIONAL GUARDRAILS BEFORE FURTHER DEPLOYMENT, TENNESSEE MAYOR ARGUES

“I don’t think you’re gonna be able to stop these cameras from being out there, but at the very least, there should be some type of legal parameters put in place to protect people’s Fourth Amendment rights,” he said.

ALPRs automatically capture and analyze vehicle and location data on public roads without drivers’ consent. Supporters have argued that it’s a critical tool for public safety that only collects minimal information, while opponents labeled it an alarming expansion of the mass surveillance state.

LICENSE PLATE CAMERAS AT HOME DEPOT AND LOWE’S SPARK PRIVACY FEARS

Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital, “These cameras are well beyond an automated license plate reader today. AI has made them so capable that they are now capable of facial recognition, of seeing what you’re doing inside your car. So it’s well beyond the license plate reader…that’s the problem. Technology has moved these beyond just looking at the back of a car.”

On the other side of the aisle, a spokesperson for progressive Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., pointed Fox News Digital to her recent comments responding to news that Flock was updating its oversight standards. Ramirez wrote on X, “Private tech companies have amassed record-breaking profits off our pain and the use of technology for mass surveillance is a threat to our democracy, civil liberties, and privacy. Congress must stop the ever-expanding surveillance state.”

The debate even exploded onto the campaign trail ahead of November’s midterm elections, where ALPRs join AI data centers as Big Tech’s big boogeymen.

Article continues here.

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