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For some D220 parents: In the age of AI and social media, one west suburban school district goes analog

Posted in 220, 300, Aurora Beacon-News, Barrington Education Association, Chicago Tribune, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Entertainment, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Politics, Property Taxes, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on October 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Cole Rogerson works on a graphic organizer during a seventh-grade English language arts class on Sept. 25, 2026, at Hinckley Big-Rock Middle School in Big Rock. The school banned cellphones and aims for their students to do more work on paper. | Dominic Di Palermo/for the Aurora Beacon-News

By Molly Morrow  | Aurora Beacon-News

Before Hinckley-Big Rock banned cellphones, things looked a lot different at the district’s three schools. Students were using their phones throughout the school day, and there was more technology-based discipline and concern about kids recording each other without permission, school leadership says.

Even during lunch, students would often be on their cellphones.

“They would sit next to each other, but they wouldn’t be interacting with each other,” Becky Lauer, Hinckley-Big Rock High School’s principal, recalled.

In the fall of 2024, when the district implemented a strict no-cellphone policy, that all changed.

It was an adjustment — and an awkward one, at that, according to Lauer. But, in time, the high-schoolers got used to it.

Nowadays, the high school cafeteria’s a lot louder. But it’s a good kind of noise, she says.

Hinckley-Big-Rock was among the Illinois school districts that banned or restricted cellphone use well before the passage of state legislation that will prohibit students in Illinois public schools from using cellphones throughout the day starting next school year.

Brantley Karns, right, works on a graphic organizer while paraprofessional Rebekah Hett helps Micah Simonson with his work during a seventh-grade English language arts class on Sept. 25, 2026, at Hinckley Big-Rock Middle School in Big Rock. | Dominic Di Palermo/for the Aurora Beacon-News

But Hinckley-Big Rock decided to take it a step further this year, shifting away from all students having their own personal computers and instead housing district computers at school for them to be shared. In tandem with that change, administrators and teachers describe a general reduction in computer use in the classroom district-wide.

Generally speaking, students are now doing lots of reading and assignments on paper. Rough drafts of essays are being handwritten, with only the final copy typed up. The school is even looking to switch back to paper standardized tests, staff say.

Handwriting’s back, too, with more focused instruction than had been offered in recent years.

Article continues here.

Related: “Barrington parents ask District 220 to reduce students’ screen time”

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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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Poll: Majority of voters concerned about socialists running for office

Posted in Blame Canada, Commodius Maximus, Cost of Living, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Ethics, Fat Bastard, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Property Taxes, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, The Center Square, Village Code on October 12, 2026| Leave a Comment »

By Sarah Roderick-Fitch | The Center Square

A majority of American voters are concerned with socialist candidates running and possibly winning political office, according to a new poll.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice poll found that 55% of American voters are concerned about Democratic Socialist candidates running for and winning elected office in the U.S., while 37% aren’t concerned.

A slew of candidates running as democratic socialists appears to be raising alarms with a majority of American voters.

Of the 55% who are concerned, 35% are very concerned, while 20% say they are “somewhat concerned.”

(Click on image to enlarge)

Of those not concerned, only 17% say they are not too concerned, while 20% say they are not at all concerned.

The poll comes as several Democratic Socialist candidates have risen in popularity across the country. The Democratic Socialists of America are touting 67 wins across the country, with 93 running. However, the group includes 62 DSA candidates who have lost.

Report continues here.

 

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JB PRITZKER’S GREAT DISPLACEMENT

Posted in Commodius Maximus, Cook, Cost of Living, County, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Education, Elections, Ethics, Illinois Policy Institute, Immigration, John Kass News, OP/Ed, Outmigration, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, Unions, Wirepoints on October 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »

By Paul Vallas | John Kass News

October 11th, 2026

Illinois leadership is sustaining policies that have done nothing to improve equity or affordability while swapping out middle- and upper-income families for the poor and illegal migrants.

JB Pritzker’s greatest legacy will be the acceleration of the “Great Displacement,” the demographic upheaval in which Illinois is losing scores of affluent residents through outmigration while gaining relatively poorer ones through both interstate and international migration.

This shift is largely the product of the state’s so-called progressive policies. High taxes and fees remain the primary reason Illinoisans cite for leaving, followed by failing schools, rising crime, limited economic opportunity, and expansive sanctuary measures that encourage low-income in-migration.

According to Wirepoints, Illinois continues to hemorrhage wealthy residents. Since 2000, the state has lost roughly 1.6 million people — third most in the nation, behind only California and New York. Chicago’s population, even with the recent influx of migrants, is now at its lowest level in nearly a century. Almost every county in Illinois has experienced a decline in population. Even more troubling, Illinois isn’t merely losing residents — it’s losing income. [1]

The IRS reports that in 2022 alone, 87,311 residents left Illinois, taking with them $9.9 billion in adjusted gross income. The real damage runs deeper: The outflow disproportionately includes residents in their prime earning and spending years. This brain and income drain erodes the tax base, shrinking critical property, sales, and consumption tax revenues that support state and local budgets. [2]

A detailed Wirepoints analysis of IRS migration data for 2022 shows Illinois was the nation’s second-biggest loser of households aged 26-35 earning more than $200,000. Unsurprisingly, zero-income-tax states such as Florida and Texas were the leading destinations for these upwardly mobile millennials. Illinois has been bleeding this cohort for more than a decade, but the acceleration is alarming. [3]

Wirepoints also found that in 2022, the average adjusted gross income for these departing young households was $435,000. The exodus continues among those aged 35-45 with incomes over $200,000 — another key demographic of high earners. Illinois ranks 48th nationally for losses in this income bracket. More concerning, the average AGI among this group leaving approaches $700,000. [4]

Vallas’ report continues here.

Paul Vallas formerly ran the public school systems in Chicago, Philadelphia and the Louisiana Recovery School District. He was a candidate for Mayor of Chicago.

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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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Juliana Stratton Hides Behind a Fig Leaf

Posted in Chicago Contrarian, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Ethics, Look For The Union Label, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Taxes, The Chicago Way, Topics Of Interest, Transparency on October 9, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Juliana Stratton

By Warner Todd Huston | Chicago Contrarian

Stratton can dance and hyperventilate about President Trump, but she can’t seem to debate Don Tracy

Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Juliana Stratton is hiding in her basement and refusing to debate Republican nominee Don Tracy as the pair vie to replace outgoing Senator Dick Durbin this year.

Stratton, the sitting Democrat Lt. Governor of Illinois under failed Governor JB Pritzker, did participate in several debates during the Democrat primary when she knew she would not face any tough questions. She knew that primary debates would cater only to left-wing issues and that no one would really try to tie her to the anchor of being the second chair for one of the worst governors in the country.

In her Democrat primary this year, she fairly easily beat two opponents who are also sitting members of Congress — Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly — though one can easily imagine that if Kelly had bowed out of the primary, Krishnamoorthi just might have over taken Stratton in the final voting.

Still, it may not be all that surprising that she beat her opponents since Governor Pritzker put his considerably weighty thumb on the scale by giving her his full endorsement, despite that as a sitting governor he should have taken no real role in electing a U.S. senator.

Stratton ran a “progressive” campaign and her biggest issue was raising the minimum wage to $25. She also ran on the financially absurd “Medicare for all” scheme of which the left is so fond, and pandered to the left-wing base with her pledge to “eliminate” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), despite the fact a U.S. senator would have no real power to achieve such a goal.

However, now that she has safely secured the nomination, Stratton is taking the easy road to the election by refusing to debate her Republican opponent.

For his part, Tracy has offered to join Stratton in several debates, but she has steadfastly ignored all his offers.

Indeed, one debate date even turned into an interview between Tracy and WBBM-TV’s Chris Tye, the station’s Sunday night anchor, because Stratton once again refused to show up.

“I asked Juliana Stratton for three debates across Illinois,” Tracy said in a Facebook post in September. “I’m still waiting. She’s still hiding. It’s time to put your record on the table, Lt. Governor.”

In comments exclusively to Chicago Contrarian, Tracy expanded on that criticism.

“Illinois voters deserve the chance to hear from both of the candidates. Side by side, on the record. Don has said yes. She has declined 8 different debates and forums. She is the nominee of a party in the middle of a bitter fight over its own identity, and has shown deep alignment with her party’s most extreme ideologies. Voters not only deserve to know where she stands next to Don Tracy. They deserve to know where she sits on the spectrum her party is arguing over: from establishment Democrat to Democrat Socialist.  An open Senate seat is too important to hide from.”‍

Article continues here.

Editorial note: We’d like to remind our readers back in March we posted: “JB Pritzker’s Political Brand Is at Stake—in a Race He’s Not Even Running In – Wall Street Journal.”

Related: “Juliana Stratton is using her campaign money to fund Abdul El-Sayed,” “Moseley-Braun, Part II? Democrat U.S. Senate hopeful Stratton refuses debates, claims to be “dancing” her way to Washington,” “Juliana Stratton is hiding from Illinois voters. That tells you everything,” “Juliana Stratton Takes Chinese Communist Cash While Denouncing Dark Money,” “Illinois Democrat tries to bleep (their) way through a tough Senate primary with a new expletive-laden anti-Trump ad”

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Population loss could cost Illinois a second seat in Congress under Pritzker

Posted in Blame Canada, Clown Car, Commodius Maximus, Contests, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Illinois Policy Institute, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, Outmigration, Overhead, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes on October 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Data suggest the state is on pace to lose a U.S. representative in 2030.

By Lilly Rossi | Illinois Policy Institute

Illinois is on pace to lose its second congressional seat because of population loss under Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Since Pritzker was elected in 2018, Illinois has lost more than 168,000 residents. In a recent poll of Illinois voters, more than half said they would leave the state if given the opportunity.

Of those who would leave, almost 69% cited taxes as a top one or two issue facing Illinois. In 2024, 95% of those leaving Illinois fled to states with lower tax burdens.

Pritzker entered office as Illinois was already struggling with outmigration. He identified reversing it as a goal in his 2019 economic plan.

Nearly eight years later, that has not happened.

Illinois lost a congressional seat after the 2020 census, continuing a decades-long decline in the state’s representation in Washington. Illinois has lost 10 U.S. House seats since 1910, falling from 27 to 17.

Now past the halfway point in the decade, census data suggest that Illinois is on pace to lose another House seat in the reapportionment after the 2030 census.

In 2030, a decennial census will tally the state’s population and determine how congressional seats are distributed nationwide. Despite small population increases from 2023 to 2025 because of international migration, Illinois has lost residents overall under Pritzker’s administration. Also, international migration to Illinois is declining while the state continues to struggle with outmigration.

Read more 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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District 220 Board of Education meets tomorrow night

Posted in 220, Agendas, AI, BACOG, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Cost of Living, District 220 referendum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Ethics, His Master's Voice, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Look For The Union Label, Mad Cows, Massbach Hounds, Overhead, Pension Funding, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, School Districts, South Barrington, Springfield, Taxes, Transparency, Video Streaming, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on October 5, 2026| 1 Comment »

The District 220 Board of Education meets Tuesday evening at 6:00 PM at the District Administration Center, 515 W. Main Street. Items on their agenda include:

  • Special Public Comment on IASB Resolutions
  • FOIA Reports
  • Personnel Report
  • Declaring Property Surplus and Authorizing its Sale or Disposal
  • Minor Policies
  • Second Reading of Board Policy
  • Consideration to Approve Resolution providing for the issue of not to exceed $34,000,000 General Obligation School Bonds, Series 2026A, for the purpose of building and equipping an auditorium and an addition at the Barrington High School Building, altering, repairing and equipping existing buildings, and improving school sites; providing for the levy of a direct annual tax sufficient to pay the principal and interest on said bonds; and authorizing the sale of said bonds to the purchaser thereof.
  • Consideration to Approve Mid Suburban League Constitution
  • Consideration to Approve Demographic Study Contract
  • Consideration to Approve Terms of IGA for Proposed Village of South Barrington Higgins Corridor TIF District
  • Board Policy Training
  • Solar Update
  • First Reading of Board Policy

A copy of the agenda packet can be viewed here. The meeting will be live streamed on the district YouTube channel.

Related: “District 220 board members violated campaign policies, investigation finds”

 

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When Blue States Chase Away Their Billionaires – WSJ

Posted in Commodius Maximus, Cost of Living, Crime, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Education, Ethics, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, Wall Street Journal on October 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

America’s Governor Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.) cheers Citadel founder Kenneth Griffin at the announcement of Carnegie Mellon University Miami on Thursday. | Jack Dempsey/AP Content Services for Griffin Catalyst/Associated Pres

By James Freeman | Wall Street Journal

An editorial in the Chicago Tribune laments what might have been had “Kenneth C. Griffin not become so frustrated with the state of Illinois as to move himself and much of the financial company he founded, Citadel, to Miami.” The Tribune is responding to the news that Mr. Griffin is moving a whole lot more to Florida after departing the expensive dysfunction of Illinois governance.

The Journal’s Deborah Acosta reported on Wednesday:

Hedge-fund titan Ken Griffin is donating $2 billion to start a Carnegie Mellon University campus in Miami, part of the largest-ever individual gift toward higher education.

The Pittsburgh-based university, known for its expertise in computer science, artificial intelligence and robotics, will open a 35-acre campus in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood that will focus on technology and innovation.

“The students who graduate and the tech companies that come to Miami to leverage those skills will change the very fabric of Miami for decades if not centuries to come,” Griffin said in an interview.

Citadel’s chief executive is also giving $1 billion to Carnegie Mellon’s main Pittsburgh campus. Griffin’s combined $3 billion donation is the largest single gift toward higher education from any individual, according to an announcement from Carnegie Mellon University.

The donation helps advance Griffin’s aim to establish South Florida as a leading global-business and technology hub.

Back in the Windy City, kudos to the Tribune editorial board for explaining the opportunity cost of driving away the state’s most successful people: “After all, persons who are willing to donate $3 billion to an institution of higher education are not to be found on every street corner.”

Of course New York politicians in general and the mayor of New York City in particular have also been unwelcoming and in some cases downright hostile to wealth-creators like Mr. Griffin. Leftists who enjoyed the mayor’s nasty media stunt outside Mr. Griffin’s Manhattan apartment can now reflect on whether it was worth removing the city as a possible landing spot for the largest individual gift in the history of U.S. higher education.

Article continues here.

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