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Ignite the Night benefits Citizens for Conservation efforts

Posted in BHPD, Citizens for Conservation, FPDCC on October 26, 2019| Leave a Comment »

More than 500 people attended Citizens for Conservation’s harvest fundraiser, Ignite the Night, Sept. 14 in Barrington Hills.

The event at the Barrington Hills Park District featured live music by Beamish, food and beverages, stargazing with professional-grade telescopes, flashlight walks, close-up encounters with raptors, a raffle and horse-drawn wagon rides, all capped by a spectacular bonfire.

Citizens for Conservation hoped to divert as much material from the landfill as possible. Thanks to the assistance of the group Mindful Waste, all packaging used at the event was compostable, recyclable or reusable.

Mindful Waste volunteers were on hand to educate and help with the sorting process, and after recycling 154 pounds of bottles, cans and cardboard; upcycling 11 pounds of plastic film; composting 315 pounds of food waste, paper plates, cups and napkins; and donating 60 pounds of extra corn, only a six-pound bag of landfill waste remained.

All proceeds from the event will support Citizens for Conservation’s preservation and restoration work in the Barrington area. Supporters of the event included the Forest Preserves of Cook County and the Barrington Hills Park District.

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Guided walking tour October 19: Spring Creek Forest Preserve

Posted in FPDCC, Friends of Forest Preserves on September 29, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Get outside and walk with us!

Starting at Penny Road Pond in Spring Creek Forest Preserve, Friends of the Forest Preserve staff and local land managers will lead our group through one of Cook County’s most unique grassland preserves. The walk will include information about native plants and wildlife, local hiking opportunities, a brief stop to collect wildflower seeds, and all the beauty of an Illinois prairie!

This walk is approximately 2.5 miles and begins at noon, October 19th. While not a very difficult trip, it will involve a hill and mowed grass trails. Please be prepared with sturdy footwear, long pants, and water bottles.

To register click here, or for more information, please contact Peter Whitney at peter@fotfp.org.

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Crabtree Nature Center to host Art in Nature: Color the Preserves event this Sunday

Posted in Crabtree Nature Center, FPDCC, Topics Of Interest on September 12, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Crabtree Nature Center invites the public to the annual Art in Nature: Color the Preserves event, hosted from 11 AM to 3 PM on Sunday, September 15, at 3 Stover Road, in Barrington Hills.

“During this free event, attendees can enjoy a variety of activities including painting with watercolor, drawing with colored pencils, sculpting with clay, and other art forms to capture and reflect the beauty of the forest preserves through art,” said Jeff Rapp, director of Crabtree Nature Center.

Throughout the event, there will be also be live music and dance programs, and art, painting and jewelry making demonstrations. Additionally, visitors can view and purchase art throughout the event.

For information on the event or the nature center, contact the Crabtree directly at (847) 381-6592.   A complete listing of all special events and programs is posted to the Forest Preserves’ events website at fpdcc.com/events with seasonal brochures that can be downloaded.

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Hoffman Estates sets meetings for input on proposed TIF district

Posted in 300, Cook, County, FPDCC, Land Use, McHenry, Plum Farm development, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, School Districts, Sears, Taxes on August 8, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Hoffman Estates officials have scheduled a pair of meetings for local governments and the public to weigh in on a proposed tax incentive to encourage development on the north corners of the intersection of Higgins and Old Sutton roads.

The village is proposing the tax increment financing district for 24 acres at the northeast corner and 16 acres at the northwest corner, independent of any existing development plan — including the Plums Farms concept that’s been stalled for two years.

Including adjacent right of way, the proposed TIF district would cover 64 acres. Initial revenue from the TIF would pay for public utilities on the land.

A Joint Review Board made up of the local governments that would see their tax revenues affected by the TIF district is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11, at Hoffman Estates village hall, 1900 Hassell Road.

Read more here.

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In Cook County suburbs, home values are collapsing while property taxes are up

Posted in 220, Better Government Association, Cook, County, Crain's Chicago Business, FPDCC, News Media, Politics, Property Taxes, School Districts, Taxes on August 1, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Tucked on the outer edges of southern Cook County, suburban Park Forest was built to help answer a housing shortage in the 1940s as GIs flooded home from World War II. Before long, it became a model of suburban living, featuring enviable public schools and an attractive downtown shopping center anchored by a Marshall Field’s.

Today, the legacy department store is long gone. The high school, Rich East, is facing such low enrollment that it is being considered for closure. And, as of 2017, financially strapped homeowners were stuck with the second-highest property-tax rate in Cook County.

Among them is Ryan Dupée, who is being billed more than $3,800 in property taxes for a modest, ranch-style home he and his wife bought under foreclosure four years ago for just $25,000.

“It’s a shocker and it’s disappointing because your money could go to other things,” Dupée said, adding that while they aren’t paying a mortgage the property taxes are difficult for them to handle, especially since he’s between full-time jobs as a quality assurance auditor.

Read the full Better Government Association investigation here and realize what we already knew – it’s not just Barrington Hills. 

This story was co-published with Crain’s Chicago Business, as part of a Crain’s Forum project on affordable housing.

 

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Editorial: ‘Scenic parkways’ might be the road extensions of the future

Posted in Algonquin Rd, Cook, County, FPDCC, IDOT, Kane, OP/Ed, Topics Of Interest, Village Government on July 8, 2019| 1 Comment »

With an expansion of Algonquin Road through the Barrington area all be certain in the next few years, Barrington Hills is urging a different approach, and we hope the Illinois Department of Transportation continues to give it serious consideration.

As Bob Susnjara reported Monday, Barrington Hills is pitching the idea of turning Algonquin Road into a so-called scenic parkway, a roadway that would fit into, rather than obliterate, the bucolic, natural setting of northwest Cook County. Algonquin Road cuts through Spring Lake Forest Preserve on its way to the northern Fox Valley.

“It should kind of honor the open space, natural setting that the Cook County Forest Preserve is trying to maintain and what we’re trying to maintain in our community,” Barrington Hills Village President Martin McLaughlin told Susnjara.

This is a new approach, and one that reflects the increasing interest in preserving the environment of much of the suburban area — hand in hand, of course, with finding better ways to move frustrating amounts of traffic on a daily basis.

Continue reading the full Daily Herald editorial 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 Farms, 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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