“The Barrington Hills Police Department would like you to be aware of a 5K run occurring tomorrow morning on Brinker Road between County Line and Otis and on Otis Road between Brinker and Old Sutton.
These roadway sections will be closed to through traffic between approximately 8:30 and 11:00 AM. Residents residing in these specific areas will not be restricted from ingress or egress; however, it is advisable to avoid travel during the event, if at all possible.
Your understanding and cooperation are greatly appreciated.”
There will be a charity 5K run or walk tomorrow, May 20th, starting at 9 AM at Presbyterian Church of Barrington, 6 Brinker Road, Barrington Hills. The race will start just east of the church on Brinker Road.
Hosted by the Presbyterian Church of Barrington to benefit the organizations the church supports. $35. (847) 381-0975 or pcbarrington.org.
The intersection of Barrington and Palatine Roads is staged for lane closures to begin.
Scope: Resurface Barrington Road between Dundee Road (IL Route 68) and Algonquin Road (IL Route 62).
Status: Work is expected to begin ‘no later than May 15′ and be completed by the end of July. Motorists can expect delays and should allow extra time for trips through this area. Drivers are urged to pay close attention to flaggers and signs in work zones, obey the posted speed limits and be on the alert for workers and equipment.
On Tuesday, May 9, 2023, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office will join with numerous police agencies in northern Illinois to conduct a traffic safety initiative along the Route 59 corridor.
From Lake County to Will County, participating agencies will use education and traffic enforcement in an effort to increase the safety of motorists using the thoroughfare. The efforts will concentrate on speed, distracted driving, and occupant restraint violations, as well as other safety violations.
Police departments from the cities of Aurora, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Bartlett, Fox Lake, Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Plainfield, Streamwood, and West Chicago are expected to participate in this initiative. Sheriff’s offices from DuPage, Lake, and Will Counties along with the Illinois State Police and Canadian National Railroad will also be participating. Each jurisdiction will implement their own enforcement action based upon the needs of their communities.
The sheriff’s office campaign is administered and funded by the Illinois Department of Transportation with federal highway safety funds managed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
What follows was recently posted to the Village website:
“Chances are you’ve seen the lime green Jeep zipping around town….the American Flag proudly displayed on the wheel cover. This would come as no surprise to learn that Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan is behind the wheel. The vibrancy of her vehicle matches her get-up-and-go drive. Yes, pun intended!
Trustee Konicek, as she is notably known, has always had, undoubtedly, a sense of duty to her village and to society. “I think that everyone should be willing to do something to serve their community,” said Konicek Hannigan, a visible lesson she learned from her father, Dr. Frank Konicek, who has been a volunteer member of the Village’s Board of Health since its inception in 1992 and is currently its chairman.
Trustee Konicek Hannigan has been a Village Trustee since 2013, deciding to get involved in local government at a time when a bit of strife existed between neighbors all throughout our community. Controversy surrounding bikes, horses or lighting dominated headlines–and friendships. “This community was so divided ten years ago, visibly divided, that I decided to run…to tone down the rhetoric and bring back the Barrington Hills of my childhood,” said Konicek Hannigan.
She recounted neighbors on horseback stopping by for a cup of coffee and a friendly chat; neighbors getting together to create a makeshift baseball diamond to play a neighborly game; and hot air balloons landing in backyards of nearby residents.
No doubt residents’ lives have been touched in one way or another by the actions and accomplishments of Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan. Perhaps it was while attending the annual Hills Are Alive Fall Festivals that she co-founded in 2013 with the goal of bringing the community together. Or perhaps while running alongside her when participating in the Police Torch Run or during the Independence Day 5K/10K that she not only participated in but organized and brought to Barrington Hills. Or maybe it was while supporting the Barrington Honor Ride and Run benefitting America’s Veterans which she arranged to have routed through our scenic Village. If not by one of these events, it has been most definitely by her conviction in protecting the Village’s open spaces, zoning laws, and the characteristics that make living in Barrington Hills truly unique.
Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan chose not to seek reelection this year, ending her tenure of ten years. She was elected to two four-year terms and appointed to fill the remaining two-year term of the Trustee vacancy that was created when then, Trustee Brian Cecola was elected as President.
“I feel that we are back to a friendly, courteous neighborhood since we don’t have to rent out Countryside School to have Board meetings anymore…I wanted to live in the neighborhood that I grew up in again, and I feel like that has mostly happened,” said Konicek Hannigan in a reflective manner when asked about her accomplishments. “I would count that as my greatest achievement.”
While Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan may no longer be sitting on the Board, bets are her sights are set on new endeavors within our community. What those entail remains to be seen.
Thank you, Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan, for your dedication to all things Village related, your behind-the-scenes hours and selfless service!
Monday, April 24, will be “Trustee Konicek’s” last Board Meeting as next month the newly elected Trustees will be sworn in to completethe new Board.
A new health warning is out as the weather warms up.
Tick season is here, and with it comes a reported uptick in cases of Lyme disease.
The CDC says Lyme disease has seen a more than 300 percent increase since the late 1990s to now, with about 35,000 cases officially reported each year in the U.S.
While they are most often found in the woods, they are now finding new places to survive — even in urban areas.
Experts with the Cleveland Clinic say climate change has also made the problem worse because ticks are more active in warm weather.
“As a result, the ticks have moved inland, out of New England, away from the coasts, and into the Midwest,” said Dr. Daniel Sullivan of the Cleveland Clinic. “Now as more areas are becoming more temperate, the Lyme disease is going to be more pervasive across all the United States.”
“Active Shooter Training Notice Friday, March 24, 2023 at Barrington High School
An active shooter training scenario is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, March 24th at Barrington High School. Training for District 220 staff and officers from surrounding agencies will be participating. Please note that there will be increased police presence for this training.”
AND:
“TRAFFIC ALERT Hillside Avenue Closed Today at Union Pacific Tracks
Hillside Avenue is closed at the Union Pacific (Metra) tracks between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM today, Friday, March 24th while the Union Pacific completes track repairs. Detour signage will be in place during this work. Please plan accordingly.”
Note: Today is an, “In-Service Day,” and there will be no school.
After last night’s meeting, I want to take some time to express my belief that we need some change on the Board of Education. I have dedicated 8 years of my life to representing this District, its children and its shareholders, and while I’m not 100% comfortable writing my personal opinions about an election in an open forum, I feel I owe it to the District and the constituents who have trusted me throughout my service.
This election, I am supporting Katey Baldassano, Leonard Munson, and Matt Sheriff. These three invited me to their Meet the Candidate event—I attended, spoke with them all, and was impressed. They all have kids in District 220 schools—that is so important as a Board Member. As most of you know, Jim and I had to pull our kids from D220 schools when they stopped offering in-person learning for nearly two years. I am a mom first and so I will never regret that decision, but as a Board Member, it put me at a disadvantage. I lost my connection to and knowledge of the day-to-day activities inside and outside of the classrooms. As most of you also know, I initially filed my paperwork to run for reelection this year but withdrew my candidacy after an honest conversation with my husband and some soul-searching as to what makes a good Board Member. You need kids in the schools.
Last night at the Board Meeting the attacks on these candidates solely focused on their sources of funding. Katie Karam posted a great explanation of how the Action PAC was formed—I didn’t know a lot of this before but if you’re curious, please read about it here:
It sounds to me that those upset with the Action PAC funding are focusing on a $6000 donation from a former Republican candidate for Governor. While this Republican does not live in Barrington, he is dating a mom in Barrington with a child at a D220 school. This doesn’t seem that notable to me, considering that our current Democratic Governor made a $500,000 donation in support of various candidates in cities where he does not live. At the end of the day though, I think the positions of the candidates themselves are the important talking points.
In this regard, as a former teacher and current administrator, Katey fills a gap that has been missing in our Board since Joe Ruffalo left—an educator’s perspective. In our conversations, she is open-minded, well-informed, and balanced in her assessment of issues. Leonard’s connection to the District runs deep and he has volunteered as a coach (also coaching my son!), mentor, and board member on multiple District initiatives throughout the years. He is a straight shooter but he also listens and processes the way a real collaborator should. Matt is newer to the District and is (admittedly) the last person you would expect to run for office. He is a veteran and kind of shy…which is why I like him. He is not led by pride or political ambition but is experienced in safety and security and is an advocate for people with disabilities. I also want to clear up a few misstatements about these candidates—I do not believe that any of these three are looking to increase class sizes, decrease programming, ban books (more on that below) or engage in an overhaul of D220. THEY HAVE KIDS IN OUR SCHOOLS. Their motivation is to support our schools and as such, their children. These misstatements appear to be scare tactics to deter voters from believing that community members can run for office for the pure and simple reason that they love their children and community.
As to the other two new candidates, I wasn’t invited to their Meet the Candidate forums; however, both Diana Clopton and Nelda Munos also have children in D220 schools. I met and spoke with Diana Clopton after last night’s Board Meeting and she was lovely. I wish I had more time to talk to her before writing this, but we are leaving for Spring Break at 5am tomorrow.
As to the incumbents, I wasn’t invited to their Meet the Candidate forums either but I, of course, know them well after working with them for the past four years. I DO NOT agree with Leah’s philosophies or values as a Board Member; however, I do agree with Barry on these principles. When it comes down to the votes that matter to me though—Barry and I do not align. I admire and respect Barry though and because of that, I have spent hours drafting some of my best arguments to sway him on issues such as reopening schools, relaxing masking requirements, eliminating quarantines and providing a tangible way for parents to weigh in on their childrens’ access to sexually explicit material (remember the Love Actually argument?! THE BEST!). We are so close to agreement, but yet so far–the Barrington version of RBG and Antonin Scalia.
The last matter I want to address is that of the books. We have spent more time talking about books than I ever thought I would spend as a Board Member, and it continues to resurface. I am not going to even touch the issue of whether these books should be in D220 libraries or not—if you have an opinion on this matter, it is made and I respect that. I do want to clear up a couple of untruths though.
There are pictures circulating of the content of books that have been reviewed by both the District and BOE. Some (understandably) believe these pages and images are doctored by right-wing extremists because it is just too graphic. I have not seen any pages or images that have been doctored. They are accurate representations of the content within these publications.
The publications in question are at the BHS library and are accessible by children ages 14-18. The author of at least one of the publications in question lists the material as ‘mature’ and suitable for audiences of 17 and above.
The current option for parents who do not want their children to access books with content they may find too sexually explicit or objectionable is that the parent must contact the District with the name of the objectionable publication and request that their child be denied access to same. There is no listing of books with mature sexual content or an option to ‘opt in’ or ‘opt out’ of such access.
To my knowledge, families who do not speak English as their first language or do not have time to review publications for objectionable content really do not have any option to ascertain what publications contain mature sexual content or objectionable material.
The BOE discussion did not involve ‘banning’ books. We discussed whether these publications are age-appropriate, whether they should be labeled as sexually explicit and whether there is a means for families to ‘opt in’ or ‘opt out’ of their childrens’ access to such publications.
Thank you for reading this. I have cherished every minute of serving this community and I know I will miss it when my service is over. Please know that every person running or serving on the Board of Education puts their neck out there, puts in a ton of time and probably has a lot of sleepless nights associated with same. Please give them grace and let’s give ourselves a break from the bristling arguments that are dividing this incredibly amazing community. Jimmy and I did NOT make a mistake moving here 20 years ago. Barrington is still the best town in Illinois…and it’s going to be even better when the Bears move down the street!
Don’t forget to VOTE on April 4 and if you have any questions, please reach out!!
“11:07 AM … Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District firefighters and paramedics working at the scene of a house fire in the block of 0-99 West County Line Road Barrington. Report of a house fire with flames shooting up from the back of the house. Crew on arrival reports flames and smoke showing. Two people evacuated safely.
Command reports a fire on the second floor.
MABAS Division 4 Box Alarm on Box #38-1 to the Second Alarm by 11:19 AM.
Water on the fire by 11:28 AM. Operations going defensive at 11:45 AM.”
