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Archive for the ‘Barrington Education Association’ Category

Lake County voters reject 1% sales tax to help fund schools

Posted in 220, Barrington Education Association, Cuba Township, Elections, Lake, Politics, Property Taxes, School Districts, Taxes, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on November 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

57% of voters against and 43% in favor. 92,177 votes were cast in favor of the tax and 121,259 opposed it with 100% of the vote counted.

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Bought and paid for. Not sour grapes but reality.

Posted in Barrington Education Association, Clown Car, Cost of Living, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Dumb and Dumber, Economy, Education, Elections, ETSB, Fat Bastard, Fools and their money, Girlie man, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, League of Women Voters, Lipstick On A Pig, Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Rights, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, The Chicago Way, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on November 4, 2026| 2 Comments »

 

IL State Senate District 26 Results

IL State House District 52 Results

Related: “Wealth and Party Machine Are Buying the Northwest Suburbs Votes”

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Another sound reason for residents to vote for Hills and McLaughlin

Posted in Barrington Education Association, Chicago Tribune, Cost of Living, Data Center, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Elections, Ethics, Fat Bastard, Fools and their money, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, Unions on November 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

State Rep. Martin “Marty” McLaughlin and State Sen. Darby Hills are endorsed by the Chicago Tribune and a very large number of elected officials in their respective Districts.

According to their candidate campaign websites, State Senator Darby Hills and Representative Martin McLaughlin have the endorsements of the Mayors or Village Presidents in their Districts of:

Barrington Hills, Barrington, South Barrington, Lake Barrington, Port Barrington, Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Libertyville, Island Lake, Volo and Wauconda.

Additionally, Hills is endorsed by the mayors of Long Grove and Tower Lakes. McLaughlin has the vote of the mayors of North Barrington, Cary and Hoffman Estates as well as former elected officials.

Contrast this with the campaign websites of Nabeela Syed and Maria Peterson, who boast the endorsements of the Mayors or Village Presidents of: Zero, Zip, Zilch and Nada!

What does this tell you? This explains exactly why Pritzker, PACs, Unions and Democrats have bankrolled their campaigns with millions of dollars in efforts to avert your attention.

Vote wisely. Vote for Marty McLaughlin and Darby Hills!

Related: “A sound reason for Barrington Hills residents to vote for McLaughlin and Hills,” “Who really funds Nabeela Syed?”

Editorial note: The minute a list is posted, a sin of omission is likely committed. Please notify us if additions are needed.

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Crucial swing voters troubled by DSA, new poll shows: ‘Souring on socialism’

Posted in Barrington Education Association, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Immigration, Land Use, League of Women Voters, Look For The Union Label, New York Post, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Rights, Property Taxes, Real Estate, School Districts, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Unions, Village Code on October 27, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Maria Peterson and Nabeela Syed | Images courtesy Facebook

By Ryan King | New York Post

Crucial swing voters have become increasingly troubled by the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America and the far-left in general — a major warning sign for Dems ahead of the midterms, a new poll shows.

When asked about their views of the DSA, 56% of respondents indicated they had an unfavorable view, up from 50% in September, according to Americans for Prosperity’s latest “Americans Unscripted” report.

Nearly 60% also felt the Democratic Party was controlled by the far left, again up from 50% in September, and 82% indicated they favor personal freedom and free markets over government control.

“Swing voters are souring on socialism — and fast,” AFP spokeswoman Katelyn Bledsoe told The Post.

“That’s a real opening for Republicans, and the candidates who show voters a credible plan to bring their costs down are in the strongest position on November 3.”

Americans for Prosperity, a libertarian-leaning policy advocacy group associated with the billionaire Koch brothers, has been leaning on its network of organizers across the country to get a pulse check. This is its last “Americans Unscripted” report before the Nov. 3 elections.

The question about the DSA was asked to about 9,000 to 10,200 people in eight states: Alaska, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Critically, the trend from September to October indicates that swing voters who will be deciding key races are increasingly turning on the far left.

“Nothing is free,” a man named Michael from Holland, Mich., told an Americans for Prosperity volunteer, according to the report. “There’s an agenda behind all these promises of free benefits.”

Report continues here.

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U.S. News and World Reports Ranks Best Public Elementary Schools

Posted in 220, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Countryside Elementary School, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Property Taxes, School Districts, U.S. News and World Report, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on October 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

U.S. News recently released their report of the best elementary schools in Illinois for 2027. The CUSD 220 elementary schools are ranked as follows:

The U.S. News “Best Elementary Schools” page can be found here.

 

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District 220 Board of Education meets tonight

Posted in 220, Agendas, Appointments, BACOG, Barrington Education Association, Barrington High School, Board of Education, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Daily Herald, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, District 220 referendum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Dumb and Dumber, Education, Elections, Ethics, Facebook, Goat Rodeo, His Master's Voice, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Look For The Union Label, Pension Funding, Politics, Property Taxes, Real Estate, School Districts, SNAFU, Snowflake Effect, South Barrington, Taxes, The New Normal?, Video Streaming, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on October 20, 2026| 1 Comment »

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

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

*Related: “Barrington High School’s Polling Place Appears to Be Missing from the Notices the Law Requires,” “A Polling Place for Some: Barrington High School’s Invitation-Only Early Voting,” “District 220 board members approve policy update on political activities,” “District 220 board members violated campaign policies, investigation finds,” “Proposed Policy Change Would Strip Anonymous Formal Grievances in Barrington District 220,” “CUSD 220 Board delivers second (slappier) slap on the wrist to member Erin Chan Ding,” “CUSD 220 Board of Education public comments we applaud,” “Over $100,000 in Special Interest Funding gifted to 220 Board member’s campaign in failed bid for State Rep job,” “New Evidence of Chan Ding’s Policy Violations and Conflicts of Interest,” “The D220 Board of Ed gets another ‘F’ in accountability & transparency,” “The Real Issue in Barrington 220 Isn’t Parking or Levies — It’s Leadership Culture,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS – Part 2,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS,” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency (Updated),” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency” and “Change.org Petition: ‘For the Resignation of Erin Chan Ding ~ D220 Resources are Not for Political Campaigns’”

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Barrington High School’s Polling Place Appears to Be Missing from the Notices the Law Requires

Posted in 220, Barrington Education Association, Barrington High School, Board of Education, CBS News, Cook, County, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Ethics, FOIA, FUBAR, Guest Essay, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Open Meetings Act, Politics, Property Taxes, School Districts, Taxes, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on October 16, 2026| 6 Comments »

Image courtesy 10.14.26 Barrington 220 School District Facebook post

A follow-up to “A Polling Place for Some”

The law requires certain actions before any early voting site can operate, including official lists that are supposed to show the public where and when it can vote. Barrington High School isn’t on any of them.

What the law requires

Illinois’ early voting statute, 10 ILCS 5/19A-25, is short and clear. The election authority, here the Cook County Clerk, must:

  • publish, in a newspaper of general circulation, during the week before early voting and at least once a week during it, a schedule listing every permanent and temporary early voting location and the dates and hours of each (subsection (a));
  • post that schedule at every early voting location, starting no later than 10 days before early voting begins (subsection (b));
  • make free copies of the schedule available to the public (subsection (c));
  • put the schedule on its website (subsection (d)); and
  • give the State Board of Elections a list of all early voting sites and their hours at least 10 days before early voting begins (subsection (f)).

Subsection (e) covers sites added after the schedule is published:

“Additional temporary locations may be established after the schedule is published, provided that the location is open to all eligible voters. The location, dates, and hours shall be reported to the State Board of Elections and posted on the election authority’s website.”

Open to all eligible voters, reported to the State Board, and posted on the Clerk’s website. From what we’ve been able to determine, Barrington High’s site fails each of these on the public record.

Not on the Clerk’s website

The Cook County Clerk’s Early Voting Locations page on October 15, 2026, the day after the District announced the BHS voting site, says limited early voting for the November 3 election began October 7 at six Vote Centers, and that expanded early voting begins October 19 at 56 suburban locations. The page lists courthouses, village halls, libraries, community centers, and a few college and school campuses, all open to the public. It does not list Barrington High School, and it does not mention a high school early voting day. https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/elections/ways-to-vote/early-voting/early-voting-locations

The District posted on October 14 that BHS hosted the site “today.” On that date, according to the Clerk’s own page, early voting in suburban Cook County was limited to six sites: the Clerk’s downtown office and the courthouses in Rolling Meadows, Skokie, Maywood, Bridgeview, and Markham. The nearest public site for a Barrington voter was the Rolling Meadows courthouse. The site at BHS appears nowhere on the public schedule.

Not on the State Board of Elections’ list

Similarly, Barrington High School is not on the State Board of Elections’ list of 2026 General Election early voting locations for Cook County, which is built from what election authorities report under subsections (e) and (f). The only Barrington-area entry is Barrington Hills Village Hall, 112 Algonquin Road, which doesn’t open until October 19. https://www.elections.il.gov/votingandregistrationsystems/earlyvotinglocationssearch.aspx

Not open to all eligible voters

By the District’s own description, the site was for “eligible BHS students and staff who are Cook County voters.” A Cook County retiree living down the street from the school, a veteran, a parent: none of them were invited, and none of them could have known to come, because the BHS site wasn’t on any schedule. That is the opposite of “open to all eligible voters.”

The Clerk’s own training materials make the same point. The 2026 High School Early Voting Handbook, which the Clerk’s Office prepared for the student election judges, opens by stating the general rule: “A suburban Cook County registered voter can vote early at any of the suburban Cook County Early Voting sites.” Nothing in the Handbook says a high school site may be limited to the school’s own students and staff.

And, the Handbook is no rulebook for this fall’s General Election sites. Its cover reads “2026 Gubernatorial Primary Election,” and its calendar lists a “Primary High School Early Voting Day” of February 26, 2026, but no high school voting day for the November 3 General Election. As far as the public record shows, the high school sites that operated this October were run without any published procedures specific to them. https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/sites/default/files/pdfs/hs-ev-handbook-2026.pdf

Image courtesy 10.14.26 Barrington 220 School District Facebook post

What about pollwatchers?

In fairness, the Handbook doesn’t bar pollwatchers. However, the Handbook never mentions a fall high school voting day.  The Handbook advises judges that credentialed pollwatchers, media and exit pollsters may enter the site for the Primary Election. And, in fact, the media seems to have been made aware of the polling as there is coverage from CBS on Cook County “transform(ing) 27 suburban high schools into early voting sites for a ‘Teen Takeover for Democracy’ event … transform(ing) high schools into early voting sites to help eligible students vote.” https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/cook-county-high-schools-early-voting-students/

But a right to observe means little if no one (except CBS) knows where or when to show up. A pollwatcher’s credential has to name the specific early voting site. If a site isn’t on the Clerk’s schedule, isn’t on the State Board’s list, and is announced by the school district only on the day it happens, no party, candidate, or civic group can realistically get a credential for it and get through the door of a secured school building. The Handbook says nothing about how an outside pollwatcher is supposed to get into a high school during the school day.

Questions the Clerk should answer

We’re not mind readers, and there may be an explanation. If so, the Clerk’s Office should give it publicly:

  • Under what legal authority did the BHS site operate, and was it treated as an early voting location under Article 19A?
  • If it was a temporary location, why isn’t it on the Clerk’s website or the State Board’s list, as subsection (e) requires?
  • Was it ever included in the published newspaper schedule or posted at the site, as subsections (a) and (b) require?
  • Was it open to any eligible Cook County voter who showed up? If not, how is that consistent with “open to all eligible voters”?
  • Which other high schools hosted sites this fall, on what dates, and how many ballots were cast at each?
  • What is the Chicago Bears’ role in the “Defenders of DA’mocracy” program, and will the Clerk release the agreement?

These aren’t partisan questions. The notice rules in 19A-25 protect every voter and every campaign equally. They exist so that no one, whether the Clerk, a school district, or anyone else, can set up a polling place that only the privileged few know about.

Perhaps a Freedom of Information Act request to District 220 and the Cook County Clerk’s Office for the published early voting schedules and newspaper notices, the reports to the State Board of Elections, the list of high school sites and dates for this election, and any agreement with the Chicago Bears would provide some insight.

Related: “A Polling Place for Some: Barrington High School’s Invitation-Only Early Voting”

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A Polling Place for Some: Barrington High School’s Invitation-Only Early Voting

Posted in 220, Barrington Education Association, Barrington High School, Elections, Ethics, Guest Essay, Illinois Federation of Teachers, OP/Ed, Politics, Property Taxes, School Districts, Taxes, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on October 15, 2026| 4 Comments »

This week, Barrington High School hosted an early voting site for the General Election, run with the Cook County Clerk’s Office. According to District 220’s own announcement, the site was for eligible BHS students and staff, and students served as election judges. Everyone else, including the veteran down the street, the retiree on a fixed schedule, and the parent who pays the taxes that run the building, was not invited.

This isn’t a one-off. It’s part of the Clerk’s “Defenders of DA’mocracy” program. In the spring primary, 24 suburban high schools became fully functioning voting sites. On a single day, those school sites recorded 1,136 ballots, more than the 1,021 cast during the first seven days at the regular countywide locations. The Clerk calls that success. I call it a government office choosing which voters get a polling place brought to their door.

Brought to you by the “Chicago Bears?”

The program’s name isn’t a typo. “DA’mocracy” is a nod to “Da Bears,” because the Clerk’s Office developed the program in partnership with the Chicago Bears. Yes, a professional football franchise is a named partner in a program that runs official polling places inside public schools.

The public announcements don’t answer the questions any taxpayer should ask. What does the Bears’ role actually involve? Is the team providing money, materials, staff, or promotion? Is there a written agreement, and who signed it? Does the team have any say in which schools are chosen? Is anyone else sponsoring election administration in Cook County?

A private organization, especially one that is lobbying local and state governments for stadium deals and public money, has no business being involved in how elections are run unless every term of that relationship is public. “Partnership” is a word that hides more than it explains. The Clerk’s Office should release the agreement and any related communications, and if it won’t, voters should ask why.

Shut out of their own school

District 220 spans four counties: Cook, Lake, McHenry, and Kane. Barrington High School is its only high school. Because the site was run by the Cook County Clerk, only Cook County voters could use it. Students and staff who live in Lake, McHenry, or Kane County, along with all of the district’s taxpayers in those three counties, were shut out of a polling place set up in their own school.

Some voters are more equal than others

Defenders will point out that Illinois already provides on-site voting for residents of nursing homes and veterans’ facilities. That’s true, but it isn’t the same thing. That process is limited to physically incapacitated voters who apply in advance, and it’s run as supervised vote-by-mail on one of the few days just before the election. Nobody is setting up a full early voting site in the VFW hall or the senior center, staffed by its members, open on a weekday for that community alone. If convenience-based, community-specific polling places are good policy, why do only high schools get them? It’s fair to ask whether the expected voting patterns of each group have anything to do with it.

Who is watching?

Illinois law is clear that pollwatchers may be appointed to observe early voting at each permanent and temporary polling place where early voting is conducted. If credentialed pollwatchers from candidates, parties, or civic organizations were turned away or never given a realistic chance to attend, the public deserves an explanation. A polling place inside a school building, during school hours, surrounded by the school’s own staff, needs more transparency than usual, not less.

Equal treatment, full disclosure

None of this is about whether young people should vote. They should. It’s about equal treatment and open government. If the Clerk wants to bring the ballot box to a community, every community should be eligible, observers should have the access the law guarantees, and the public should be able to see exactly who is partnering with the office that runs our elections. Until then, voters are right to ask whether “civic engagement” means engaging the voters the system prefers, and whose interests are being served in the process.

Image Source: Barrington 220 School District Facebook Post

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District 220 board members approve policy update on political activities

Posted in 220, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Daily Herald, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Ethics, Fundraisers, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Organizations, Politics, Property Taxes, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, Taxes, Transparency, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on October 13, 2026| 6 Comments »

By Steve Zalusky | Daily Herald

In the wake of four (4) school board members coming under investigation, Barrington Area Unit School District 220 has updated a key policy governing political activity by elected officials.

The update, approved by board members last week, allows board members seeking elected office to mention District 220 or use incidental photos of district property in campaign materials, but only as long as they don’t suggest a district endorsement.

“Not to say that the prior policy wasn’t great, but this, I think, clarifies a lot of things,” board member Steve Wang said.

The policy update comes after board member Erin Chan Ding was found to have violated district policies by using school resources, property and social media for prohibited political campaign activities related to her campaign for the Illinois House.

Fellow board members Leah Collister-Lazzari and Barry Altshuler also violated policies by posting images of students, district property and the district’s chess piece logo on campaign social media sites during their 2023 runs for school board.

School board President Sandra Ficke-Bradford was investigated and cleared of wrongdoing regarding a photo of her in front of Barrington High School that appeared in a news article related to the 2025 election.

The board next will be examining its ethics and gift ban policies, officials said

Report continues here.

Related: ““District 220 board members violated campaign policies, investigation finds,” “Proposed Policy Change Would Strip Anonymous Formal Grievances in Barrington District 220,” “CUSD 220 Board delivers second (slappier) slap on the wrist to member Erin Chan Ding,” “CUSD 220 Board of Education public comments we applaud,” “Over $100,000 in Special Interest Funding gifted to 220 Board member’s campaign in failed bid for State Rep job,” “New Evidence of Chan Ding’s Policy Violations and Conflicts of Interest,” “The D220 Board of Ed gets another ‘F’ in accountability & transparency,” “The Real Issue in Barrington 220 Isn’t Parking or Levies — It’s Leadership Culture,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS – Part 2,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS,” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency (Updated),” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency” and “Change.org Petition: ‘For the Resignation of Erin Chan Ding ~ D220 Resources are Not for Political Campaigns’”

 

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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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