After failing to sell conventionally for a decade, the palatial mansion in Barrington Hills that was featured in the TV show “Empire” is going up for auction. Unlike a Winnetka mansion that is being auctioned by a lender that took over the property, the Barrington Hills property is not in distress, Cook County records show, and is being auctioned by its longtime owners. “The auction establishes a date-certain sale for the sellers,” said Randy Haddaway, CEO of Elite Auctions. Elite, based in Naples, Fla., plans to hold a live auction in the mansion July 15 if the sellers, seeing bidders’ proposed opening offers in advance, decide to go ahead. If the opening bids seem too low, they might back away. If they go ahead, Haddaway said, “the house will sell to the winning bidder.” Details of the auction are on Elite’s website.
Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting beginning this evening at 6:30 PM. A copy of the agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Village of Barrington Hills Board of Trustees 2023 (L-R): JC Clarke, Darby Hills, President Pro Tem/Trustee David Riff, President Brian Cecola, Laura Ekstrom, Thomas Strauss, Jessica Hoffmann
From our Village website:
“Congratulations to our newly sworn Trustees: Darby Hills, Jessica Hoffmann and John Carpenter Clarke or as he prefers, “J.C.”!
At a special Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, May 8, 2023, the newly elected were sworn into office and took their seats among the sitting Board, commencing their four-year term. President Cecola called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM at which time the new Board discussed the business at hand.
Congratulations to Trustee David Riff who was unanimously voted as President Pro Tem by his fellow Board Members!
President Cecola then read the proposed Trustee Committee assignments followed by a vote from the Board. Who was assigned to which Committee? Visit our website to find out: Barrington Hills Village Board of Trustees”
Editorial note: It’s been brought to our attention that Trustee Riff had a very important bowling league tournament to compete in immediately following Monday night’s ceremonies, thus explaining his attire.
Our Village Board of Trustees will be holding a special meeting beginning this evening at 6:30 PM. The purpose is to certify the results of the April 4 election and to vote on Board responsibility assignments as follow:
John Carpenter Clarke: None
Laura Ekstrom: Environment, Roads & Bridges and Equestrian Commission
Darby Hills: Building & Zoning and Plan Commission
Jessica Hoffman: Health
David Riff: Municipal Buildings & Grounds and Public Safety
Thomas Straus: Finance, Insurance and Village Personnel
Also, President Cecola is nominating David Riff to be President Pro Tem. A copy of tonight’s agenda can be viewed here.
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.
The results have us wondering if Dinky was out campaigning for votes, or if residents weren’t pleased with the Cecola Administration’s choice of Clarke to run for Village Board? We should have an idea soon enough…
Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting beginning this evening at 6:30 PM. A copy of the agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
The Northwest Herald sent a questionnaire out to all suburban candidates seeking election in the upcoming 2023 Consolidated Elections. The only Trustee candidate who deemed Barrington Hills residents worthy of a response was Jessica Hoffmann.
When asked why she was running, Jessica wrote:
“I am committed to preserving the integrity of Barrington Hills for generations to come. Maintaining our community’s traditions and quality of life for our residents, taking special care of our village’s beautiful landscape and our pristine financial record, would be of top priority for me while serving as a Barrington Hills Trustee.”
To learn more of what Jessica had to say about her reasons for running, click here.
The two other candidates running for Village Board of Trustee seats are Darby Hills and John Carpenter Clarke, who apparently saw no need for residents to learn about or vote for them. Their presumptive election by default apparently speaks for itself but speaks volumes to this publication.
We’re very pleased to endorse Jessica Hoffmann for election to the Barrington Hills Board of Trustees, and we’re grateful to have learned a bit about her.
As for the other two candidates, we encourage residents to devote as much time to checking their names off on the ballot as they did in completing the information on the questionnaire. In other words, leave it blank.
There will be a Public Hearing this evening at 6:30 PM at Village Hall to hear comments on the proposed Village of Barrington Hills Annual Appropriation Ordinance. A copy of the proposal can be found here, and the 2022 ordinance is available here for comparison.
The proposed 2023 Appropriation represents an increase of $1,029,899, reflecting an 11.4 percent increase. The categorical increases comparison to 2022 are as follows:
The proposed 2023 Roads and Bridges Appropriation is $2,124,500, compared to the amount approved in 2022 of $1,433,160, or a 48.2 percent increase. The reasons are revealed in recordings of the November 8, 2022, two-hour Roads and Bridges Committee meeting found here, but we’ll focus on the primary one for brevity’s sake.
The recordings reveal that, despite the repeated objections of the Village President, relying on his years of experience as Roads and Bridges Chair service, and the Village Engineer, whose expertise we pay for, Laura Ekstrom, current Roads Chair, is recommending the entire length of Oak Knoll Road be resurfaced this year. It’s no secret that Ekstrom happens to live on Oak Knoll Road.
Oak Knoll Road has undergone patching since it was last resurfaced. To the casual observer, this work resulted on a sound road surface with significant useful life remaining.
However, it’s Ekstrom’s contention, likely influenced by neighborhood friends, that Oak Knoll Road suffers, “aesthetically.” Admittedly, the road surface colors won’t pass a color pallet comparison. However, we’ve driven Oak Knoll frequently after Ekstrom’s testimony, and resurfacing Oak Knoll Road prematurely this year would be a waste of taxpayer’s heard earned money.
Furthermore, given her position in Village Government, we find it unethical and egocentric for Ekstrom to even consider a proposal that clearly benefits her.
