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District 220 Board of Education meets tonight

Posted in 220, Agendas, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Clown Car, Deception, District 220 referendum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Ethics, His Master's Voice, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Look For The Union Label, Open Meetings Act, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, School Districts, South Barrington, Taxes, Transparency, Unions, Video Streaming, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on March 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

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

  • FOIA Report
  • Revised Personnel Report
  • Consideration to Approve Action on Suspension Appeal for Student A
  • Consideration to Approve Custodial Contract
  • Consideration to Approve Bus Transportation Contract
  • Consideration to Approve Masonry and Roofing Bid

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

Related: “Candidate Erin Chan Ding’s opinion on Data Centers,” “Barrington area Democrats condemn Chan Ding mailers,” “The D220 Board of Ed gets another ‘F’ in accountability & transparency,” “School district’s parking plan defies logic,” “Zoning change defies village policy,” “The Real Issue in Barrington 220 Isn’t Parking or Levies — It’s Leadership Culture,” “Change.org Petition: ‘For the Resignation of Erin Chan Ding ~ D220 Resources are Not for Political Campaigns’,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS – Part 2,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS,” “Erin Chan Ding: The violations just keep piling up…,” “Erin Chan Ding starring in another episode of, ‘Rules For Thee But NOT For Me…’,”  “District 220’s Lack of Transparency (Updated),” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency,” “yDing Politicking on School District Property,” “Dual School Board and State Rep Positions Legally Incompatible,” “D220 Abuses Taxpayer Funds in favor of Partisan Campaign,” “Ding In Her Own Words – CONFLICTED!,” “Ding Doubles Down,” “Ding’s D220 Deception,” “Chan Ding running in Democratic primary in 52nd,” “Three (3) Democratic candidates queued to run for the IL 52nd District House seat in 2026”

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JB Pritzker’s Political Brand Is at Stake—in a Race He’s Not Even Running In – Wall Street Journal

Posted in Clown Car, ComEd Four, Commodius Maximus, Cost of Living, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Fat Bastard, Illinois State Board of Elections, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes, Unions, Wall Street Journal on March 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Illinois’s governor has given at least $5 million to a group backing his lieutenant governor and upsetting the Congressional Black Caucus. | Eileen T. Meslar / Chicago Tribune/Zuma Press

By John McCormick | Wall Street Journal

CHICAGO—Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s deep financial involvement in his state’s U.S. Senate primary on Tuesday has angered potential allies for his possible 2028 presidential bid.

The billionaire is helping finance a multimillion-dollar barrage of ads to boost Juliana Stratton, his lieutenant governor, in a race that is also testing Pritzker’s political clout in a state where he has leveraged his wealth to dominate the Democratic Party.

The contest has turned sharply negative in its closing weeks, while revealing divisions within the party over how progressive the Democratic brand should be. It has also become a debate about the influence of outside money.

Pritzker’s involvement has especially angered the Congressional Black Caucus, an influential party group backing one of its own, Rep. Robin Kelly (D., Ill.). Both Stratton and Kelly are Black.

“His behavior in this race won’t soon be forgotten by any of us,” Rep. Yvette Clarke (D., N.Y.), the CBC’s leader, said in a statement also critical of the governor for trying to “tip the scales” in a primary.

Black voter support is critical in Democratic presidential primaries. Clarke declined an interview, while Pritzker recently told reporters he has a proven record of supporting nonwhite candidates.

“I would like a Black woman to represent us in the United States Senate. I just want the best person. She happens to be a Black woman,” he said. “I stand with communities of color across the state and with candidates who are running for public office.”

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, taking a selfie, has stressed her progressive leanings. | Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images

Article continues here.

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Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Follow-up)

Posted in Agendas, AI, Audio Recordings, Clown Car, Data Center, Deception, Dumb and Dumber, Ethics, FOIA, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Disconnection, Minutes, Newsletter, OMA, One Barrington Hills, OP/Ed, Open Meetings Act, Plan Commission, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Simple Minds, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Transcripts, Transparency, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Government, Village President, Zoning Board on March 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »

There was no mention of the data center discussions which began in October in President Cecola’s quarterly Village Newsletter distributed last week. So much for transparency.

Last week we published a series of editorials to enlighten residents on the, “110 Acre AI data center campus pitched to Village Board.” We referenced Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) records we obtained, and several people have asked if they might obtain a copy.

Those records we were provided, edited only to eliminate redundancy such as multiple copies of the “Data Center Overview,” can be found here.

Related: “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Part 3),” “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Part 2),” “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Part 1),” “7 things to know about Illinois data centers,” “Data Center group concerned over pause,” “110 Acre AI data center campus pitched to Village Board”

 

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District 220 Board of Education meets Tuesday

Posted in 220, Agendas, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Clown Car, Cost of Living, Deception, District 220 referendum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Ethics, His Master's Voice, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Politics, Property Taxes, School Districts, South Barrington, Taxes, Transparency, Unions, Video Streaming, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on March 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

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

  • FOIA Reports
  • Personnel Report
  • Consideration to Approve a Resolution Authorizing the Honorable Dismissal of Group 1 Probationary Certified Staff Due to Reduction in Force
  • Consideration to Approve 2026-27 School Fees
  • Lake County School Facilities Tax

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

Related: “Barrington area Democrats condemn Chan Ding mailers,” “The D220 Board of Ed gets another ‘F’ in accountability & transparency,” “School district’s parking plan defies logic,” “Zoning change defies village policy,” “District 220 Public Hearing December 16th re: ‘proposal to sell bonds of the District in an amount not to exceed $5,400,000’,” “The Real Issue in Barrington 220 Isn’t Parking or Levies — It’s Leadership Culture,” “Change.org Petition: ‘For the Resignation of Erin Chan Ding ~ D220 Resources are Not for Political Campaigns’,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS – Part 2,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS,” “Erin Chan Ding: The violations just keep piling up…,” “Erin Chan Ding starring in another episode of, ‘Rules For Thee But NOT For Me…’,”  “District 220’s Lack of Transparency (Updated),” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency,” “Ding Politicking on School District Property,” “Dual School Board and State Rep Positions Legally Incompatible,” “D220 Abuses Taxpayer Funds in favor of Partisan Campaign,” “Ding In Her Own Words – CONFLICTED!,” “Ding Doubles Down,” “Ding’s D220 Deception,” “Chan Ding running in Democratic primary in 52nd,” “Three (3) Democratic candidates queued to run for the IL 52nd District House seat in 2026”

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Waymo driverless cars are coming to Chicago as company starts laying early groundwork

Posted in Clown Car, Goat Rodeo, Going green, Public Safety, Road construction, Topics Of Interest, Traffic on February 26, 2026| 1 Comment »

By Elyssa Kaufman | CBS Chicago

Waymo is coming to Chicago, and some of those vehicles were already spotted in the city.

The driverless car company based in Silicon Valley said it will start “laying the early groundwork” for operations in Chicago.

The vehicles are already in the city, each had drivers and were not picking up any customers. They were surveying the roads in preparation for if and when it goes live.

At least two rows of the Waymo vehicles were found inside a parking garage downtown.

“We are coordinating closely with community leaders and policymakers and believe autonomous technology can strongly support Chicago’s goals for road safety and enhanced accessibility for all communities,” Waymo officials said in a written release.

It is not clear when Waymo service will be available in Chicago, but the service is already live in other cities like Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Mayor Brandon Johnson confirmed the city was notified about operations and said, ” It was stated to the City that the company would not be presently deploying any autonomous vehicles within Chicago.” The mayor’s office released the following statement in part:

“There is no law or regulatory framework which prohibits any licensed individual from driving in Chicago. As of now, autonomous vehicles have not been authorized within the City of Chicago or the State of Illinois.

The City looks forward to engaging with commuters, workers, transit advocates and industry leaders as we pursue constructive dialogue with our partners in Springfield and pursue an equitable path forward.”

The mayor’s office said Waymo will be operating in Chicago to map streets and record data on driving conditions.

Not everyone was thrilled by the idea of a driverless car, expressing concerns over safety, especially with Chicago’s specific traffic patterns and in the case of snowy roads.

Article continues here.

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Illinois state spending balloons as state economy stagnates

Posted in BOHICA, Clown Car, Commodius Maximus, Cost of Living, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Fat Bastard, Fat Man Walking, Girlie man, Illinois Policy Institute, Look For The Union Label, Organizations, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes, Unions on December 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »

At least 49 tax hikes under Gov. J.B. Pritzker have driven state spending to record highs, even as Illinois’ economic growth has lagged the U.S.

By Ravi Mishra | Illinois Policy Institute

Illinois lawmakers frequently boast about economic growth and development, yet Illinois has posted one of the slowest gross domestic product growth rates in the nation while the budget has soared.

Illinois’ budget doesn’t reflect economic reality

Illinois’ budget has grown at an alarming rate during Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s tenure. While government spending is a component of GDP, rapid increases in public spending can crowd out private economic activity. Higher taxes used to finance this public spending can hurt consumption and private investment, a dynamic that seems to be playing out in Illinois.

Since 2018, Illinois’ economy has grown just 7.4% – among the slowest of any state. In that same time, the state budget has grown over 36%, nearly five times faster than the economy. The U.S. economy has grown 18%, 2.5 times faster than Illinois’.

If not the economy, what has driven the state’s budget surge?

Pritzker’s administration has enacted at least 49 tax hikes since 2019. Some of the most egregious examples include:

  • Doubling state gas taxes and tying annual increases to inflation thereafter, creating a $3.3 billion surplus in the state’s road fund.
  • Halting the repeal of the franchise tax, which had been agreed to in 2019.
  • Capping the retailers’ discounts – the portion of sales taxes retailers were allowed to keep as reimbursement for collecting the taxes – effectively raising sales taxes on brick-and-mortar businesses.

Not only have these hikes hit taxpayers and employers but have also weighed down Illinois’ economic performance. Illinois already has had among the highest corporate tax rates in the country, but recent changes have only made the system more complex and burdensome. The tax environment has led to the state losing businesses, and combined with high overall burden, has contributed to years of population decline.

Read more here.

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District 220 Board of Education meets tonight

Posted in 220, Agendas, BACOG, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Clown Car, Cost of Living, Deception, District 220 referendum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Ethics, FOIA, Illinois Federation of Teachers, League of Women Voters, Open Meetings Act, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, School Districts, South Barrington, Taxes, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on December 16, 2025| Leave a 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:

  • Consideration to open the PUBLIC HEARING concerning the intent of the Board of Education to sell not to exceed $5,400,000 Working Cash Fund Bonds for the purpose of increasing the District’s Working Cash Fund.
  • Public Comment – Working Cash Fund Bonds
  • FOIA Requests (13) Report
  • Finance Reports
  • Personnel Report
  • Action on Suspension Appeal for Student A
  • Consideration to Approve Tax Levy
  • Consideration to Approve Summer School Fees

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

Related: “The D220 Board of Ed gets another ‘F’ in accountability & transparency,” “School district’s parking plan defies logic,” “Zoning change defies village policy,” “District 220 Public Hearing December 16th re: ‘proposal to sell bonds of the District in an amount not to exceed $5,400,000’,” “The Real Issue in Barrington 220 Isn’t Parking or Levies — It’s Leadership Culture,” “Change.org Petition: ‘For the Resignation of Erin Chan Ding ~ D220 Resources are Not for Political Campaigns’,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS – Part 2,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS,” “Erin Chan Ding: The violations just keep piling up…,” “Erin Chan Ding starring in another episode of, ‘Rules For Thee But NOT For Me…’,”  “District 220’s Lack of Transparency (Updated),” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency,” “Ding Politicking on School District Property,” “Dual School Board and State Rep Positions Legally Incompatible,” “D220 Abuses Taxpayer Funds in favor of Partisan Campaign,” “Ding In Her Own Words – CONFLICTED!,” “Ding Doubles Down,” “Ding’s D220 Deception,” “Chan Ding running in Democratic primary in 52nd,” “Three (3) Democratic candidates queued to run for the IL 52nd District House seat in 2026”

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Chicago has lost its mind – The Washington Post

Posted in Clown Car, Cook, Cost of Living, County, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Dumb and Dumber, Dumb Bunny, OP/Ed, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Taxes, Uncategorized, Unions, Washington Post on December 15, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) at an October news conference. | Joshua Lott/The Washington Post

The city’s fiscal situation is dire, and Mayor Brandon Johnson is determined to make things worse.

Chicago has long-term structural problems with its finances, thanks in large part to wildly underfunded pensions. The country’s third-largest city has a history of using short-term gimmicks to paper over its problems, such as a notorious 2008 deal that sold off 75 years of future parking meter revenue for $1.15 billion, which was quickly spent. That deal is still hurting finances today, which should have taught local politicians that there is no substitute for serious fiscal reform. Alas, apparently not.

The city’s net operating budget increased almost 40 percent between 2019 and 2025, “subsidized in large part by temporary federal pandemic funding that kept the City financially afloat,” according to Grant McClintock of the Civic Federation. “The pandemic is over, but many of the programs and personnel positions established during that time remain, and without the benefit of the federal funding that previously supported them.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) proposes to offset a $1.15 billion shortfall by taxing the businesses that anchor Chicago’s economy, borrowing and more gimmicks.

The mayor proposes to increase the tax on the lease of “personal property” like computers, vehicles and software from 11 percent to 14 percent, and to bring back the city’s “head tax,” which would result in large employers paying $33 per worker, per month.

By making it more expensive to do business or hire workers in the city, these measures threaten Chicago’s future economic growth and tax collections. These moves are especially reckless given that the Chicago Fed’s 12-month hiring outlook is the weakest it’s been since the pandemic. Gov. JB Pritzker (D) says the head tax would penalize employment.

Read more here.

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The D220 Board of Ed gets another “F” in accountability & transparency  

Posted in 220, Agendas, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, BOHICA, Clown Car, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, FOIA, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, League of Women Voters, OP/Ed, Politics, Property Taxes, School Districts, South Barrington, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on December 15, 2025| 3 Comments »

As readers are aware, a Petition was recently started for the removal of School Board Member Erin Chan Ding in the wake of her many violations of D220 policies which resulted in a legal investigation of Chan Ding’s activities and the resultant finding by the D220 Board of Education that Chan Ding made flagrant violations of D220 policies. (See “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS“)

The Petition to remove Chan Ding is now over 630 strong. Read up on the Petition here: For the Resignation of Erin Chan Ding ~ D220 Resources are Not for Political Campaigns

We’ve been advised by a friend of the Observer that a FOIA request was sent by him to the D220 FOIA Officer for communications related to the investigation of Chan Ding and her violations of D220 policies. That FOIA request was recently responded to, and, you’ll be amazed (LOL) to learn that the D220 Board, through its FOIA Officer and Superintendent Winkelman, has refused to respond to the request, claiming that it is “unduly burdensome.”

The response states:

(O)ver 7000 pages of emails were identified that may be responsive… It would take an unreasonable period of time for a staff member to review all of the records… the School District would need to utilize the services of its outside legal counsel to review the records at a significant cost to taxpayers… Review of the records would disrupt the duly undertaken work of the School District… In this case, the request is unduly burdensome and the burden on the School District outweighs the public interest in the information.

Isn’t that rich? We, the taxpayers, have been funding the legal review of Member Chan Ding’s conflict of interest in running as a Democrat in the primary for the State Representative of the 52nd District while serving as a 220 Board Member, her D220 policy violations in seeking the nomination, the resultant investigation requiring the retention of separate legal counsel, and her punishment, ongoing training related to her violations.

Yet, this District refuses to provide us taxpayers with the communications related to the very investigation we paid for? Citing it as burdensome?!

Given that D220 is claiming that there are over SEVEN THOUSAND pages of emails related to Chan Ding’s FLAGRANT VIOLATIONS of Board policies, how can anyone conceivably argue that the whole Chan Ding debacle is not a distraction to the Board, the District and its business?

The Chan Ding distraction prevents the District from complying with it’s obligations to the taxpayers and respond to a simple FOIA request because it’s too burdensome? If that’s the case, why isn’t the Board petitioning the Regional Superintendent of Schools for Chan Ding’s removal if she has become such a disruption in the duly undertaken work of the District?

The lack of transparency and accountability by the District and the Board of Education is revolting. We think the petition to remove Chan Ding doesn’t go far enough. We’d like to see the removal of any School Board Member and Administrator who refuses to provide the taxpayers what they are rightfully entitled to.

Related: “The Real Issue in Barrington 220 Isn’t Parking or Levies — It’s Leadership Culture,” “Change.org Petition: ‘For the Resignation of Erin Chan Ding ~ D220 Resources are Not for Political Campaigns’,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS – Part 2,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS,” “Erin Chan Ding: The violations just keep piling up…,” “Erin Chan Ding starring in another episode of, ‘Rules For Thee But NOT For Me…’,”  “District 220’s Lack of Transparency (Updated),” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency,” “Ding Politicking on School District Property,” “Dual School Board and State Rep Positions Legally Incompatible,” “D220 Abuses Taxpayer Funds in favor of Partisan Campaign,” “Ding In Her Own Words – CONFLICTED!,” “Ding Doubles Down,” “Ding’s D220 Deception,” “Chan Ding running in Democratic primary in 52nd,” “Three (3) Democratic candidates queued to run for the IL 52nd District House seat in 2026”

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Riding Club fenagles private summit with IDOT Route 62 Study officials Tuesday

Posted in Algonquin Rd, Aunt Blabby, Barrington Hills Park District, Barrington Hills Polo Club, Bicyclists, Big Red, Clown Car, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Don't Change Barrington Hills, Equestrian Commission, Fox River Valley Hunt, FPDCC, FRVPC, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Longmeadow Parkway, Massbach Hounds, New Normal?, Open Meetings Act, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Road construction, Roads & Bridges Committee, SOS Party, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Traffic, Transparency, Unions, Village Engineer, WTF on December 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“The CAG is a collection of community representatives and serves as the focal point for the exchange of information between government entities and the local community. The CAG is made up of representatives of diverse community interests, local government officials, community representatives, property owners and residents, and stakeholders with technical expertise. The CAG assists IDOT in making better decisions on transportation related projects that benefit the community and environment. Members are invited based upon who they represent with the goal being an even distribution from each interest area.

The application window for the Community Advisory Group is now closed.

CAG Meeting #6 was held on Tuesday, December 9, 2025 from 10am-12pm. Materials from CAG Meeting #6 are available below.

CAG Meeting #6

Exhibits

Presentation

Editorial notes: The reader who was kind enough to forward this tip noted: “Of considerable note are the currently proposed designs for the Bateman Road and Old Sutton Road intersections: non-signalized Right-In/Right-Out with a U-turn, as depicted (below):”

(Click on image to enlarge)

Also, to appease the Riding Clan, IDOT included a graphic of a, “Potential Pedestrian Underpass,” as seen below:

Last, it’s unclear if the current Village Roads & Bridges Chair (A.B.) was invited to the meeting. We highly doubt it (for obvious reasons).

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