Posted in Agendas, Algonquin Rd, Animal Welfare, Aunt Blabby, Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce, Barrington Hills Park District, Barrington Hills Polo Club, Big Brother, BraveHearts, Clown Car, Commercial Horse Boarding, Countryside Elementary School, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Financial Statements, FPDCC, FRVPC, Goat Rodeo, Horizon Farm, Horse Boarding, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Disconnection, Lighting Ordinance, Look For The Union Label, Mad Cows, Massbach Hounds, Perjury, Plum Farm development, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Taxes, Transparency, Unions, WTF on February 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The Barrington Hills Park District Board/Riding Club of Barrington Hills will hold their monthly meeting this evening in person and via Zoom at 7:00 PM. Some topics on their agenda include:
A copy of their agenda can be viewed here. Instructions for accessing the meeting remotely can be found here.
Posted in 220, BACOG, Barrington Hills Park District, BCFPD, Clown Car, Deception, Ethics, FUBAR, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Look For The Union Label, Mad Cows, Meeting Minutes, OP/Ed, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, School Districts, SNAFU, South Barrington, Taxes, TRAC, Transparency, Village Government, Village President on January 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The Barrington Area Council of Governments (BACOG) is scheduled to have multiple meetings today beginning at 5:30 PM at the Village of Barrington Hills, 112 Algonquin Road. Those meetings include:
As expected, no meeting agendas are posted by BACOG. Further, BACOG has ceased posting minutes from their meetings, and they now appear to have removed all previously posted minutes from their website, which now states:
“Copies of approved minutes for BACOG committee and executive board meetings are available upon request. Please submit requests by email to bacog@bacog.org.”
We’ve long questioned the need for BACOG. This is the latest example of why.
It appears BACOG now makes the Barrington Hills Park District/Riding Club and the Barrington Countrywide Fire Protection District seem transparent by comparison, and that’s truly disappointing.
Related: “Anybody heard from BACOG lately?,” “Fuhgeddaboudit,” “Barrington Area Council of Governments meets today”
Posted in Aunt Blabby, BACOG, Barbarian Migrants in Busses at the Gate, Barrington Hills Polo Club, Big Red, Board of Health, Building Department, Clown Car, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Dumb and Dumber, Elections, ePacket Agendas, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Finance Committee, Financial Reports, FRVPC, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Mac's Property Management, Minutes, One Barrington Hills, Open Meetings Act, Plan Commission, Police Pension Board, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, Roads & Bridges Committee, Taxes, Transparency, Unions, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Village Treasurer, Yabba Dabba Doo, Zoning Board on January 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The Village Board of Trustees will be conducting a public hearing followed by their regular monthly meeting this evening beginning at 6:30 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
PUBLIC HEARING
PUBLIC MEETING
A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Posted in Clown Car, Entertainment, Hoffman Estates on January 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Buffalo Creek Brewing’s Alpine Fest happens Friday and Saturday, Jan. 24-25, in Long Grove. | Courtesy of Buffalo Creek Brewing
By Luke Zurawski | Daily Herald
Friday, Jan. 24
Alpine Fest at Buffalo Creek Brewing: 5-11 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at Buffalo Creek Brewing, 360 Historical Lane, Long Grove. Freshly brewed beer, fire pits, games such as a Stein-holding contest, live music by Alpine Thunder, and traditional German fare including giant pretzels, cheese Rosti, footlong Frankfurters and Bratwurst and more. Free admission. buffalocreekbrewing.com.
Chicagoland Fishing Expo: Noon to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center, 1551 N. Thoreau Drive, Schaumburg. Fishing and outdoor sport show with vendors, seminars, activities and more. $15, $5 for kids 6-11, free for kids 5 and younger. chicagoland.sportshows.com.
Saturday, Jan. 25
Dance to China: Lunar New Year Celebration: 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Vernon Area Public Library, 300 Olde Half Day Road, Lincolnshire. Welcome the Year of the Snake with dance performances from China’s different regions and cultural groups. Presented by Angela Tam, founding Artistic Director of Yin He Dance. Free. Registration required. vapld.info.
Norge Annual Winter Ski Jump Tournament: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, at Norge Ski Club, 100 Ski Hill Road, Fox River Grove. Ski-jumping competition featuring Junior Small Hills and Junior National Qualifier — K70 on Saturday and the U.S. Cup Competition — K70 and Long Standing Jump on Sunday. Plus, food, beverages and more. $20 in advance, $25 at the gate. norgeskiclub.org.
Lunar New Year kickoff event: 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at Fashion Outlets of Chicago, 5220 Fashion Outlets Way, Rosemont. Ring in the Year of the Snake in the Food Court with a variety of games and activities including lantern crafting, dumpling making, Chinese calligraphy, Chopstick Challenge and more. Cultural performances presented by Huaxing Arts Group will take place from 2-2:30 p.m. featuring Kung Fu, Gu Zheng, Chinese yo-yo, a children’s choir and a dance program. Free admission. fashionoutletsofchicago.com.
Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. Elgin Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Cellist Matthew Agnew will perform Saint-Saëns’ Cello Concerto No. 1 in a program that includes Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique.” $20-$65. elginsymphony.org.
Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live Glow-N-Fire: 12:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, at the Now Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates. Watch favorite toy trucks come to life including Mega Wrex, Tiger Shark, HW 5-Alarm, Bone Shaker, Bigfoot, Gunkster and introducing Skelesaurus. $25-$70. nowarena.com.
Sunday, Jan. 26
Farmers Market+ at The Dole: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, at The Dole, 401 Country Club Road, Crystal Lake. Features over 50 farmers, food purveyors and artisans, and live music, food trucks, a kids’ entrepreneur booth and more. Free admission. farmersmarketatthedole.org.
Hurdy-gurdy Lecture and Recital: 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26, at the Ela Area Public Library, 275 Mohawk Trail, Lake Zurich. Mary Vanhoozer returns with a lecture-recital program of live hurdy-gurdy music. Hear French and English songs and see dances from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, plus visuals. Free. Registration required. eapl.org.
Monday, Jan. 27
“Romeo and Juliet” Lake Zurich High School’s Theatre Preview: 6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27, at Ela Area Public Library, 275 Mohawk Trail, Lake Zurich. Preview this Shakespeare classic, meet the cast and have a chance to win tickets to their February stage performance. Free. eapl.org.
Tuesday, Jan. 28
Silent Comedy Film: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, at the Des Plaines Theatre, 1476 Miner St., Des Plaines. See the 1924 silent comedy “The Speed Spook.” Live accompaniment will be provided by organist Jay Warren. $10. desplainestheatre.com.
Thursday, Jan. 30
Welcoming of the Groundhog | Courtesy Woodstock Groundhog
Welcoming of the Groundhog and Trivia: 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, at Courthouse Center on the Square, 101 N. Johnson St., Woodstock. The Welcoming of Willie the Groundhog marks the official beginning of Woodstock Groundhog Days. After his entrance at Events at Ethereal, Willie will be on hand to help fans answer trivia questions. Free; there will be a cash bar. woodstockgroundhog.org.
Thursday Night Laughs: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, at the Al Larson Prairie Center for the Arts, 201 Schaumburg Court, Schaumburg. The Prairie Center’s stand-up comedy series featuring Jack Baker, Yoni Heisler, Jayson Cross, Dan Cass, Sarah Perry and Mike Maxwell. $20. prairiecenter.org.
Find much more here
Posted in 220, 300, Clown Car, ComEd Four, Commodius Maximus, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Fat Bastard, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Perjury, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Saint Anne Parish School, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)?, Wirepoints on January 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »
By Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner | Wirepoints
Love Trump or hate him, he won on an agenda to disrupt the country’s broken border, the economy, and how Washington itself works. But even as many Trump detractors soften their stance against him, agreeing that too much has gone too far in America, Illinois is going the other way. Gov. J.B. Pritzker and leaders of the Democratic party are working hard to Trump-proof Illinois. They, their public sector union allies and a friendly media don’t want any disruption of their ironclad control over Illinois, never mind the continuing decline of the state.
Now, we’re not arguing for Trump to come and directly target Illinois for disruption, though we’ll benefit from much of what the president does at the federal level. Disruption at the border, great. We’ll happily accept the relief. Disruption of the massive, distortionary green energy subsidies, also great. Illinoisans’ energy costs have been jumping of late. Disruption of the rules and actions that limit free speech and force feed DEI on our institutions. Absolutely. Good riddance to the cancel culture of the past few years.
But the real disruption Illinois needs is local and Illinois-specific. We don’t need Trump for that. We don’t need the feds. We don’t need outsiders. What we need is for us to do it ourselves. Ordinary Illinoisans disrupting what’s wrong with our state. Dismantling the laws that now make Illinois an extreme outlier on the many fiscal, economic and demographic issues that matter most.
That disruption starts with clawing back the extreme powers that state legislators have given the public sector unions over the last few decades – in exchange for support at the ballot box. There’s perhaps no other state in the country where the politicians and the public unions are more intertwined than Illinois. Take Chicago, where the unions and the politicians have become one and the same: Brandon Johnson is a CTU boss, the head of Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago mayor all in one.
It’s gotten so bad that Illinoisans are now subservient to their public servants.
How about disruption at Illinois’ failed schools, where 1.1 million of the state’s public school children can’t read at grade level? We’ve written ad nauseam about how Illinois’ education system gave up long ago on ensuring kids learn how to read and do math. It’s not an exaggeration, as we wrote recently in Fresh data: Illinois officials graduate record 88% of students despite tragic literacy, numeracy rates.
The disruption must be 100% universal school choice, like what’s happening all around Illinois. Universal choice means any family – of any race and any means – that wants to send their kid to a school of their choice can access an $8,000-$10,000 voucher or an education savings account. Imagine a single mom in Decatur being able to take her kid out of the Decatur Public Schools, where just 10% of all kids read at grade level, and to try instead a private school obsessed with reading and learning.
Read more here.
Posted in Clown Car, Commodius Maximus, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Unions on January 15, 2025| 1 Comment »
Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash
By Kevin Bessler | The Center Square
If some Democratic lawmakers have their way, sex work in Illinois may no longer be illegal.
A push is underway to implement the full decriminalization of sex work in Illinois and strengthen protections for sex workers in the state. Members of the Sex Worker Advisory Group, or SWAG, said a bill to be filed in the 104th General Assembly that started last week will modernize existing laws and will prioritize the safety, privacy and dignity of adults engaged in consensual sex work. If approved and enacted into law, the measure would also establish a sex workers bill of rights.
The group, many of whom identify as transgender, gender diverse, and/or queer, said they have been advocating for over three years to address the unique challenges faced by sex workers in Illinois.
“This bill represents a monumental step forward in recognizing the rights, safety and humanity of sex workers,” SWAG chair Reyna Ortiz said. “By passing this legislation, we will make Illinois a safer place for everyone, especially the most vulnerable in our communities.”
The measure would establish a sex workers bill of rights, and remove past criminal arrest and conviction records for sex workers.
“Full decriminalization of adult consensual sex work is proven to keep workers safe,” said the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago. “It’s a policy that respects everyone’s rights to make private choices about their bodies, while freeing up law enforcement to focus on traffickers and violent abusers.”
More here.
Posted in Clown Car, Commodius Maximus, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Fat Bastard, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Taxes, Unions on January 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Former Gov. Pat Quinn has been pushing for a 3% surcharge on incomes above $1 million since 2014. A decade later, he’s still trying to make it a reality. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times file
By Davis Giangiulio | Chicago Sun*Times
In 2024, former Gov. Pat Quinn found himself with a case of déjà vu.
He was campaigning across Illinois, urging voters to approve a ballot referendum recommending a 3% surcharge on incomes above $1 million.
It was all so familiar to Quinn, and with good reason: He’d championed an advisory referendum for the exact same proposal a decade earlier. And though it was supported by voters back then, the Legislature did nothing.
Now, Quinn is back at square one.
Just like 10 years ago, Illinois voters in November supported a referendum recommending that millionaires pay a 3% income tax surcharge. Both referendums garnered similar support — over 60%. Now, supporters hope the second time’s the charm and the General Assembly will act.
“Point them to the election returns,” Quinn said about his argument to legislators, who will again determine the proposal’s future. “We’ve had two referendums, separated by a decade, clearly indicating what the voters want.”
Despite support at the polls, turning the nonbinding referendum into law isn’t easy. State lawmakers would have to turn it into a constitutional amendment, sending it back to the voters as a binding ballot measure.
A vote on amending the Illinois Constitution, similar to the fight in 2020 over the graduated income tax amendment, would likely attract more interest than an advisory referendum. A high-profile campaign could yield a result that contradicts those of the referendums.
Still, supporters are working to get Springfield to take action and put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2026.
Gov. JB Pritzker at a 2019 news conference outlines his plan to replace the Illinois flat-rate income tax with a graduated structure. Pritzker’s push for a constitutional amendment for his proposal overshadowed the millionaire surcharge. | AP photos
The failed 2014 effort
Quinn said he proposed the 3% surcharge on millionaires to help Illinois boost education spending while also allowing schools to rely less on local property taxes for funding.
After the advisory referendum passed in 2014 with nearly 64% support, then-House Speaker Mike Madigan’s efforts to turn the proposal into a constitutional amendment in 2015 and 2016 failed due to insufficient support from his own Democratic caucus.
Then, Democrats lost their House supermajority — when one party controls at least three-fifths of a legislative chamber, which also is the threshold to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot — in 2016, dooming its future.
In 2018, Gov. JB Pritzker won the governor’s mansion and Democrats returned with supermajorities in both legislative chambers. But Pritzker campaigned on a different tax proposal: moving the state from a flat tax to a graduated one, where the rate progressively increases as income rises. That tax proposal got on the 2020 ballot.
The campaign for the graduated income tax constitutional amendment generated more than $100 million in spending, roughly coming equally from supporters and opponents. Billionaires Pritzker (in support) and Kenneth Griffin (in opposition) alone shouldered a majority of that spending.
Voters rejected it by 6 percentage points.
Read more here.
Posted in Agendas, Aunt Blabby, Big Red, Building Department, Clown Car, Dumb and Dumber, Elections, Fat Bastard, Financial Reports, Legal Expenses, Minutes, One Barrington Hills, Police Pension Board, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Roads & Bridges Committee, Taxes, Unions, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Village Treasurer on December 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »
The Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting this evening beginning at 6:30 PM. A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Posted in Big Brother, Clown Car, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Roads & Bridges Committee, School Districts, Topics Of Interest, VBHPD, Village Board, Village Code, Village Government on December 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »
An electronic sign captures a driver speeding along Old Litchfield Road in Washington, near one of three locations where town officials plan on rolling out automated traffic enforcement cameras. The small town is the first in the state authorized to use the technology by Connecticut Department of Transportation. | John Moritz/ Hearst Connecticut Media Group
By John Moritz | New Times
WASHINGTON — For years, Ashley MacDonald has dealt with cars that come hurtling past her home facing Baldwin Hill Road in excess of the 35 mph speed limit — and the occasional tragic consequences.
In high school, one of her brother’s friends was killed in a crash atop the hill, in a spot still marked by daffodils in the spring.
More recently MacDonald, 43, says she’s witnessed on several occasions cars “going flying” past school buses stopped on the road to take her two children to school. Nor has the installation of electronic signs displaying drivers’ speeds back at them done much to get people to slow down.
“This is certainly a road where people are not respecting the speed limit,” MacDonald said. “I’m surprised I haven’t seen more accidents, to be honest with you.”
In an effort to address the constant speeding on Baldwin Hill and two other locations in town, Washington officials are preparing to deploy automated cameras along country roads to capture pictures of the speedsters and send them a ticket in the mail. The new program starts next month.
Washington, with a population of 3,646, is known as a rural retreat for wealthy New Yorkers. Residents, however, say that speeding along country roads has become a nuisance. | John Moritz/ Hearst Connecticut Media Group
The Connecticut Department of Transportation signed off on Washington’s plan on Monday, according to an agency spokesman. The town beat out applications from a pair of much larger cities — Stamford and New Haven — to become the first municipality in the state approved to use automated cameras to enforce traffic laws. A one-year pilot program limited to active work zones on interstate highways issued more than 700 fines in 2023, according to DOT.
Both town leaders and local residents concede that Washington, with a population of 3,646 spread out across five villages in the Litchfield Hills, is a surprising candidate to be pioneering the technology.
“Obviously we’re a small town but speeding is the number one [source] of complaints my office gets,” said Washington’s First Selectman James Brinton.
When debating whether to give municipalities the authority to enforce traffic laws with automated cameras, a number of lawmakers and civil rights activists raised concerns about the spread of government surveillance and the potential disparate impact of such systems when deployed in lower-income and minority communities.
In order to alleviate those concerns, the law signed by Gov. Ned Lamont in 2023 was written to require that towns submit plans for DOT approval before they can begin using red light or speed cameras. Those plans must be renewed every three years, during which time towns must submit reports on the number of fines issued and revenue they collected to both the DOT and state lawmakers.
Read more here.
Posted in Agendas, Aunt Fat Ass, Board of Health, Building Department, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Dumb and Dumber, Elections, ePacket Agendas, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Financial Reports, Goat Rodeo, Insurance Committee, Land Use, Legal Expenses, Mac's Property Management, Minutes, OMA, One Barrington Hills, Open Meetings Act, Pension Funding, Plan Commission, Police Pension Board, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Roads & Bridges Committee, Special Use Permits, Taxes, The Chicago Way, Transparency, Unions, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Village Treasurer, Yabba Dabba Doo, Zoning Board on November 18, 2024| 2 Comments »
The Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting this evening beginning at 6:30 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Related: “’Agricultural Experience’ application meets a similar fate as ‘Agritourism’ did in August,” “Zoning Board of Appeals Public Hearing tonight,” “Village Board votes down ‘Agritourism as a Special Use’,” “August Board of Trustees meeting recording released,” “Sitting ducks,” “Special Zoning Board of Appeals meeting scheduled Tuesday”
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