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Archive for the ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)’ Category

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

A copy of the agenda packet can be viewed here. The recording of the meeting can be viewed here.

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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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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It’s Election Day, 2026. We’re asking everyone to vote for the following with good reasons:

Our reasons to vote for Darby and Marty include:

Information on where you are registered to vote today can be found here.

PLEASE VOTE!

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By Jeanne Ives | Breakthrough Ideas

Tomorrow’s election will determine the direction of the country, state, and local governments for the next 2-4 years, and possibly longer. People should carefully consider who they choose to represent them in every office from forest preserve to the U.S. Senate. Voters should carefully consider candidates’ qualifications for the positions they seek, their past records if previously elected, and what they say they are going to do once in office. These officeholders will be making consequential decisions on you, your family, and your livelihood.

For too long, we have had Democrat control of the statehouse and statewide offices, and that has led to one of the slowest-growing and highest-taxed states in the nation. We’ve also become one of the most morally depraved states, celebrating abortion, allowing our kids to be indoctrinated in DEI nonsense, and diminishing parental rights in numerous ways. These policies and our trajectory as the dysfunctional neighbors on the block can be reversed if we get the right leadership.

While every race is important, a few races are real indicators of whether Illinois voters have really drunk the DSA Kool-Aid and whether enough commonsense voters still exist or are paying attention.

Darby Hills v. Nabeela Syed for State Senate District 26

Darby Hills is the incumbent, and she has real-world experience that makes her a valuable legislator. Her opponent went from college at UC Berkeley to running for state rep. She has no experience to speak of professionally or personally, such as owning a home and having a family. The district has some of the wealthiest areas of the state and also areas that are more modest. This suburban area has tended to be fiscally conservative and has some of the highest property taxes in the state. Who shows up to vote is very important. Listen to this interview with Darby Hills and share it with others ahead of the election tomorrow.

Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcTcm6U7NLA

Marty McLaughlin is running to retain his seat in the Illinois House.

He is one-half of the Darby Hills Senate district with the same situation. Are there enough voters aware of the issues and the qualifications to vote Marty back into office? Because choosing his unimpressive, pro-abort, resume-less Democrat opponent makes no sense at all. We need people with a deep understanding of local government, taxes, pensions, and more. Marty has that. He’s been a two-term mayor, manages pensions professionally, and understands business better than almost anyone else in the state house.

What will voters do? If Marty loses, Illinois loses, and it’s a bad indicator of worse things to come for taxpayers in this state.

Article continues here.

Related: “A sound reason for Barrington Hills residents to vote for McLaughlin and Hills,” “Another sound reason for residents to vote for Hills and McLaughlin,” “Wealth and Party Machine Are Buying the Northwest Suburbs Votes,” “Editorial: Martin McLaughlin for Illinois 52nd House District,” “Editorial: Darby Hills for Illinois 26th Senate District” and “Who really funds Nabeela Syed?”

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This week’s Reveille: The race between Nabeela Syed and Darby Hills for Illinois Senate District 26. Jeanne breaks down nearly $1.7 million in reported contributions from unions and Democratic leaders to Syed, and Syed’s campaign promises vs. her legislative voting record in the IL State House.

By Jeanne Ives | Breakthrough Ideas

“Nabeela Syed was only 23 when she was elected as a state rep. She went from college at the University of California, Berkeley, to running for office with a short stint as a digital strategist for an activist NGO.

She’s been celebrated by the press mostly for her identity. The Indian Express in 2022 said her victory was noteworthy in part because she is young, a first-generation Asian American, and a hijab-wearing Muslim woman.

Syed is a political climber, though. After 4 years in the House, she’s now running for State Senate. She says property taxes are too high, that she’ll fight for small business, and supports efforts to eliminate wasteful spending.

Her votes, though, show the opposite is true. There’s been no property tax relief, and she’s voted for millions in tax increases and the highest budgets in state history. She’s just another progressive Democrat bought and paid for by the unions and the Democrat Party in Illinois.

Over just the last 10 days, Senate Democrats have pushed over $1 million into Syed’s campaign.

Pritzker gave her another $10,000 and a teachers union PAC $40,000. Last quarter, her campaign took in nearly $1.7 million in donations from unions and Democrat leaders. They want this seat.

Also backing Syed is the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium. Their goal is building Asian American and immigrant power. And they want to fight for the civil, immigrant, and human rights for low-income, undocumented, queer, young people, seniors, and women.

Well, where does that leave the average Jane and Joe in Palatine and Barrington, Illinois? If you really want to know who your state rep or senator will represent when elected to office, just find out who’s funding their campaign.

Fortunately, the Chicago Tribune had the common sense to endorse Darby Hills for Senate District 26. She’ll represent Americans and taxpayers.

I’m Jeanne Ives.”
breakthrough-ideas.com

The Facebook reel of this post can be found here. Please share it!

Related: “Editorial: Darby Hills for Illinois 26th Senate District,” “A sound reason for Barrington Hills residents to vote for McLaughlin and Hills”

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With the governor running for a third term and eyeing the White House, Illinoisans should remember his policy decisions.

By Lilly Rossi | Illinois Policy Institute

Many of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s decisions have not helped families and businesses thrive in Illinois.

During his two terms, Pritzker has:

  • Signed partisan legislative and congressional maps into law after promising to veto them.
  • Doubled the state gas tax.
  • Set record-high state budgets.
  • Approved at least 63 tax and fee increases.

Here is a closer look at a record that speaks for itself:

Broke his promise to veto partisan legislative maps

As a candidate, Pritzker pledged to veto legislative maps drawn for partisan advantage. He broke that promise.

Instead, he signed new legislative and congressional district maps widely criticized for protecting Democratic majorities and incumbent politicians. Analysts at the Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave the new maps an overall F for partisan fairness, competitiveness and compactness.

In the 2024 presidential election, about 55% of the Illinois vote went to Democrat Kamala Harris, yet the party holds 66% of the seats in the General Assembly.

The partisan politics of the maps Pritzker OK’d are reflected in the statehouse: Over 90% of the bills that passed both chambers in the second regular session of the 104th Illinois General Assembly were sponsored by Democrats.

Doubled Illinois’ gas tax

One of Pritzker’s first major acts was signing the 2019 Rebuild Illinois capital plan. In doing so he doubled the tax to 38 cents a gallon.

The state had gone almost 30 years without raising the gas tax, which was 19 cents a gallon from 1990 to 2019.

More consequentially, the law created automatic yearly increases linked to inflation. Because of that, Illinois drivers will likely pay more in state gas taxes each year for the foreseeable future unless lawmakers take action, as there’s no expiration date on the annual adjustments.

Illinois lawmakers this year gave drivers a six-month break from a gas tax increase.

Report continues here.

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Republican Senator Darby Hills and Democrat Rep. Nabeela | Photos by Jerry Nowicki

By Steve Zalusky | Daily Herald

The race for the Illinois Senate’s 26th District seat matches incumbent Republican Sen. Darby Hills against Democratic challenger Nabeela Syed, the representative for the state House’s 51st District.

The candidates have different approaches on two hot-button issues: immigration enforcement and data centers.

Immigration enforcement

Hills, a former Barrington Hills village trustee who was appointed to the state Senate in February 2025, says local police should not be turned into immigration agents.

But she said she also believes Illinois’ TRUST Act goes too far in preventing local authorities from honoring federal immigration detainers, even for someone charged with or convicted of a violent felony.

Under the TRUST Act, local police can only hold someone on an immigration detainer if there is a federal criminal warrant signed by a judge.

Data centers

In June, Gov. JB Pritzker announced a pause on processing new data center tax incentives and proposed a seven-point framework that included a call for centers to pay their fair share of electrical grid and water costs.

Hills called the governor’s pause a reasonable timeout but said it is not a policy.

“The state handed out hundreds of millions in tax breaks without asking what data centers would cost ratepayers,” she wrote in her response to a Daily Herald questionnaire.

Hills has called for a moratorium of at least one year on new data centers and supports legislation that would put limitations on such projects. She has sponsored or co-sponsored a number of related bills, including Senate Bill 1050.

Full article appears here.

 

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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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Rep. McLaughlin Hosts Press Conference with Northwest Suburban Mayors – February 26, 2026 | Screenshot via Facebook

On February 18th of this year, one headline read, “Pritzker to propose statewide zoning laws to spur homebuilding, limit local control.” The report stated his BUILD Act would (and still does):

“…drastically limit local governments’ authority to restrict the types of structures that can be built on property zoned residential.”

“Accessory dwelling units — attached or detached secondary residences such as granny flats, backyard cottages and above-garage apartments — would be legalized on all properties zoned for residential use.”

“…would establish statewide timelines for inspections and reviews and allow third-party inspectors ($$$) if municipalities miss deadlines.”

Objections to Pritzker’s plan was very quickly spearheaded by Rep. Marty McLaughlin who gathered many community leaders in a room for a press conference February 26th. The headline following that press conference read:

“‘It’s just a bad idea’: Suburban officials oppose Pritzker’s plan to reduce local control over residential zoning.”

In recent months, Pritzker rarely speaks of the BUILD Act since he doesn’t want it to be a fatal plank in local campaigns, but it by no means has gone away! It’s just been muted until after the November 3rd elections…

Last Friday, The Center Square reported:

“Leaders in Illinois are suggesting a package of legislation aimed at increasing housing affordability and supply in the state may be kicked further down the road, after proposals stalled in May after disagreements between stakeholders.

The Building Up Illinois Developments housing plan, or BUILD, was recommended to the legislature by Gov. J.B. Pritzker early this year, but largely sat on the back burner during the last session of the assembly.

The plan is an extensive proposal that would make sweeping changes to zoning and regulations statewide, aimed at increasing supply, reducing overhead costs, and speeding up development timelines.

At an unrelated news conference Thursday, Pritzker said he thinks the housing legislation may be put aside again during the six-day fall veto session in November and December, in favor of waiting until the 105th General Assembly begins to reintroduce the initiative.

‘It’s a short session, as you know, the veto session. So, I do believe that you’re going to see that in the coming full session starting in January,’ Pritzker said.”

The same article continues:

“Multiple bills in the BUILD proposal would have to be re-introduced and go through the legislative process again in January if not passed sooner.

Pritzker said he remains committed to his end goal with the legislation.”

Pritzker views McLaughlin as a vocal stumbling block. The same is true of Hills, so the Democrats are spending literally millions in the current campaign to silence them.

If you value your property rights as a homeowner in Barrington Hills as we do, then we urge you to vote for Martin McLaughlin and Darby Hills.

For information on where, when and how to vote, click here.

Related: “McLaughlin’s press conference video recording regarding Pritzker’s proposed municipal zoning powers grab posted,” “‘It’s just a bad idea’: Suburban officials oppose Pritzker’s plan to reduce local control over residential zoning,” “Pritzker to propose statewide zoning laws to spur homebuilding, limit local control,” “South Barrington Mayor Paula McCombie provides an update of Pritzker’s proposed BUILD Act,” “Village of Barrington President shares perspectives on Pritzker’s BUILD plans,” “(Ignoring public opinion) Pritzker says of BUILD Plan for homes would not cost taxpayers”

 

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By Steve Zalusky | Daily Herald

The race for the 52nd District Illinois House seat is a rematch between incumbent Republican state Rep. Marty McLaughlin and Democratic challenger Maria Peterson.

McLaughlin, of Barrington Hills, beat Peterson, of North Barrington, by less than 50 votes in 2024 to hold onto his seat in the General Assembly.

The two differ on a number of issues, including school choice, the elimination of cash bail and Chicago Bears stadium proposals.

At a recent League of Women Voters forum, the candidates were asked about a new federal tax credit program for donations to organizations that award private school scholarships, created by the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” in 2025. Illinois has to decide whether to participate.

McLaughlin, a former village president of Barrington Hills, said “choice in all things is good, particularly education.”

He said proficiency in math and reading has dropped, while education costs have escalated and criticized state Democrats for not renewing the Invest in Kids program, which awarded tax credits for donations that funded private school scholarships.

The two also disagree over the state’s elimination of cash bail.

McLaughlin said it has created significant problems with repeat offending and public confidence in the criminal justice system.

“In the 52nd District, we have experienced concerns involving robberies, residential and commercial burglaries, vehicle thefts, car break-ins and smash-and-grab incidents,” he wrote in reply to a Daily Herald questionnaire.

The full report can be found here.

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