Related: “Wealth and Party Machine Are Buying the Northwest Suburbs Votes”
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 »
Posted in Chicago Sun*Times, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Elections, Ethics, Fat Bastard, Fat Man Walking, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Unions on November 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Democrat Nabeela Syed is outraising Republican Darby Hills two to one in an Illinois Senate race that’s already fetched $6.5 million in contributions.
By Brett Chase | Chicago Sun*Times
Republicans are not expected to make a dent in Democrats’ supermajority in the Illinois General Assembly, but a multi-million-dollar suburban legislative race has turned into a fiery, closely watched contest in the lead-up to Election Day Tuesday.
In that race, state Rep. Nabeela Syed, a Democrat from Inverness, is challenging incumbent Republican Darby Hills of Barrington Hills for the Illinois Senate 26th District seat.
The $6.5 million raised makes it one of the most expensive contests in the history of the General Assembly, said Alisa Kaplan, executive director of Reform for Illinois.
Syed received at least $4.7 million in contributions, much of it from her party, while Hills has raised $1.8 million, said Kaplan, whose organization runs the Illinois Sunshine Database.
“The Democratic leadership wants to flip this seat, and it shows,” Kaplan said.
Syed raised more than $3 million from the Democratic Party of Illinois and the Illinois Senate Democratic Fund, which is controlled by Illinois Senate President Don Harmon. She’s also raised substantial amounts of money from unions.
Darby’s last big contribution from her party was in August when the Illinois Senate Republican Campaign gave her $300,000.
Report 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: Darby Hills for Illinois 26th Senate District” and “Who really funds Nabeela Syed?”
Posted in Chicago Tribune, Commodius Maximus, Daily Herald, Data Center, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Education, Elections, Ethics, Illinois State Board of Elections, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Outmigration, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Rights, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Road construction, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, Transparency, Unions on November 3, 2026| Leave a Comment »
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.
Posted in Breakthrough Ideas, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Education, Elections, Ethics, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes on November 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »
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?”
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.
Posted in BACOG, Breakthrough Ideas, Cost of Living, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Ethics, Fools and their money, Guest Essay, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, Transparency on October 31, 2026| 1 Comment »

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”
Posted in Cost of Living, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Illinois Policy Institute, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes on October 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

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:
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.
Posted in AI, Daily Herald, Data Center, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Immigration, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, Village Government on October 28, 2026| 8 Comments »
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.
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 »
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.
Posted in BACOG, Capitol News Illinois, Commodius Maximus, Daily Herald, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Ethics, Land Disconnection, Land Use, Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Plan Commission, Politics, Press Release, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Privacy, Property Rights, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, South Barrington, Springfield, Taxes, The Center Square, Unions, Village Code, Village of Barrington, Zoning Board on October 23, 2026| 1 Comment »

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:
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.
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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