Posted in BACOG, Commodius Maximus, Elections, FUBAR, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Lennie, Plan Commission, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Privacy, Public Safety, Real Estate, South Barrington, Springfield, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Village Code, Zoning Board on February 27, 2026| 1 Comment »
Screenshot via Facebook
“Rep. McLaughlin Hosts Press Conference with Northwest Suburban Mayors – February 26, 2026
Thank you to Mayors, Paula McCombie, Debby Sosine, Eleanor Sweet McDonnell, Dominick DiMaggio, Brian Cecola, and Richard Hayes”
The roughly sixteen minute recording can be found here.
Posted in BACOG, Commodius Maximus, Daily Herald, Dinky, Land Use, Lennie, Plan Commission, Politics, Press Release, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Real Estate, South Barrington, Springfield, Zoning Board on February 26, 2026| 1 Comment »
Republican state Rep. Martin McLaughlin of Barrington Hills spoke out against Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to reduce local control of residential zoning rules Thursday during a news conference in South Barrington. Flanking him are Algonquin Village President Debby Sosine, left, and South Barrington Mayor Paula McCombie. | Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
By Russell Lissau | Daily herald
Saying it will increase public safety and infrastructure costs and change the aesthetics of their communities, leaders of several Northwest suburbs gathered Thursday to oppose Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to reduce local officials’ ability to control residential construction.
The proposed changes, which Pritzker unveiled during his recent State of the State address, address minimum lot sizes, residential density rules, parking requirements, inspections and other aspects of residential construction. They could increase development of apartments, condominiums, two-flats and other types of multifamily housing.
They also could allow homeowners to build additional, free-standing residential buildings on lots designed for single-family homes. Pritzker dubbed the plan Building Up Illinois Developments, or BUILD.
During a news conference Thursday, South Barrington Mayor Paula McCombie urged legislators to reject Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed zoning reforms. Republican state Rep. Martin McLaughlin listens. | Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
In a news conference at her community’s village hall, South Barrington Mayor Paula McCombie urged state legislators to reject the package of bills that comprise Pritzker’s plan, some of which already have been introduced. Zoning regulations exist to support property owners, McCombie said, and these proposed changes would “strip away that local control.”
The minimum residential lot in nearby Barrington Hills — an upscale community where many residents keep horses on their properties — is five acres, and the land is full of riding trails. Forcing the village board to allow smaller lots or multifamily housing “will destroy our town,” Village President Brian Cecola said (Wow! He actually showed up!).
Article continues here.
Posted in Commodius Maximus, Dinky, Land Use, Lennie, Plan Commission, Politics, Press Release, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Privacy, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, South Barrington, Springfield, Taxes, Village Code, Village President, WTF, Zoning Board on February 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Who: State Representatives Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills), Mayors and Administration from communities of South Barrington, North Barrington, & Lake Barrington (Not Barrington Hills??).
What: This press conference will address Governor Pritzker’s recently proposed efforts to drastically change zoning authority at the municipal level. The Representative and Mayors will discuss how these proposals directly impact the ability of municipalities to govern and plan for your communities.
When: Thursday, February 26, 2026 at 2PM
Where: Village of South Barrington Village Hall | 30 Barrington Rd., South Barrington, IL 60010
With questions, please call Mark Revis at 815-557-0252
Related: “Pritzker to propose statewide zoning laws to spur homebuilding, limit local control”
Posted in Chicago Tribune, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Overhead, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, Unions on February 25, 2026| 1 Comment »
Mayor Brandon Johnson answers questions during a press conference on the fifth floor of City Hall on Feb. 3, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
By The Editorial Board | Chicago Tribune
For years now, conservative voices have railed against the outsize influence of public-sector unions on the running of American cities, with Chicago serving as one of the leading examples. Now, more left-of-center voices are sounding the alarm and saying the stakes for Democrats in charge of America’s largest cities couldn’t be higher.
The highest-profile recent example came Sunday when CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, who hosts a thoughtful Sunday show on issues of the day, aired a segment on blue cities. Pegged off New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent $126 billion budget, Zakaria made a stark pronouncement: “Blue cities are out of control. Promising more, spending more, delivering less and pushing off the fiscal problems to some future date.”
Sound like any city you know?
Zakaria isn’t a journalist who routinely trots out Heritage Foundation talking points. He’s a frequent and effective critic of Donald Trump.
He’s not alone. The New York Times on Monday published an op-ed by Nicholas Bagley, law professor at the University of Michigan, and Harvard visiting fellow Robert Gordon headlined, “Mamdani Will Need to Change How He Governs.” The two identify the generous pension benefits city workers receive as a key reason city taxpayers can’t afford their own municipal governments. “The question is whether one segment of workers should retire with greater security than others, at the expense of services the public depends on,” they wrote.
A rhetorical question. No reasonable person (other than maybe the members of these unions) could be in favor of that.
In other words, Democrats, the call now is coming from inside the house.
This page has been making these same arguments for years, so we quote from these sources (and there are others in the center-left lane we could cite) merely to say the alarm bells are ringing ever more shrilly for Democratic politicians like Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and, yes, Gov. JB Pritzker. Both continue to saddle taxpayers of the future with paying for the exorbitant promises of today.
Editorial continues here.
Posted in Chicago Tribune, Elections, Entertainment, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Unions on February 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Gov. JB Pritzker answers questions after a roundtable about housing in his ceremonial office following his annual State of the State and budget address, Feb. 18, 2026, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
By Olivia Olander | Chicago Tribune
As Indiana and Illinois lawmakers spar over where the Chicago Bears should build a new stadium, even Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged Friday that the team’s next home is unlikely to rise within Chicago’s city limits.
“I think now there’s a common understanding by most of the (Illinois) General Assembly that they’re not going to be able to build in the city of Chicago,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker’s pronouncement came a day after Indiana lawmakers took another step toward potentially luring the Chicago Bears across the border to Hammond, as a key Indiana House committee approved a plan to create an agency that would build a new stadium for the team.
The vote more firmly pits Indiana versus Illinois as the Bears weigh a move from Soldier Field, their home for more than half a century. And given the lack of movement on any stadium projects near Soldier Field or elsewhere in Chicago, Pritzker’s latest comments suggest that Illinois’ only viable option is the land the Bears own in northwest suburban Arlington Heights.
“For at least a year and a half, there has been a significant effort by the Bears as well as by Chicago lawmakers and others to try to figure out if the Bears could build what they need to build in the city of Chicago,” Pritzker said Friday. “They looked, and they, I think, gave the old college try, so to speak, to try to find a place within the city of Chicago, and they couldn’t.”
Article continues here.
Posted in Economy, Elections, Entertainment, Girlie man, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes, The Washington Free Beacon, Topics Of Interest, Unions, Wall Street Journal on February 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »
J.B. Pritzker (Scott Olson/Getty Images), Chicago Bears play the Carolina Panthers (via Wikimedia Commons)
By Ira Stoll | Washington Free Beacon
The latest business to pick up and leave the high-tax, high-regulation, high-crime nightmare of Illinois may be its iconic professional football franchise.
The governor of Indiana, Mike Braun, announced Thursday morning that a “framework” had been reached for a final deal that would move the Chicago Bears about 20 miles south from Soldier Field to Hammond, Ind.
“Indiana is open for business, and our pro-growth environment continues to attract major opportunities like this partnership with the Chicago Bears,” Braun said. “The State of Indiana moves at the speed of business, and we’ve demonstrated that through our quick coordination between state agencies, local government, and the legislature to set the stage for a huge win for all Hoosiers. We have built a strong relationship with the Bears organization that will serve as the foundation for a public-private partnership, leading to the construction of a world-class stadium and a win for taxpayers.”
A statement from the Bears said in part, “We appreciate the leadership shown by Governor Braun, Speaker Huston, Senator Mishler and members of the Indiana General Assembly in establishing this critical framework and path forward to deliver a premier venue for all of Chicagoland and a destination for Bears fans and visitors from across the globe.”
Braun, Huston, and Mishler are all Republicans. The governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, is a Democrat and aspiring 2028 presidential candidate, and Democrats also control both houses of the State Legislature in Springfield. The mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, is a tax-raising leftist who was elected in 2023 over the more moderate Paul Vallas.
So many businesses and people have left the Prairie State that the Illinois Policy Institute, a center-right research group, calls it the “Illinois Exodus.” “One of the major factors pushing businesses away from the state is Illinois’ unfriendly tax climate,” the institute said in a 2025 analysis. Companies that have moved headquarters out of the state in recent years include Citadel, which moved to the Free State of Florida along with its founder and CEO Ken Griffin; Boeing, which moved to Virginia; and Caterpillar, which moved to Texas. When Griffin left in 2022, he told the Wall Street Journal that crime in Chicago was part of the reason: “I’ve had multiple colleagues mugged at gunpoint. I’ve had a colleague stabbed on the way to work. Countless issues of burglary. I mean, that’s a really difficult backdrop with which to draw talent to your city from.”
Article continues here.
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:
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.
Posted in Barrington Education Association, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Springfield, Taxes, Unions, Wirepoints on December 24, 2025| 1 Comment »
By: Mark Glennon | Wirepoints
Parts of America’s political left have awoken in their own way. They’ve seen the backlash against DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) extremism and backed off, at least a little. One liberal think tank, for example, recently published a memo advising the left to drop much of the DEI language it spawned. The language makes the left “sound like the extreme, divisive, elitist, and obfuscatory, enforcers of wokeness,” says the memo.
But the State of Illinois didn’t get that memo. In fact, it’s much worse: The state’s mandatory, annual training for its workers demands obedience to the worst of DEI catechism not just on language, but on thoughts and conduct. All state employees are now subject to DEI social engineering that’s as dogmatic and extreme as ever. Disobey and you can be fired. That’s not just tyrannical, it likely would make for a constitutional challenge based on the First Amendment.
This Orwellian employee training was partly exposed last week through a social media post that went viral about the training document used by Illinois State Police. Libs of TikTok published parts of that document, which garnered over 300,000 views on X alone.
But the training is statewide. The document used for the State Police is from the template for every agency, called “LGBTQIA+ Equity and Inclusion 2025,” published by the Office of Equity, which is part of Gov. JB Pritzker’s office. During his first term, Pritzker issued an executive order creating that office, saying that all state employees “shall participate in annual trainings focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion as directed by the Chief Equity Officer.” Today, the office is headed by Dr. Atiera Coleman, a career “equity” champion.
Chief Equity Officer Dr. Atiera L. Coleman
Skim through the document and you will quickly see that it’s not about routine professional training and compliance with nondiscrimination law. It dictates a political agenda of speech and conduct adhering to politics of the most extreme voices on “systemic oppression,” the horrors of capitalism, LGBTQIA+ theory, “intersecting identities” and the like. It’s ideological dogma that includes a required, signed certification by the employee that they understand that failure to comply with such policies and procedures “may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of State employment/appointment.”
Read more here.
Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints.
Posted in 220, 300, Barrington Area Library, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, BOHICA, Cook, County, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Fools and their money, Illinois Federation of Teachers, League of Women Voters, Look For The Union Label, Overhead, Pension Funding, Politics, Preckwinkle's Rules of Order, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Road construction, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, The Center Square, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on December 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Scott Stantis / For the Chicago Tribune
By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor
Commonwealth Foundation Labor and Policy Senior Director David Osborne says Chicago’s growing reputation as the place where public sector unions flex plenty of political muscle is more than well deserved.
Osborne points to a new Commonwealth Foundation report highlighting how public sector unions across Illinois spent nearly $30 million on state races over the 2023-24 election cycle, or far more than what union officials in any other state dedicated to such causes.
At $5.5 million, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson tops the State Government Union Pac Money List of those most benefiting from government employment unions support. In addition to Johnson, at least six other state lawmakers land on the list’s Top 20, lead by House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, at No. 2 and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, at No. 4.
“In the state of Illinois, political spending is bigger than in any other state,” Osborne told The Center Square. “Unions seem very focused on who gets elected to be the mayor of Chicago and governor of the state. What you’ve got really is a downward spiral in Illinois where the kinds of unions that have gotten so powerful have really done it at the expense of taxpayers and then they’re pouring more money into getting the right kind of people elected for them.”
With researchers adding that almost 96% of all donations for Illinois-level candidates went to Democrats, Osborne said it’s past time someone address the imbalance.
“Public sector unions, they’re not often talked about as the cause of problems,” he said. “We often look to high taxes, bigger government, economic policies, but really what’s driving states and cities to enact policies that are harmful to individuals, that raise taxes, that grow the size of government beyond its purpose are public sector unions.
Read more here.
Posted in Commodius Maximus, Cost of Living, Ethics, Illinois Policy Institute, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Springfield, Taxes, Unions on December 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »
More people still moved out of Illinois than moved in during 2025, but the gap was smaller than it’s been for the past 16 years, according to Atlas Van Lines.
By Patrick Andriesen | Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois’ outbound migration crisis slowed after 16 years of losses, with new data from Atlas Van Lines showing a smaller gap between moves in and moves out of the state in 2025 than in any year since 2008.
While the Atlas report was an improvement, other moving companies reported bleaker results.
The new Atlas report found 54% of the company’s clients moved out of Illinois during 2025 while 46% moved into Illinois. The company considered that gap to be statistically even, but said a big factor behind the ratio could be “overall mobility remains low today, primarily due to affordability constraints such as the high cost of home ownership and limited inventory.”
Previous Atlas studies found Illinois lost residents every year between 2009 and 2024, with the trend peaking at 63% of movers leaving in 2023. The company has tracked client relocations every year dating back to at least 1993.
Other moving companies also produce similar surveys that show Illinois as a place to leave. Allied Van Lines shows a 58% outbound rate for 2025, ranking Illinois No. 1 for losing people. United Van Lines data is reported in January, and it last reported 60% of its moves in 2024 were out of Illinois, ranking No. 2 in the nation.
Atlas reported the U.S. states with the highest rates of individuals moving in were Arkansas followed by Idaho. Louisiana saw the highest rate of people leaving, followed by West Virginia.
Read more here.
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