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 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, News Media, OP/Ed, Politics, Property Taxes, SNAFU, Springfield on February 20, 2026| 1 Comment »
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is out with a new anti-Trump ad. She’s running in the state’s Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate on March 17. | Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune News Service via Getty Images file
By Natasha Korecki | NBC News
As the Democratic Party wrestles with how much to focus on President Donald Trump on the campaign trail, one Senate candidate is giving a clear answer: “F— Trump.”
Juliana Stratton, the state’s lieutenant governor, is running her first TV ad beginning Friday, a spot featuring a series of people, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., all saying “F— Trump.”
“F— Trump, vote Juliana,” one person after another says in the ad.
Post 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 Cook, County, Illinois Policy Institute, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Politics, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes on December 23, 2025| 1 Comment »
Illinois local governments lost out on over $10.9 billion in income tax revenue since fiscal year 2012. Here’s what your city or county lost.
By Patrick Andriesen | Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois local governments lost out on more than $10.9 billion in income tax revenue since fiscal year 2012, thanks to state lawmakers cutting the share of income taxes promised to municipalities and counties.
The state kept the difference.
An Illinois Policy Institute analysis found state lawmakers’ decision to reduce the local share from 10% of net income tax collections to less than 7% has cost municipalities over $9.49 billion since FY 2012. That includes cities, towns and villages and meant fewer dollars for programs and services, infrastructure, and potential property tax relief.
Use our table below to find out how much more income tax revenue your municipality would have received.
In addition to the municipal losses, county governments lost another $1.43 billion. Use our table below to find out much more income tax revenue your county would have collected.
More here.
Posted in BCFPD, Cook, County, Illinois Policy Institute, Jewel-Osco, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Springfield, Taxes, Unions on December 18, 2025| 1 Comment »
Cook County homeowners face rising property taxes. Three-fourths of that money is going to police and fire pensions instead of services.
By LyLena Estabine | Illinois Policy Institute
Property tax bills (were) due Dec. 15th, and Cook County homeowners are facing tax bills that have grown 16%.
With more money being collected, it makes sense residents would expect better services from the public safety institutions funded by their tax dollars, such as police and fire departments. But Illinois Department of Revenue data from 2023 shows 74% of the money for these entities is going to fund pensions, with little left for public safety.
Cook County weighed down by police, fire pensions
Municipal police and fire department property tax levies for Cook County, 1996-2023, adjusted for inflation and excluding Chicago
Since 1996, the amount of money municipalities in Cook County outside of Chicago have levied to keep up with police and fire pensions has grown nearly five times. The amount levied to keep up services has not even doubled.
Police and firemen receive generous pensions, and rightly so given the dangerous nature of their work. When those benefits become overpromised – as they have become in Illinois – they undermine retirement security and reduce the amount of money available for service.
More here.
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