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District 220 Board of Education meets tonight

Posted in 220, Agendas, Animal Welfare, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Clown Car, District 220 referendum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, Ethics, His Master's Voice, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Politics, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, Snowflake Effect, The New Normal?, Transparency, Unions, Video Streaming, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on August 18, 2026| Leave a Comment »

CUSD 220 Board members Barry “Dr. No” Altshuler and Leah “Honey Bunny” Collister-Lazzari were found to have violated board policies last month in their 2023 campaigns for their board seats. Earlier this year, the Board also twice determined member Erin Chan Ding violated board policies as a result of her 2025 campaign. Who’s next?

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

  • FOIA Reports
  • Personnel Report
  • Consideration to Approve Second Reading of Board Policy: 2:260 Uniform Grievance Procedure
  • Consideration to Approve BSEO Contract
  • Consideration to Approve the Release of Confidentiality of Closed Session Minutes: July 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025
  • Consideration to Approve the Destruction of Verbatim Recordings: January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2023
  • Consideration to Approve Terms of IGA for Proposed Village of South Barrington Higgins Corridor TIF District
  • Intentional Use of Technology
  • 2026-27 Tentative Budget
  • First Reading of Board Policy
    • 2:105 Ethics and Gift Ban
    • 8:25 Advertising and Distributing Materials in Schools Provided by Non-School Related Entities
  • Proposed Village of South Barrington Higgins Corridor TIF District

A copy of the agenda can be viewed here. The meeting will be live streamed on the district YouTube channel.

Related: “District 220 board members violated campaign policies, investigation finds,” “Proposed Policy Change Would Strip Anonymous Formal Grievances in Barrington District 220,” “Reminder: CUSD 220 Board of Education meeting tonight,” “CUSD 220 Board delivers second (slappier) slap on the wrist to member Erin Chan Ding,” “CUSD 220 Board of Education public comments we applaud,” “Special District 220 Board of Education meeting Monday,” “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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Reminder: CUSD 220 Board of Education meeting tonight

Posted in 220, Agendas, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Clown Car, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Ethics, His Master's Voice, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Lipstick On A Pig, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, Snowflake Effect, Taxes, Transparency, Unions, Video Streaming, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on July 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

CUSD 220 Board President Sandra Ficke-Bradford, Vice President Barry Altshuler and member Leah Collister-Lazzari.

The CUSD 220 Board of Education meets this evening at 6:00 PM at the District Administration Center, 515 W. Main Street. Items of most interest on the agenda are:

  • Consideration to Approve Written Decision Regarding Uniform Grievance Procedure Complaint Concerning Barry Altshuler
  • Consideration to Approve Written Decision Regarding Uniform Grievance Procedure Complaint Concerning Sandra Bradford
  • Consideration to Approve Written Decision Regarding Uniform Grievance Procedure Complaint Concerning Leah Collister-Lazzari
  • Consideration to Approve the Public Release of the July 17, 2026, Uniform Grievance Procedure Investigation Report and Findings
  • First Reading of Board Policy, 2:260 Uniform Grievance Procedure

A copy of the agenda can be viewed here. The meeting will be live streamed on the district YouTube channel.

Related: “CUSD 220 Board delivers second (slappier) slap on the wrist to member Erin Chan Ding,” “CUSD 220 Board of Education public comments we applaud,” “Special District 220 Board of Education meeting Monday,” “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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Illinois lawmaker salaries rise 34% faster than their constituents’ paychecks under Pritzker

Posted in Commodius Maximus, Ethics, Fools and their money, Illinois Policy Institute, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Snowflake Effect, Springfield, Taxes, Transparency on July 22, 2026| 1 Comment »

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state lawmakers have increased lawmaker pay while approving budgets that raised taxes on Illinoisans.

By Shaw Carlson | Illinois Policy Institute

Lawmakers’ pay has grown much faster than the average Illinois salary during Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s time in office.

Since 2019, the base salary for members of the General Assembly has risen 44.9%, to $98,304 in 2026.

In the same period, the average Illinois salary rose 33.7%, to about $79,779.

That base salary for lawmakers is set to rise to six figures under the newly enacted fiscal 2027 budget and doesn’t include the additional compensation they get for leadership positions and per diems for items such as lodging.

Pritzker signed the record-high $55.9 billion budget that included more than $800 million in business tax increases and rise to lawmakers.

While lawmaker compensation climbs, voters’ priorities are tossed aside

Illinoisans have made clear what they want state leaders to address.

A recent poll found high taxes were the top concern among Illinois voters, with 52.8% choosing it as one of the biggest issues facing the state. The economy ranked second, with about 41% naming it a top one or two issue out of seven.

Report continues here.

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Progressive Policies Have Left Illinois the Least Equitable State in the Country

Posted in Clown Car, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), John Kass News, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Snowflake Effect, Springfield, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on July 15, 2026| 1 Comment »

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signs a bill into law. Photo by Mark Black

By Paul Vallas | John Kass News

Illinois politicians love the word equity. They use it as a moral shield, a budget justification, a substitute for results.

If equity is supposed to improve life for Black residents, Illinois isn’t a model — it’s an indictment, as the state consistently ranks at or near the bottom when Black-White economic disparities are examined while Illinois residents pay the residents paying the highest taxes and fees in the country. Yet this hasn’t produced any policy reassessment among the Democratic Party leadership that dominates state and Chicago government, only rhetoric and scapegoating.

Most everything in Illinois and Chicago government in recent years claims to deliver some form of “equity.” To our progressive establishment, that means greater equality in actual outcomes for the poor and other disadvantaged groups, especially racial minorities. Equity has been central to government policy since at least 2019, when Gov. JB Pritzker became governor and Lori Lightfoot became mayor, and progressives held supermajorities in the General Assembly long before that.

While Illinois Democratic leaders sermonize, Black Americans vote with their feet. Pew Research reports that from 2010 to 2024, the largest gains in Black residents were in Texas, Florida, and Georgia. Texas added over 1 million Black residents. Florida added over 745,000, drawing significant migration from the Northeast for its healthcare, education, and small business opportunities. Illinois, by contrast, was among the few places where the Black population declined, destroying the fantasy that Illinois is delivering opportunity better than states governed very differently.

Wirepoints frequently points out that a WalletHub study on racial equality ranked Illinois dead last out of all 50 states. The study measured disparities between Black and White residents across eight key metrics: poverty, homelessness, homeownership, unsheltered homeless, labor-force participation, executive positions, median income, and unemployment. The employment comparisons are especially striking (WalletHub; Illinois Policy).

Commentary continues here.

Related: “Pritzker Embraces Democratic Socialists of America as Part of Democrats’ Recipe to Win – Wirepoints”

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Pritzker Embraces Democratic Socialists of America as Part of Democrats’ Recipe to Win – Wirepoints

Posted in Clown Car, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Guest Essay, Immigration, Land Disconnection, Land Use, Lipstick On A Pig, Look For The Union Label, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Real Estate, School Districts, Snowflake Effect, Taxes, The New Normal?, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Unions, Village Code, Wirepoints on July 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

By: Mark Glennon* | Wirepoints

Gov. JB Pritzker left no doubt about where he stands in the growing schism within the Democratic party about its surge toward the radical left. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked him directly on June 30 if it’s good that Democratic primary voters recently chose Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates over more moderate Democratic incumbents.

Pritzker answered that as long as they are talking about affordability and oppose Trump, “those are the people who are winning” and embracing progressive/in Democratic Socialist candidates is “the recipe for winning in 2026 and beyond.” Here’s the clip:

Many key Democrats are revolting against the growing elements of socialism in their party.  As the left-leaning Guardian put it:

Over the last few days, prominent party figures have moved away from unifying under a “blue no matter who” banner to push for a more formal break with their left flank, and said the moment may have arrived for Democrats to confront their more socialist wing.

No less than veteran Democratic political advisor James Carvill recently said “it’s time for Democrats to talk the S-word: schism,” He added that some DSA-aligned candidates “have no place in the Democratic party” and, of the broader coalition: “I’m not in that fucking political party.”

Other prominent Democrats speaking up against the party’s growing leftism include Jaime Harrison, the former chair of the Democratic national committee, former New York governor David Paterson and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. And the left-leaning Atlantic wrote that, while the DSA is “anything but Democratic,” its clever subversion of the Democratic Party will be difficult to stop.

In case you don’t already know – and you should – here’s some of what the DSA supports:

  • Abolishing ICE, demilitarizing the border, ending all deportations, granting immediate amnesty to all immigrants regardless of status and guaranteeing access to jobs, labor rights and social services
  • Abolishing the Senate, expanding the House, voting rights for noncitizens and people with criminal convictions, statehood to the District of Columbia, replace the two‑party system with proportional representation,  limit the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review, and replace the Electoral College with a national popular vote
  • Medicare for All with no health care premiums, co‑pays or deductibles, including reproductive and gender‑affirming care
  • Tuition‑free public higher education, eliminating out‑of‑pocket costs for room and board, and canceling all student loan debt
  • Universal rent control, guaranteed legal representation for tenants, and major public investment in social housing
  • Free universal childcare and pre‑K, expansive paid family leave, a 32‑hour workweek with no loss in pay or benefits
  • Higher rates on the wealthiest earners, for‑profit corporations, large inheritances and private colleges and universities, as well as a wealth tax on the ultra‑rich
  • A Green New Deal to end fossil fuels, guarantees for displaced workers and public ownership of major transportation, energy infrastructure and natural resources
  • Ending mandatory minimums and cash bail, demilitarizing police departments and treating drug addiction as a public health issue

For the sake of the nation, we can only hope that, on this, America agrees with James Carville: “I’m not in that f-ing party.”

*Mark Glennon is founder of Wirepoints. 

Source

Editorial note: Maria Peterson (pictured below with JB Pritzker) appears to have made a profession for years running for offices with the financial backing of JB Pritzker, among others. In 2022 she ran unsuccessfully for Illinois State Senate and in 2024 she lost her bid for Illinois House 52nd District Representative.

Maria Peterson and JB Pritzker | Courtesy Maria Peterson’s Facebook page

Currently she is feverishly campaigning again for 52nd District Representative, and there is absolutely no doubt if successful, she will back all of JB Pritzker’s initiatives and likely those of the Democratic Socialists of America.  This includes Pritzker’s stalled “BUILD Initiative” which would strip property rights from residents and place all zoning controls in the hands of Springfield politicians and unions.

Please don’t consider this as our being negative, as some might. Instead, think of it for what it is – fact.

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Editorial: Has Chicago learned nothing from Jussie Smollett and his fake hate crime?

Posted in Chicago Tribune, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Ethics, OP/Ed, Politics, Snowflake Effect on June 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Jussie Smollett, the actor charged with lying to police about an alleged fabricated attack, is surrounded by media as he waits for a car at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on March 26, 2019. | José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune

By The Editorial Board | Chicago Tribune

We have some advice for Gov. JB Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cardinal Blase Cupich, Rev. Michael Pfleger and others who rushed out statements following images of a burning cross in Grant Park circulating online and, naturally, then being amplified by algorithms that feed like blood-thirsty vampires on controversy.

Take a breath and let the police investigate for a day or two before you trot out a statement destined to land in international media and feed someone’s need for publicity. Just tell reporters: We’re going to let the police ascertain the facts first.

Did we learn nothing as a city after the actor Jussie Smollett reported a fake hate crime that he had actually staged himself in downtown Chicago, embarrassing any number of knee-jerk politicians (few of whom later apologized), wasting police time and trashing the city’s reputation all at once? Did that not motivate our leaders to say to their eager spokespeople, “Hang on a minute and let’s find out exactly what happened here?”

Apparently not. In this case, Pritzker immediately opined that the incident “speaks to what happens when the seeds of racism and fascism grow unchecked in our country.”

Then on Monday, WMAQ-Ch. 5 interviewed a 21-year-old college student from Naperville who told the station that he had placed a MAGA hat on top of the burning cross and that he actually was protesting the policies of President Donald Trump and didn’t expect his actions to be viewed in the context in which they were reported. The police now also have a suspect in custody. In other words, the man who talked to NBC 5 said his motivation was the precise opposite of what the governor said this incident represented.

We’ve no idea if that motivation was an after-the-fact invention of the suspect, or his lawyer, or even with certainty that it was the same person (no charges had been filed at press time), but we also know that anytime you see the words “after the image circulated online” in a shocking news story — and there were many such stories about this incident in national and local media, replete with the recounting of historical American inhumanity to man — it is a cue to be suspicious that not everything is as it first might seem.

Also a cue: anything purportedly happening in Chicago involving nooses, burning crosses and the other hateful detritus of America’s shameful past, especially from the South.

Editorial continues here.

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District 220 Board of Education meets tonight

Posted in 220, Agendas, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Politics, School Districts, Snowflake Effect, Taxes, Transparency, Unions, Video Streaming, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on June 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »

 

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

  • FOIA Reports
  • Revised Personnel Report
  • Finance Reports
  • Consideration to Approve the Board of Education authorize the Assistant Superintendent of Business Services to approve contracts for the procurement of natural gas and electricity and to elect and designate the price terms of such contracts. The price terms of such contracts shall not exceed forty-three and ninety-three hundredths cents ($0.4193) per therm for natural gas and eight and nine hundred eighty-seven thousandths cents ($0.08987) per kilowatt hour for electricity, for periods not to exceed thirty-six (36) months.
  • Consideration to Approve Notice to Remedy
  • Consideration to Approve Action Regarding Employment Status of Educational Support Personnel Employee
  • Consideration to Approve Amended Board of Education Regular Meeting Schedule

A copy of the agenda can be viewed here. The meeting will be live streamed on the district YouTube channel.

Related: “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”

 

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District 220 Board of Education meets tonight

Posted in 220, Agendas, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, His Master's Voice, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Look For The Union Label, Organizations, Pension Funding, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, School Districts, Snowflake Effect, Transparency, Unions, Video Streaming, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on June 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

 

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

  • FOIA Reports
  • Revised Personnel Report
  • Student Disciplinary Committee Report
  • Hazardous Crossing Resolution
  • List of Authorized Depositories
  • Post-Issuance Tax Compliance Report
  • Renew Treasurer’s Bond
  • Consideration to Approve Summer Break 2027 BHS Choir Trip to Italy, Slovenia, and Austria
  • Consideration to Approve Intergovernmental Agreement with the Village of Barrington
  • Consideration to Approve Transform 220 Bid
  • Consideration to Approve Modification of Project Work Order #12 to the Pepper Construction Company Master Agreement
  • Communications Department Update

A copy of the agenda can be viewed here. The meeting will be live streamed on the district YouTube channel.

Related: “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”

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Pritzker board eliminates poor attendance from Illinois school ratings

Posted in 220, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Crime, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Ethics, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois Policy Institute, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Real Estate, School Districts, Snowflake Effect, Springfield, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on May 21, 2026| 1 Comment »

High chronic absenteeism will no longer hurt a school’s state rating.

By Hannah Schmid | Illinois Policy Institute

Illinois plans to eliminate poor attendance from school ratings at a time when a fourth of the state’s students miss a significant chunk of the academic year.

In an overhaul the State Board of Education approved in April, “chronic absenteeism,” or missing 10% or more of the school year with or without a valid excuse, will no longer ding a school’s rating. All nine current board members were appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The new system will use the term “consistent attendance,” the percentage of students present 90% or more of the school year.

That semantic switch may confuse parents about what’s really being measured, though it’s just a different way of saying the same thing. But the revised system also changes attendance from a “core indicator” in the rankings to merely an “elevating indicator.”

Why that matters: Strong “consistent attendance” will raise a school’s rating, but a weak performance won’t hurt it.

The state calls this a “strengths-based” approach, but it means the high rates of students skipping class across Illinois won’t affect schools’ ratings.

Report continues here.

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