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Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

Bought and paid for. Not sour grapes but reality.

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 »

 

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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Polls are now open

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.

PLEASE VOTE!

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Your Vote Matters

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?”

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Owl-oween Bash at Crabtree Nature Center Friday

Posted in Crabtree Nature Center, Education, Entertainment, FPDCC on October 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Jack-o’-lantern walk, campfire stories and festive fun. Costumes encouraged.

Date: Fri, October 30
Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Cost: Free
Where: 3 Stover Rd, Barrington, IL 60010
Phone: 847-381-6592 – Registration required

Source

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Crucial swing voters troubled by DSA, new poll shows: ‘Souring on socialism’

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 »

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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U.S. News and World Reports Ranks Best Public Elementary Schools

Posted in 220, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Countryside Elementary School, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Property Taxes, School Districts, U.S. News and World Report, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on October 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »

U.S. News recently released their report of the best elementary schools in Illinois for 2027. The CUSD 220 elementary schools are ranked as follows:

The U.S. News “Best Elementary Schools” page can be found here.

 

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District 220 Board of Education meets tonight

Posted in 220, Agendas, Appointments, BACOG, Barrington Education Association, Barrington High School, Board of Education, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Daily Herald, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, District 220 referendum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Dumb and Dumber, Education, Elections, Ethics, Facebook, Goat Rodeo, His Master's Voice, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Look For The Union Label, Pension Funding, Politics, Property Taxes, Real Estate, School Districts, SNAFU, Snowflake Effect, South Barrington, Taxes, The New Normal?, Video Streaming, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on October 20, 2026| 1 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:

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

*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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Handful of competitive suburban races rev up November General Assembly elections

Posted in Chicago Sun*Times, Democratic Socialists of America, Economy, Education, Elections, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Immigration, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes on October 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Republican State Sen. Darby Hills is being challenged by State Rep. Nabeela Syed, a Democrat, for the 26th Senate District seat representing northwest suburbs in the Nov. 3 general election.

By Brett Chase | Chicago Sun*Times

A pair of suburban races for Springfield lawmakers are competitive fights heading into the Nov. 3 election, even as many incumbent politicians across the state are running unopposed.

Among the races to watch, Rep. Nabeela Syed, a Democrat from Inverness, is challenging incumbent Republican Darby Hills of Barrington Hills, who was appointed to the 26th District state Senate seat in early 2025. The northwest suburban district includes parts of Cook, Lake, McHenry and Kane counties.

The Illinois Democratic Party is spending heavily to help Syed with her campaign. In September alone, the party and a committee led by Illinois Senate President Don Harmon — with the aim of bolstering Democrats’ majority — contributed almost $1 million to Syed, records show.

Hills, a former prosecutor and 2021 Mrs. Illinois America, was a Barrington Hills trustee before being appointed to McConchie’s seat. She has campaigned for public safety, especially related to children, lower taxes and controls on spending.

“Illinois doesn’t have a revenue problem,” Hills says, “it has a spending problem.”

Republican Party-political committees contributed more than $80,000 to Hills in September after giving her more than $300,000 in August, according to state campaign disclosure reports.

Report continues here.

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Barrington High School’s Polling Place Appears to Be Missing from the Notices the Law Requires

Posted in 220, Barrington Education Association, Barrington High School, Board of Education, CBS News, Cook, County, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Ethics, FOIA, FUBAR, Guest Essay, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Open Meetings Act, Politics, Property Taxes, School Districts, Taxes, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on October 16, 2026| 6 Comments »

Image courtesy 10.14.26 Barrington 220 School District Facebook post

A follow-up to “A Polling Place for Some”

The law requires certain actions before any early voting site can operate, including official lists that are supposed to show the public where and when it can vote. Barrington High School isn’t on any of them.

What the law requires

Illinois’ early voting statute, 10 ILCS 5/19A-25, is short and clear. The election authority, here the Cook County Clerk, must:

  • publish, in a newspaper of general circulation, during the week before early voting and at least once a week during it, a schedule listing every permanent and temporary early voting location and the dates and hours of each (subsection (a));
  • post that schedule at every early voting location, starting no later than 10 days before early voting begins (subsection (b));
  • make free copies of the schedule available to the public (subsection (c));
  • put the schedule on its website (subsection (d)); and
  • give the State Board of Elections a list of all early voting sites and their hours at least 10 days before early voting begins (subsection (f)).

Subsection (e) covers sites added after the schedule is published:

“Additional temporary locations may be established after the schedule is published, provided that the location is open to all eligible voters. The location, dates, and hours shall be reported to the State Board of Elections and posted on the election authority’s website.”

Open to all eligible voters, reported to the State Board, and posted on the Clerk’s website. From what we’ve been able to determine, Barrington High’s site fails each of these on the public record.

Not on the Clerk’s website

The Cook County Clerk’s Early Voting Locations page on October 15, 2026, the day after the District announced the BHS voting site, says limited early voting for the November 3 election began October 7 at six Vote Centers, and that expanded early voting begins October 19 at 56 suburban locations. The page lists courthouses, village halls, libraries, community centers, and a few college and school campuses, all open to the public. It does not list Barrington High School, and it does not mention a high school early voting day. https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/elections/ways-to-vote/early-voting/early-voting-locations

The District posted on October 14 that BHS hosted the site “today.” On that date, according to the Clerk’s own page, early voting in suburban Cook County was limited to six sites: the Clerk’s downtown office and the courthouses in Rolling Meadows, Skokie, Maywood, Bridgeview, and Markham. The nearest public site for a Barrington voter was the Rolling Meadows courthouse. The site at BHS appears nowhere on the public schedule.

Not on the State Board of Elections’ list

Similarly, Barrington High School is not on the State Board of Elections’ list of 2026 General Election early voting locations for Cook County, which is built from what election authorities report under subsections (e) and (f). The only Barrington-area entry is Barrington Hills Village Hall, 112 Algonquin Road, which doesn’t open until October 19. https://www.elections.il.gov/votingandregistrationsystems/earlyvotinglocationssearch.aspx

Not open to all eligible voters

By the District’s own description, the site was for “eligible BHS students and staff who are Cook County voters.” A Cook County retiree living down the street from the school, a veteran, a parent: none of them were invited, and none of them could have known to come, because the BHS site wasn’t on any schedule. That is the opposite of “open to all eligible voters.”

The Clerk’s own training materials make the same point. The 2026 High School Early Voting Handbook, which the Clerk’s Office prepared for the student election judges, opens by stating the general rule: “A suburban Cook County registered voter can vote early at any of the suburban Cook County Early Voting sites.” Nothing in the Handbook says a high school site may be limited to the school’s own students and staff.

And, the Handbook is no rulebook for this fall’s General Election sites. Its cover reads “2026 Gubernatorial Primary Election,” and its calendar lists a “Primary High School Early Voting Day” of February 26, 2026, but no high school voting day for the November 3 General Election. As far as the public record shows, the high school sites that operated this October were run without any published procedures specific to them. https://www.cookcountyclerkil.gov/sites/default/files/pdfs/hs-ev-handbook-2026.pdf

Image courtesy 10.14.26 Barrington 220 School District Facebook post

What about pollwatchers?

In fairness, the Handbook doesn’t bar pollwatchers. However, the Handbook never mentions a fall high school voting day.  The Handbook advises judges that credentialed pollwatchers, media and exit pollsters may enter the site for the Primary Election. And, in fact, the media seems to have been made aware of the polling as there is coverage from CBS on Cook County “transform(ing) 27 suburban high schools into early voting sites for a ‘Teen Takeover for Democracy’ event … transform(ing) high schools into early voting sites to help eligible students vote.” https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/cook-county-high-schools-early-voting-students/

But a right to observe means little if no one (except CBS) knows where or when to show up. A pollwatcher’s credential has to name the specific early voting site. If a site isn’t on the Clerk’s schedule, isn’t on the State Board’s list, and is announced by the school district only on the day it happens, no party, candidate, or civic group can realistically get a credential for it and get through the door of a secured school building. The Handbook says nothing about how an outside pollwatcher is supposed to get into a high school during the school day.

Questions the Clerk should answer

We’re not mind readers, and there may be an explanation. If so, the Clerk’s Office should give it publicly:

  • Under what legal authority did the BHS site operate, and was it treated as an early voting location under Article 19A?
  • If it was a temporary location, why isn’t it on the Clerk’s website or the State Board’s list, as subsection (e) requires?
  • Was it ever included in the published newspaper schedule or posted at the site, as subsections (a) and (b) require?
  • Was it open to any eligible Cook County voter who showed up? If not, how is that consistent with “open to all eligible voters”?
  • Which other high schools hosted sites this fall, on what dates, and how many ballots were cast at each?
  • What is the Chicago Bears’ role in the “Defenders of DA’mocracy” program, and will the Clerk release the agreement?

These aren’t partisan questions. The notice rules in 19A-25 protect every voter and every campaign equally. They exist so that no one, whether the Clerk, a school district, or anyone else, can set up a polling place that only the privileged few know about.

Perhaps a Freedom of Information Act request to District 220 and the Cook County Clerk’s Office for the published early voting schedules and newspaper notices, the reports to the State Board of Elections, the list of high school sites and dates for this election, and any agreement with the Chicago Bears would provide some insight.

Related: “A Polling Place for Some: Barrington High School’s Invitation-Only Early Voting”

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Endorsement: McLaughlin for Illinois House Dist. 52

Posted in Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce, Commodius Maximus, Cost of Living, Daily Herald, Deception, Democratic Socialists of America, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Economy, Education, Elections, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Immigration, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, League of Women Voters, OP/Ed, Outmigration, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Rights, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, School Districts, Springfield, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Unions, Village Code on October 14, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Republican state Rep. Martin McLaughlin of Barrington Hills spoke out in February against Gov. JB Pritzker’s plan to reduce local control of residential zoning rules in a news conference in South Barrington. Flanking him were Algonquin Village President Debby Sosine, left, and South Barrington Mayor Paula McCombie. | Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com

Daily Herald Editorial Board

In District 52, incumbent Republican Martin McLaughlin brings a lengthy Springfield record focused on fiscal responsibility. We endorsed him in 2020 for his energy and resourcefulness, in 2022 for his measured approach to state government and in 2024 as a steadfast voice for controlled spending. Democratic challenger Maria Peterson emphasizes lower costs for working families, affordable housing, gun-violence prevention, health care and tax changes. While Peterson is a strong candidate, McLaughlin’s experience and focus on fiscal restraint and oversight continue to make him the stronger choice. McLaughlin is endorsed.

Endorsement can be seen here.

Related: “Editorial: Martin McLaughlin for Illinois 52nd House District” – Chicago Tribune

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