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 BCFPD, FUBAR, Jewel-Osco on February 26, 2026| 1 Comment »
Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune
By The Editorial Board | Chicago Tribune
In the annals of global problems, a supermarket shopping app sounds like small potatoes. But like much in life, the seemingly trivial bespeaks of issues of weightier import. In this particular case, it involves whether anyone without a smartphone should be paying higher prices than one clutching one in their hands as they push their cart.
That’s how it goes with the Jewel-Osco shopping app that requires you to digitally “clip” coupons to get the store’s best deals on (as we write) such items as Chips Ahoy!, Samyang noodles, Garrett popcorn and Mary Kitchen corned beef hash.
Even Simply Orange juice. Not simply priced.
No phone, higher cost for you.
Jewel’s competitors do it differently: Whole Foods has Amazon Prime discounts, but all you have to do is enter your phone number at check out. Costco, Trader Joe’s and Aldi don’t traffic in clippery and give everyone the same price. At Jewel-Osco, you have to go item by item.
From Jewel’s point of view, this merely is a digital updating of the coupons people still can clip in this and other newspapers. They’re part of what economists call price discrimination. Jewel wants its rich, busy customers who can’t be bothered to “clip” things to pay more while also snagging those who are more price sensitive and willing to invest the time in getting a deal. These days, some form of variable pricing is everywhere, from airlines to online promo codes.
Editorial continues here.
Posted in Aunt Blabby, Barrington Hills Farm, Barrington Hills Park District, Barrington Hills Polo Club, Bicyclists, BraveHearts, Clown Car, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Don't Change Barrington Hills, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Fox River Valley Hunt, FPDCC, Frau Blücher, FRVPC, FUBAR, Goat Rodeo, Horizon Farm, Horse Boarding, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, Lighting Ordinance, Look For The Union Label, Mad Cows, Massbach Hounds, Open Meetings Act, Overhead, Plan Commission, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Riding Club Commission, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Save 5 Acres, SOUL Harbour Ranch, Taxes, The Other Half, Traffic, Transparency, Unions, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Well Water Quality, Your Barrington Hills on December 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The Equestrian Commission/Riding Club will be meeting this evening at 6:30 PM. Though scheduled to meet quarterly, their last meeting was over a year ago on August 7, 2024.
Topics on their agenda include:
A copy of the agenda can be viewed here.
Posted in Algonquin Rd, Aunt Blabby, Cook, County, Deception, FPDCC, FUBAR, IDOT, Land Use, Longmeadow Parkway, Mówimy po polsku, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Roads & Bridges Committee, Roads and Bridges, SNAFU, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Traffic on November 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Input from the public, stakeholders, and local agencies has been considered and incorporated over the course of the study. To date, there have been two (2) public meetings and five (5) Community Advisory Group Meetings. IDOT has also met with representatives from the Village of Barrington Hills, Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) multiple times at key project milestones. Input from these meetings has helped IDOT establish the Purpose and Need, develop the Reasonable Range of Alternatives, identify the Alternatives to be Carried Forward, and select a Preferred Alternative.
The two typical sections included in the Alternatives to be Carried Forward (see September 2023 update) were further refined based on the following design goals and coordination with FPCC, ISGS, USFWS:
These refinements have led to a Preferred Alternative that satisfies the Purpose and Need while minimizing impacts to the surrounding environment by incorporating a combination of three typical sections. All three typical sections include four (4) travel lanes, paved shoulders, mountable curbs, closed drainage, and a shared-use path. The Preferred Alternative is divided into two segments due to the differences in land use and the environmental resources as shown in the following figures.
IDOT is currently developing the preliminary right-of-way needs of the Preferred Alternative and potential impacts to various environmental, community, agricultural, and cultural resources within the study area. IDOT plans to present the Preferred Alternative and summary of impacts to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and resource agencies for concurrence in February 2026. Once concurrence on the Preferred Alternative has been received, a draft of the Environmental Assessment document will be prepared and made available for public review and input.
Figure 1: Preferred Alternative Segments
(Click on images to enlarge)
Figure 2: 10-ft Outside Shoulders with 4:1 Fore Slopes (Segment 1-Purple)
Figure 3: 2-ft Outside Shoulders with Retaining Walls (Segment 2-Orange)
Figure 4: Continuous Bridge over Shallow Groundwater (Segment 2-Yellow)
Read more and comment here.
Related: “Here’s what’s in Illinois’ $50.6B six-year infrastructure plan (10.3.25),” “IDOT seeks public input on roads, rail, and EVs,” “IDOT releases Algonquin Road/Route 62 ‘project update’”
Posted in FUBAR, Road construction, Topics Of Interest, Traffic, U.S. Route 14 Underpass on September 4, 2025| Leave a Comment »
“This past month, almost all of the temporary Route 14 roadway and temporary railroad track was completed. The current lane closures on Route 14 allowed the contractors and utility companies to complete the required storm sewer, water main, grading and utility preparation work.
What’s Coming Next:
Note that all local businesses, including the Barrington Area Library, will remain open and accessible during the closure. Shorely Drive local access will also be maintained for residents.
Additional traffic alerts will be shared with the community next week.
Please help spread the word by sharing this information with others. Thank you for your patience and continued support of our local businesses during the closure!”
Posted in Barrington Area Library, FUBAR, Road construction, Traffic on August 27, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The Barrington Area Library posted the following late yesterday:
“PLEASE NOTE: Beginning Wednesday, August 27, extensive construction work will begin to rebuild the Library’s entrance driveway, as part of the Route 14 project. This work requires that the driveway be reduced to accommodate only one lane of traffic at a time. Traffic exiting the Library lot will be stopped at a distance from the traffic light, to allow plenty of room for incoming traffic. The traffic light camera will be adjusted to sense the traffic waiting to exit. Please allow extra time and use an abundance of caution and patience when traveling through this area.
Each half of the driveway must be excavated, stoned, poured, and cured before traffic can be switched onto the new driveway half, when the process will begin again. The construction company estimates that this project will take more than two weeks to complete.
In general, we anticipate that visitors will have access to the Library throughout the Route 14 project. We will continue do our best to keep you informed of these situations. We encourage you to visit the Village of Barrington’s dedicated website for the project, where you may also sign up for email updates.
Pro tip: this is great time to try some of our convenient, innovative services like Borrow By Mail and other remote pick-up and return locations!”
Posted in 220, Animal Welfare, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, FOIA, FUBAR, His Master's Voice, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Open Meetings Act, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, School Districts, Taxes, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on August 19, 2025| 6 Comments »
Following this morning‘s article on Erin Chan Ding confirming, in her own words, her conflict of dually serving on the D220 Board of Education (BOE) while simultaneously running for a partisan Democratic office for Illinois House Representative in the 52nd District, we have received information obtained by a resident pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to D220.
These records confirm that D220 Superintendent Winkelman and BOE President Ficke-Bradford have used D220 taxpayer funds to obtain attorney opinions on Ding‘s ability to run for the 52nd District while simultaneously serving on the BOE. (The Observer queried in a recent article why taxpayer funds would be utilized by the D220 School District to obtain attorney opinions in this regard.) They further confirm that the BOE is engaging in closed door sessions regarding Ding and her campaign for the 52nd District. We posit whether this is a violation of the Open Meetings Act.
Ding is raising her own campaign funds for her run for the 52nd. Isn’t it more appropriate that Ding’s Erin for Illinois Campaign pay for these attorney consultations rather than the D220 taxpayers? Additionally, why would D220 need taxpayer paid attorney consultations related to BOE Policy and Code of Conduct questions?
Are we seriously paying attorneys to opine on whether a BOE Member has violated Board Policy or Code of Conduct? Does our Superintendent and BOE President need an attorney to tell them if a BOE Member has “surrendered her responsibilities to special interest or partisan political groups”? Do they need an attorney to tell them whether a BOE member has engaged in the “appearance of impropriety” or that she has used her “Board of Education membership for personal gain or publicity”? This is beyond absurd.
Additionally, these records show that these policy discussions are taking place behind closed doors rather than in front of the public? Isn’t policy something that should be discussed and set with full BOE participation and public scrutiny? Since when is the policy of how our duly elected officials conduct themselves in their duly elected positions determined without the public’s participation?
Craig and Sandra, we urge you to get back to the business of running the D220 School District instead of using your D220 positions and the taxpayer’s resources to engage in the partisan politics of the Ding campaign for the 52nd District.
Related: “Ding In Her Own Words – CONFLICTED!,” “District 220 Board of Education meets this evening (07.15.25)” “Ding Doubles Down,” “Ding’s D220 Deception,” “Chan Ding running in Democratic primary in 52nd,” “Three (3) Democratic candidates queued to run for the IL 52nd District House seat in 2026”
Posted in Chicago Tribune, Cook, County, FUBAR, Look For The Union Label, OP/Ed, Politics, Property Taxes, Taxes, Unions, Who Cuts Your Hair? on August 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Pedestrians walk past Boeing International Headquarters in Chicago in 2019. Boeing later left Chicago for the suburbs of Washington, D.C. | Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune
By The Editorial Board | Chicago Tribune
In the later years of Richard M. Daley’s mayoralty and especially during the tenure of Rahm Emanuel, the city of Chicago served as a magnet for corporate headquarters relocations, particularly from the suburbs.
United Airlines moved its headquarters to Willis Tower from Elk Grove Village, shifting thousands of employees to the city. Kraft Heinz consolidated its base in Chicago from Northfield. McDonald’s moved its home office to the West Loop from its longtime base in west suburban Oak Brook in 2018. These are just a few of the examples.
At the time of these moves, the city was perceived as hot. Even companies that didn’t go so far as to relocate their headquarters to Chicago opened satellite offices in the city, believing that they needed a physical presence to attract younger workers.
The era we’re talking about wasn’t that long ago — less than a decade — but it feels like ancient history.
Post-pandemic, downtown Chicago lost its mojo and, unlike New York City, has failed to recover adequately in the midst of relentless fiscal crises and poor municipal leadership. Chicago’s progressive mayor, Brandon Johnson, routinely describes the corporate decision-makers in his city as the “ultra-rich” (when he refers to them at all).
With Johnson declaring on Tuesday that the city’s finances are at a “point of no return” — whatever that means — the mayor and his progressive allies believe they may have found the answer to their seemingly never-ending quest for massive revenue infusions that affect only the wealthy. A heretofore obscure advocacy group, the so-called Institute for the Public Good, has proposed a new city tax on companies and other large employers that would require them to pay 5% of their total payroll for anyone working in the city who makes $200,000 or more (including noncash compensation like stock options).
The group estimates such a levy would generate $1.5 billion a year. Voila! A Chicago budget deficit now topping $1 billion in 2026 would disappear thanks to something this group pitches as a “tax on the privilege of doing business in Chicago.”
Read more here.
Posted in Aunt Blabby, FUBAR, Traffic, VBHPD on August 1, 2025| 1 Comment »
Reported by Russell Lissau | Daily Herald
The Daily Herald reports that, “The nearly 4-mile stretch between Route 62 and Penny Road was shut down in both directions Wednesday after oil applied during a resurfacing project mixed with rainwater and created a slick surface, police spokesperson William Walsh said.
Four auto crashes occurred between 2:45 and 3:45 p.m. Wednesday before the road was shut down, Walsh said. No one needed to be hospitalized.”
Read the full report here, but we must ask why the reasons were not communicated to residents sooner and directly via email or Facebook?
Related: “All of Route 68/Dundee Road closed in the Village for unspecified reason until noon tomorrow“
Posted in Aunt Blabby, FUBAR, Traffic, VBHPD on July 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Per VBHPD:
“Please be advised that Route 68 is currently closed between Route 62 and Penny Road due to a road hazard. The closure is now expected to remain in effect until Thursday, July 31, 2025, 12:00 PM (Noon). Motorists are advised to avoid the area and seek alternate routes. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding. Thank you, Village of Barrington Hills.”
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