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District 220 Referendum Propaganda Campaign Begins

Posted in 220, Animal Welfare, Barrington Education Association, Barrington High School, Board of Education, BOHICA, DARCHED, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Entertainment, Ethics, FUBAR, Goat Rodeo, Mad Cows, OP/Ed, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Real Estate, School Districts, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Transparency, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on February 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Ref-2024-newsletter copy

From the 220 Pep Squad:

“You’re Invited! Community Engagement Meetings

Beginning this month, the Barrington 220 Board of Education is embarking on a six month (God help us!) community engagement process in order to gain stakeholder feedback about projects that should be included in a potential school district referendum question on the November 2024 election ballot. The Board will collect feedback through three primary methods:

Referendum Advisory Committee

A Referendum Advisory Committee will meet four times from February – July to assist the Board in identifying key components to be included in a potential referendum question. The committee will make a final recommendation to the Board by the June 4, 2024 Board meeting. The final decision of what will be asked on a referendum question rests with the Board. Click here to learn more.

Community Phone Surveys

Phone surveys will be conducted in March and April to gather community input on funding levels and support for projects to be included in a potential referendum question.

Community Meetings

During the month of March the district will hold four community meetings to collect additional feedback. These meetings will feature a presentation, survey, and an opportunity to ask questions. They are open to the public. Please note that each meeting will have the same agenda.

  • Wednesday, March 6: 6pm @ BMS-Prairie Campus
  • Saturday, March 9: 10am @ BHS Front Atrium (Lower Level)
  • Monday, March 11: 6pm @ Arnett C. Lines Elementary
  • Thursday, March 14: 6pm via Zoom (Click here to register for the Zoom)

Ref Comm Eng Timeline Graphic noLogo _2_

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE!”

Editorial note: Watch out for flying pom poms in the next six (6) months…

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Barrington Hills Park District public hearing and meeting tonight

Posted in Agendas, Algonquin Rd, Animal Welfare, Barrington Hills Park District, Big Brother, Clown Car, Countryside Elementary School, Deception, Don't Change Barrington Hills, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Fox River Valley Hunt, FPDCC, FRVPC, FUBAR, Horizon Farm, Horse Boarding, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Disconnection, Look For The Union Label, Mad Cows, Massbach Hounds, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Taxes, The New Normal, Transparency, Unions, Well Water Quality on February 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The Barrington Hills Park District will hold a public hearing this evening at 6:45 PM regarding their, “Combined Budget & Appropriations Ordinance 2-14-2024-01.” Once again, as has been the case in previous annual hearings of this type, no documentation has been provided by the District for taxpayers to review and comment on prior to the hearing.

A copy of the Hearing Notice agenda can be viewed here.

At 7:00 PM, the Board will convene their regular monthly meeting. Topics on their agenda include:

  • Budget Ordinance 2-14-2024-01
  • Review of the Riding Center Arena Rules
  • Advisory Committee Report
  • Review the FRVPC Agreement, and
  • Closed Session

A copy of their agenda can be viewed here.

Please note neither meeting will be available for remote access via Zoom apparently since no instructions are provided on the District website. If this is not an oversite, then the District has reverted back to their, “None of your damned business,” attitude Village taxpayers have come to expect.

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“Enhancing Safety at Our Rail Crossings” – Village of Barrington

Posted in Accidents, EJ&E/Canadian National, FUBAR, METRA on February 6, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Metra Accident

Photo: Nick Rusin

“Thank you for the many thoughtful comments and suggestions we have received over the last several days in the wake of our rail crossing tragedy. Here is information to answer questions we have received and to keep you informed.

Immediate Actions

Safety Education & Enforcement: Over the next few weeks, Barrington Police, alongside Metra and Union Pacific (UP) safety officials, will increase their presence at rail crossings to educate and reinforce safety rules. Uniformed officers will be visible during key times to remind pedestrians of all ages about the importance of rail safety.

Signage: Additional signage and pavement markings are being introduced at pedestrian rail crossings, where appropriate. Signs are being fabricated and will be installed promptly.

Upcoming Actions

Pedestrian Crossing Gates: During recent discussions with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Village officials have asked these agencies to support additional pedestrian gates at the UP crossings on Hough Street and Cook and Main Streets as the ICC and IDOT prepare for a planned project at these locations.

Elimination of Rail Crossings: The underpass project at Route 14 and the Canadian National (CN) tracks will remove the intersection of train tracks, roads, and pedestrian paths, ensuring safer passage for vehicles and pedestrians. Construction begins this year.

Additionally, federal funding has been secured for the preliminary engineering design of a pedestrian underpass at Main Street and the CN tracks. This crossing is used by many students each day and this pedestrian underpass will safely connect the Village Center and Barrington High School.

Partnering on Safety Education: During a meeting with District 220 last week, the district indicated it is reviewing instructional practices as they pertain to rail safety education. The Village has and will continue to share additional resources and learning opportunities from our rail safety education partners CN, ICC, Metra, Operation Lifesaver, and UP.

How Community Members Can Contribute to Rail Crossing Safety

Educate: Take advantage of the many available safety resources on crossing safety for yourself and your family.

Model Safe Behavior: Demonstrate safe behavior at rail crossings, whether walking or driving, to set an example for children and fellow community members.

Advocacy: Collective engagement in expressing support for planned safety improvements amplifies our impact. As we plan future safety projects, the Village may ask for residents to help advocate for safety infrastructure improvement funding from outside agencies.”

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A matter of trust

Posted in Building Department, Conflict of interest, Cuba Township Road District, Deception, Dumb and Dumber, Ethics, Financial Reports, FUBAR, Legal Expenses, Mac's Property Management, New Normal?, One Barrington Hills, OP/Ed, Politics, Roads & Bridges Committee, Taxes, Transparency, Village Board, Village Director of Administration, Village Government, Village President on January 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »

BC 2

Monday evening’s Board of Trustees meeting includes a Public Hearing regarding the proposed 2024 Village Appropriation Ordinance. We have concerns and questions, not the least of which is our first one.

You see, for the fifth (5th) year in a row, the amount appropriated for “Snowplowing” is not disclosed. In 2019, the amount of $279,500 was appropriated, but since then that line has remained blank:

Blank Snowplowing

If President Cecola’s (alleged) business in Winter months includes snowplowing, are there implications of concern with our Village currently contracting with (alleged) friend(s) of his after he spearheaded the firing of Cuba Township Road District (Cecola abstained from that vote, by the way)?

Why has he chosen not to have the amounts published again in 2024 or previous years during his Administration? Further, why is the obsessively detail oriented Roads and Bridges Chair allowing this to proceed this far before a vote?

Following are some of the amounts appropriated to “Municipal Buildings & Grounds” as seen in the draft report:

Snow Removal

Question: Is “Snow Removal” separate from “Snowplowing”? In the copy of the draft linked below, an amount is listed for “Salt” ($1,100) under Roads and Bridges, by the way, but nothing for snow plowing.

There are other items of concern in the 2024 Appropriations Ordinance draft, which we’ve highlighted in a copy that can be found here.

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As online DMV services plagued by no-shows, secretary of state launches changes

Posted in FUBAR, Politics, Springfield, Taxes on January 13, 2024| Leave a Comment »

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Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announces changes for his “Skip-The-Line” program, an appointment-based system for driver services that he said Thursday was marred by no-shows. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)

By ANDREW ADAMS | Capital News Illinois

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias launched an online appointment system in September for Illinois drivers needing to come to a driver’s services facility, ostensibly to reduce wait times.

The “Skip-The-Line” program introduced upgrades to the secretary of state’s website as well as a shift in policy, requiring appointments to be made for more than 40 of the state’s highest-traffic driver’s services locations.

Walk-in services are now only available in lower-traffic locations, at the downtown Chicago office and at four “Seniors Only” facilities in Bridgeview, Calumet Park, Evanston and Westchester.

But the system’s first few months have not gone as Giannoulias had planned.

“The amount of no-shows has been devastating,” he said Thursday.

Giannoulias, who has made modernization a key priority in his first year in office, said that since rolling out the online appointment system, there have been periods when people skipped “upwards of 40 percent” of appointments made.

“If that number is 20 percent, it’s devastating,” he added.

The issue was exacerbated by several factors, he said, including driving schools which booked multiple slots every day without necessarily needing them.

On Thursday, Giannoulias announced a suite of reforms to his office’s “Skip-The-Line” program, including text message reminders sent to those with an appointment. He said it has already helped decrease skipped appointments since it launched last week.

More here.

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December Board of Trustees meeting recordings released

Posted in Audio Recordings, Barrington Hills Park District, Big Brother, Building Department, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Cook, County, Deception, Dumb and Dumber, EJ&E/Canadian National, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, FUBAR, Horizon Farm, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, One Barrington Hills, OP/Ed, Plan Commission, Plum Farm development, Politics, Property Taxes, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Traffic, Transparency, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Government, Village President, Zoning Board on January 5, 2024| 3 Comments »

Change Prtition

Recording of the December 19th Board of Trustees meeting has been released. While there are several items we would like to weigh in on, the, “Annexation of Contiguous Properties Discussion,” topic* on the agenda is on top the list.

There were a few public comments addressing a property currently in the Village and one in unincorporated Cook County (pictured above). Both are off Old Sutton Road, and within roughly a mile of one another.

The property in the Village has been topic of multiple comments at Board of Trustee and Zoning Board meetings for some time now, yet nothing seems to have been done by the Village.

As for the unincorporated Cook County comments, President Cecola and the Board have approved taking steps to annex the property described by a Change.org petition as the, “Sutton and the Penny Road Properties.” One of the reasons for this apparently is the appearance of this property, and the belief our Village Code will somehow improve the situation. However, when traveling throughout our Village, numerous and obvious Code violations can be seen in plain view, and no corrective actions seem to take place.

Our President and Board are willing to spend our tax dollars to attempt to annex this property and improve the aesthetics of it presumably through Village Code enforcement. You decide if this makes sense, especially considering the number of Code violations in plain view from Village roads presently that are not addressed.

The December meeting recordings can be found here.

Related: “Change.org petition posted: ‘Why Barrington Hills should not annex Sutton and the Penny Road Properties.’”

* As has become the Cecola administration’s practice, no explanation of what this topic was about was provided to the public in advance of the meeting in the agenda.  Yet, as the recordings show, some privileged residents were informed in advance so they could prepare.

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Op-Ed: The Chicago mayor’s hat trick of dreadful policies

Posted in Cook, County, FUBAR, OP/Ed, Politics, Property Taxes, Real Estate, School Districts, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Unions, Who Cuts Your Hair?, WTF on December 28, 2023| 1 Comment »

Brandon Johnson

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson raises the gavel to end the city council’s meeting and his inauguration Monday, May 15, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

By Charles Lipson | University of Chicago

When your city elects a mayor whose main job qualification is “organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union,” you get what you paid for, or rather what the powerful CTU paid for. With Mayor Brandon Johnson, you get a special bonus, an unwelcome one. His proposed policies are unworkable, unaffordable, and deeply unpopular in the city that elected him less than a year ago.

Three policies stand out for particular ridicule. Mayor Johnson wants to:

  • Start city-owned and -operated groceries in some underserved areas. The government that wants to take on these difficult new tasks is already failing at such basic services as fixing potholes and policing dangerous neighborhoods.
  • Ticket the buses bringing illegal immigrants to Chicago, mostly from Texas. He calls them “rogue buses” because they are not “coordinating” with the city. Giving them a ticket or even impounding the vehicles is his solution. The bus companies’ own solution is to drop off the passengers in the suburbs, which immediately send them to Chicago. Johnson then rages at the Texas governor and never mentions President Joe Biden.
  • Close down all the selective-enrollment (magnet) schools in Chicago, the only ones where students actually read above grade level. If we judge by the likely outcome, Johnson’s policy is really designed to drive middle-class families with kids out of the city. The teachers union backs the plan, enthusiastically. They must know how good the other schools are since the president of the CTU sends her own child to a private school. Meanwhile, she is working with Gov. J.B. Pritzker to kill school choice for everyone else.

The local joke about Mayor Johnson is that his only success has been to lower the price of downtown Chicago real estate.

How do voters like Johnson’s ideas and his administration? Not much, it turns out. His poll numbers are roughly the same as those for used car salesmen with loud suits and back lots filled with rusting clunkers. The mayor’s erstwhile supporters have abandoned him. Except for the Chicago Teachers Union.

Read more here.

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Village releases December 2023 Newsletter

Posted in BACOG, Clown Car, Deception, FUBAR, One Barrington Hills, Politics, Property Taxes, Resident Spotlights, Roads & Bridges Committee, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Unions, Village Board, Village Code, Village Government, Village President on December 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »

BC Fashion Slave

Brian Cecola (pictured at right in yellow) was named Board Chair of BACOG for FY2023-24 this Summer

Some of the topics covered in this issue include:

  • President’s letter
  • 2024 Road Program
  • Donlea Road drainage investigation – Final findings
  • Recycling myths, and
  • 2023 Year in review

View and download the newsletter here.

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Neighboring counties team up to keep future bridge toll-free

Posted in County, FUBAR, Longmeadow Parkway, McHenry, Politics, Taxes on December 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Toll

Neighboring counties team up to keep future bridge toll-free | © Provided by WBBM Radio Chicago

Story by Jim Gudas | WBBM Radio Chicago

Officials in McHenry and Kane counties are teaming up to eliminate the need for tolls on a new bridge over the Fox River.

The bridge is set to open next fall as part of the Longmeadow Parkway, which runs through Kane County.

The parkway is expected to reduce traffic congestion in nearby Algonquin in McHenry County.

Kane County officials asked their counterparts in McHenry County to contribute $1 million to cover some of project’s costs and help eliminate the need for tolls.

McHenry County Board Chair Mike Buehler calls it a good investment to help drivers bypass congestion, especially at one major intersection.

Buehler says eliminating tolls would potentially save McHenry County drivers, who use the Longmeadow Parkway regularly, up to $300 a year.

The money comes from federal money that McHenry County received through the American Rescue Plan Act.

More here.

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Illinoisans in moving vans drives 10th straight population drop

Posted in Barrington Education Association, Clown Car, Deception, Elections, Ethics, FUBAR, Look For The Union Label, New Normal?, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Springfield, Taxes, Unions on December 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »

AP_060614024333-1700x770

People choosing to move out of Illinois led to the 10th consecutive year of population decline, new data from U.S. Census Bureau shows. Politicians can change that. (AP photo)

By Bryce Hill | Illinois Policy

Moves out of Illinois caused a 10th year of population decline – 32,826 residents from July 2022-July 2023, according to estimates released Dec. 19 by the U.S. Census Bureau.

A decade of Illinois decline means only one state has been losing longer: West Virginia. It currently is suffering its 11th consecutive year of population decline.

IL Pop Decline

Illinois continues to see a natural increase in population as births outpace deaths, but by an increasingly narrow margin. It also is gaining residents from abroad. But so many people are moving out of Illinois to other states – domestic migration – that the state’s total population is in decline.

IL Pop Decline 2

Estimates from the Census Bureau show there were 10,453 more births than deaths in Illinois, 40,492 net migrants gained from abroad, but 83,839 residents lost on net to other states.

When taxes were not a response option, surveys of those who have left the state showed the major reasons were for better housing and employment opportunities. Both have been made worse by poor public policy in Illinois.

High taxes were the No. 1 reason Illinoisans considered leaving the state. Polling from NPR Illinois and the University of Illinois found 61% of Illinoisans thought about moving out of state in 2019, and the No. 1 reason was taxes. The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute found 47% of Illinoisans wanted to leave the state in 2016. It also found “taxes are the single biggest reason people want to leave,” with 27% citing that motive. More recent polling conducted by Echelon Insights in 2023 substantiated these sentiments.

Read more here.

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