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DC NR

Newly seated Board of Education member Diana Clopton and Nate Rouse, 220 Director of Equity, Race & Cultural Diversity Initiatives

As seen in our May 4th post, New Board of Education sworn into office, a recent FOIA has brought to light a series of emails between Nate Rouse (D220 Director of Equity, Race, and Cultural Diversity Initiatives), Melissa Atteberry (D220 5th Grade teacher and President of the D220 teacher’s union, BEA), and Diana Clopton, newly elected Board of Education (“BOE”) member, which took place in the months leading up to the recent school board election.

On the recommendation of current BOE member, Erin Chan Ding, Rouse reached out via his Barrington220 issued email address to recruit Clopton to run for BOE: “As you are aware we’ve got some political craziness going on and we are anticipating some strong opposition to equity work moving forward in the district without the support of a sound board of education.”

In order to facilitate Clopton’s placement on the BOE, Rouse offered to put Clopton in contact with “people that are very interested in getting behind/supporting good candidates and putting them in contact with the right people.”

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It is no secret that Rouse works closely with Jessica Green, founder of Courageous Community, an organization listed as a Community Partner on Rouse’s Equity220 website. Green hosted a “Meet the Candidate” fundraiser, exclusive to candidates  Clopton, Altschuler, and Collister-Lazzari, 3 of the 7 running for BOE in the recent election. Green is also a member of the Equity Committee run by Rouse, but closed to the D220 community, as only “those who support the mission” are allowed to participate. So much for Rouse’s DEI initiative “We Belong to Each Other” ~ it clearly should come with a disclaimer: We Belong to Each Other… but only if you’re the ‘right people.’2 Pic

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Rouse took his support of Clopton running for BOE even further by connecting her with Melissa Atteberry. Atteberry is the current President of the Barrington Education Association (BEA), the D220 teacher’s union. Atteberry was very eager to meet with Clopton, “I would love to meet with you and learn more about your motivations, as well as goals for the district.”

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Clopton will be called upon to vote on the BEA Union contract. What influence does Atteberry hold over her in that regard. We know that Chan Ding took political donations from, as well as the endorsement of, the BEA two years ago when she ran for BOE.  This subjected her to much criticism. It appears from this election cycle that the BEA has found other ways to influence the BOE elections other than by making public endorsements and donations.

Rouse also took time away from his DEI work to meet Clopton for an extended lunch in Deer Park, where they apparently discussed her ability to combat the “political craziness” going on and the “strong opposition” to the equity work no one other than those deemed privileged enough by Rouse to serve on his private DEI Equity Committee Team know anything about.

Equity Team

Each of the meetings Rouse scheduled with Clopton were conducted on D220 time, on D220 email, and many on D220’s Zoom platform. As seen above, Rouse further orchestrated and participated in meetings between Clopton and BOE incumbent candidate Collister-Lazzari.

Collister-Lazarri and Superintendent Hunt made it very clear at the BOE meeting of September 20, 2022, that only people who “support the mission” would be welcome to participate on Rouses’s DEI Equity Team. The first Equity Committee meeting was reported on at this BOE meeting starting at 48:55, wherein Collister-Lazzari advised the meetings are “not open to the public” because, similar to the Safety & Security Committee, “there’s things that maybe the whole public shouldn’t be aware of.” When pushed as to how one might get involved, Chan Ding advised that administrators (i.e. Rouse) ask parents to be involved based on the ‘fit’ for that specific committee, to which Hunt reiterated, “you want people who support the mission of the work, obviously…” Those people are:

Equity220

It is clear from these communications that we have a D220 Administrator actively seeking candidates for BOE that support his taxpayer paid position. A position that is closed off from public scrutiny and only available for his “District Equity Team” to be part of. He then puts said candidate in contact with the head of the BEA Teacher’s Union, on whose contract said candidate will soon be voting, as the BOE is currently involved in contract negotiations with the BEA. He then takes it one step further by offering to put said candidate in contact with community members that directly support his paid, closed to the public, District position.

Now, this may all be well and fine if Rouse and BEA President Atteberry offered to meet with all candidates running for BOE so they could share their goals for the District and what constitutes a “sound” BOE. However, Rouse was directly contacted by another candidate prior to the recent election, Leonard Munson, who requested a meeting with Rouse to learn more from him about the DEI programs and initiatives. Rouse refused to meet with Munson, stating his “admin team” has been advised to let D220 Superintendent Hunt know if any requests to meet are made from candidates and to refer requests to Hunt’s office as it was Hunt’s job to meet with candidates to discuss the District’s programs, “including our equity work.”

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This should come as no surprise as Rouse has already decided that there are parents who are and who are not on the D220 “District Equity Team” and he has said so publicly, in BOE meetings and on his Twitter feed. Rouse clearly does not believe Munson “supports the mission” as he was denied any meeting with Rouse. Yet, the District emails indicate Rouse not only recruited Clopton, but met with her multiple times on the taxpayer’s dime. Is this Rouse’s idea of “equity”? The BOE candidates, parents and taxpayers of D220 deserve better.

Nate Tweet

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April 2023 Adg

Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting beginning this evening at 6:30 PM. Topics on their agenda include:

  • [Vote] Amended Village Budget FY 2023
  • [Vote] Resolution Authorizing the Issuance of Notice of Award for the 2023 Road Program Project by the Village of Barrington Hills, Illinois Resolution 23 –
  • [Vote] Ordinance Amending Escrow Requirements for Tree Removal Permits as Set Forth in Title 4, Chapter 6 in the Village Code Ordinance 23 –
  • [Vote] Resolution of Proclamation Appreciating Trustee Bryan C. Croll for 8 Years of Dedicated Service Resolution 23 –
  • [Vote] Resolution of Proclamation Appreciating Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan for 10 Years of Dedicated Service Resolution 23 –

In addition, nominations for new or renewal appointments to Boards and Commissions will be voted on.  Four member of the Equestrian Commission is on the list of renewals, however there is a problem with the renomination of one of those members.

That member ran for and won a seat on the Barrington Hills Park District Board earlier this month, and now this represents a conflict. Therefore, an alternate should be considered at a subsequent Board of Trustees meeting.

A copy of this evening’s agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.

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BEA

The real winners in Tuesday’s 220 Board of Education elections outcome.

In a contentious race that hit upon many of the culture war issues being debated across the country and drew the attention of national conservative groups and the state Democratic party, it was the candidate preaching unity who claimed the most votes Tuesday.

With provisional and late-arriving mail ballots left to be counted, Diana L. Clopton was the top vote-getter in the race for three seats on the Barrington Area Community Unit District 220 board, according to unofficial results.

Clopton received 4,100 votes, and incumbents Barry Altshuler and Leah Collister-Lazzari were in second and third, with 4,085 and 4,057 votes, respectively.

The race renewed heated debates in District 220 over COVID-19 mitigations and the placement of the controversial memoir “Gender Queer” on the shelves of the Barrington High School library.

The slate of Baldassano, Munson and Sheriff received support from the conservative 1776 Project PAC, which touts its opposition to critical race theory and anti-racism, and an endorsement from the national organization Moms for Liberty.

On the other side, the Democratic Party of Illinois — boosted by a $500,000 donation from Gov. J.B. Pritzker — supported Altshuler and Collister-Lazzari while accusing Baldassano, Munson and Sheriff of “pursuing an extremist agenda.”

Baldassano said Wednesday it was unfortunate that the campaign became swept up in the culture wars. She said she would have preferred the focus stay on students and their learning.

Read more here.

Related: “220’s Altshuler & Collister-Lazarri blocked Facebook members and deleted their comments throughout campaign,” Choose wisely at the polls,” “Two term District 220 Board of Education member Angela Wilcox endorses Katey Baldassano, Leonard Munson, and Matt Sheriff for 220 Board,” “Endorsements: Munson, Baldassano and Sheriff for CUSD 220 Board of Education,” “District 220 Board of Education candidates Katey Baldassono, Leonard Munson and Matt Sheriff share their vision,” “Parents at top-rated school expose pornographic books in IL school library (DISCRETION ADVISED),” “The District 220 Policy Committee has a lot on their plate tomorrow,” “Who’s minding Leah and Barry’s campaign finances,” “What 220 voters need to know continued, including our recommendations,” “What 220 voters need to know,” “220 Parents call BS!

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Protect

TAKE 5 MINUTES TO VOTE TODAY!

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Related: “220’s Altshuler & Collister-Lazarri blocked Facebook members and deleted their comments throughout campaign,” Choose wisely at the polls,” “Two term District 220 Board of Education member Angela Wilcox endorses Katey Baldassano, Leonard Munson, and Matt Sheriff for 220 Board,” “Endorsements: Munson, Baldassano and Sheriff for CUSD 220 Board of Education,” “District 220 Board of Education candidates Katey Baldassono, Leonard Munson and Matt Sheriff share their vision,” “Parents at top-rated school expose pornographic books in IL school library (DISCRETION ADVISED),” “The District 220 Policy Committee has a lot on their plate tomorrow,” “Who’s minding Leah and Barry’s campaign finances,” “What 220 voters need to know continued, including our recommendations,” “What 220 voters need to know,” “220 Parents call BS!

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BA LCL

Barry Altshuler and Leah Collister- Lazzari share a quiet moment together as they reflect on the apparent campaign violations they’ve gotten away with so far…

District 220 voters elected Barry Altshuler (BA) and Leah Collister-Lazzari (LCL) to the Board of Education (BOE) in 2019.  Despite their lack of experience, and one other vastly more qualified Board member, he was appointed Secretary of the Board and she to Vice President in 2021. Within months, they began displaying symptoms of delusions of grandeur, especially when their race for re-coronation began.

Some examples of their campaign violations include:

First: As we reported on February 10, BA failed to complete necessary paperwork required by the Illinois State Board of Elections  (ISBE) by naming a Treasurer to his Campaign Committee. Yet, even though this publication has repeatedly pointed this failure to follow rules out to him, he ignored them until only recently.

BA Privacy

LCL waited until last month to file her committee details (seen here), which revealed that she and BA share a common Committee Treasurer.

Second: Three weeks ago, BA sent campaign solicitation letters to, “… all the Dr’s in Barrington asking for their support for BOE.” It remains unclear how he obtained his solicitation mailing list, but his actions swiftly prompted the Patient Services President of Advocate Good Shepard Hospital to send the following message to area physicians:

Advocate Letter

Third: It came to our attention recently that BA is censoring comments made to his campaign Facebook page.  This, despite the fact that courts have ruled that public officials cannot block critics from commenting on their Facebook page associated with their political office (see, “Court Rules Public Officials Can’t Block Critics on Facebook”). Yet this was revealed when people try to comment on his site:BA Blocks

BA is a practicing pediatrician.  As such, with that level of education, he cannot in good conscience claim ignorance of these rules and laws.

Fourth: BA and LCL’s campaign signs are printed with the District 220 logo front and center (below).  It’s unclear what, if any, permission(s) they sought or who, if anyone, granted it.  What we do know is last week District 220 Superintendent Dr. Robert Hunt announced as a result, the District will incur the expense of copyrighting District 220 logo’s to prevent its unauthorized use in the future.220 Logo

Fifth: LCL called in to vote on a controversial measure while working/vacationing in New Zealand in violation of the Open Meetings Act (OMA), prompting residents to bring OMA complaints to the State’s Attorney General’s office and the Policy Committee of the BOE to undertake review of the rules surrounding calling in to meetings while traveling.

Given all this, we strongly encourage voters to choose wisely at the polls. Consider the missteps of these incumbent candidates and how they have behaved (so far) in the 2023 District 220 election.

Related: “Two term District 220 Board of Education member Angela Wilcox endorses Katey Baldassano, Leonard Munson, and Matt Sheriff for 220 Board,” “Endorsements: Munson, Baldassano and Sheriff for CUSD 220 Board of Education,” “District 220 Board of Education candidates Katey Baldassono, Leonard Munson and Matt Sheriff share their vision,” “Parents at top-rated school expose pornographic books in IL school library (DISCRETION ADVISED),” “The District 220 Policy Committee has a lot on their plate tomorrow,” “Who’s minding Leah and Barry’s campaign finances,” “What 220 voters need to know continued, including our recommendations,” “What 220 voters need to know,” “220 Parents call BS!

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PAC

Early voting will be available to voter starting tomorrow. For locations and times, visit your county’s information at:

To obtain expanded information, visit Cook County, Kane County, Lake County or McHenry County early voting sites.

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madigan-bribery-768x576

A package of anti-corruption bills were introduced in the Illinois Senate: one prohibits lawmakers from using campaign money to pay for legal defense, another fines felonious politicians $100,000 and one takes away their specialty license plates.

A trio of bills that would punish state lawmakers accused of felonies while in office were introduced by state Sen. Andrew Chesney, R-Freeport.

  • Senate Bill 1687: Prohibits General Assembly members from paying lawyers, expert witnesses and investigators through political committees. Lawmakers can currently use political donations to pay for their legal defenses.
  • Senate Bill 2137: Implements a $100,000 fine for legislators convicted of using their General Assembly office to commit a felony.
  • Senate Bill 1662: Strips retired lawmakers or constitutional officers of their specialty license plates if convicted of a felony related to their official duties.

“You shouldn’t use your campaign accounts to defend yourself, you shouldn’t have retired plates if you’re convicted of corruption, and if you do wrong stuff, you should pay a heavy fine,” Chesney said.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has used more than $8.5 million in campaign funds to pay for his legal defense against federal corruption charges.

Madigan is still collecting a state pension.

Read more here.

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Candidate Forum

Barrington CUSD 220 PTO Presidents’ Council

The District 220 PTO Presidents’ Council extends an invitation to the Barrington 220 community of voters to attend its School Board Candidates’ Forum on Wednesday, March 1 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Barrington Area Library*.

There are seven school board candidates running for three seats on the Board of Education in the upcoming April 4 election. The seven candidates include:

  • Barry Altshuler (Current board member)
  • Leah Collister-Lazzari (Current board member)
  • Katey Baldassano
  • Diana L. Clopton
  • Nelda Munoz
  • Leonard Munson
  • Matt Sheriff

The event will start with a short period of introduction by each candidate, followed by a question and answer session using questions from the audience and questions submitted in advance online.

The forum is open to all District 220 voters and is free of charge. All interested community members are encouraged to attend. Seating is limited to 120 attendees and will be first come first serve.

Questions may be submitted here.

*Barrington Area Library provides meeting room space as a community service. The Barrington Area Library neither sponsors nor endorses this event nor the presenting individuals or organizations.

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Susan M

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza

Illinois’ credit rating got upgraded from worst in the country to tying with New Jersey for the worst.

For a seventh time in two years, Illinois’ credit rating was increased Thursday with the announcement from S&P Global ratings.

“The upgrade on the [general obligation] debt reflects our view that Illinois’ commitment and execution to strengthen its budgetary flexibility and stability, supported by accelerating repayment of its liabilities, rebuilding its budget stabilization fund to decade highs; and a slowing of statutory pension funding growth, will likely continue during the outlook period,” S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Geoff Buswick said.

Illinois’ outstanding $27.7 billion GO bonds were upgraded from BBB+, the worst in the country, to A-, tied with New Jersey GO bond ratings. The last time Illinois had the A- rating was in December 2015.

The state’s appropriation-backed debt saw an increase Thursday from BBB to BBB+ and moral obligation debt from B+ to BBB-. Build Illinois bonds, paid for with gas tax and other fee increases, goes from A- to A.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other statehouse Democrats heralded the news as a sign of their budget management.

“Our continued fiscal responsibility and smart budgeting will save Illinois taxpayers millions from adjusted interest rates, and my partners in the General Assembly and I look forward to building on that success,” Pritzker said in a statement.

More here.

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220 Admin

The District 220 Board of Education meets this evening at 7:00 PM at the District Administration Center, 515 W. Main Street. Topics on their agenda include the “Second Reading of Board Policy”:

  • 5:250 Leaves of Absence
  • 5:280 Duties and Qualifications
  • 5:330 Sick Days, Vacation, Holidays, and Leaves
  • 6:15 School Accountability
  • 6:250 Community Resource Persons and Volunteers
  • 6:255 Assemblies and Ceremonies
  • 6:260 Complaints About Curriculum, Instructional Materials, and Programs
  • 6:310 High School Credit for Non-District Experiences; Course Substitutions; Re-Entering Students
  • 6:50 Health and Wellness
  • 7:50 School Admissions and Student Transfers To and From Non-District Schools
  • 7:100 Health, Eye, and Dental Examinations; Immunizations, and Exclusion of Students
  • 7:180 Prevention of and Response to Bullying, Intimidation, and Harassment
  • 7:285 Anaphylaxis Prevention, Response, and Management Program
  • 7:290 Suicide and Depression Awareness and Prevention
  • 8:110 Public Suggestions and Concerns

Also on the agenda is, “Consideration to approve the terms of Dr. Hunt’s resignation as set forth in his resignation letter.”

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

Related:The District 220 Policy Committee has a lot on their plate tomorrow,” “Who’s minding Leah and Barry’s campaign finances,” “What 220 voters need to know continued, including our recommendations,” “What 220 voters need to know,” “220 Parents call BS!

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