These are the top 100 home sales for McHenry County in 2022, calculated for the 12 months ending Dec. 31, according to BlockShopper.com.
In 2022, there were 5,540 homes sold, with a median home sale price of $275,000 in McHenry County.
More here.
Archive for the ‘Real Estate’ Category
McHenry County had a median home sale price of $275,000 of 5,540 homes in 2022
Posted in County, McHenry, Real Estate on May 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Multiple Lake County hospitals get ‘C’ grade after organization releases hospital safety ratings
Posted in County, Lake, Real Estate, Topics Of Interest on May 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »
In Lake County, “C” grades were given to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan and Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
A newly released report with safety grade ratings for hospitals in the country scored three out of five reviewed Lake County hospitals with a “C” grade.
The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog organization, released its spring 2023 hospital safety grade results earlier this month.
The organization assigns a letter grade to nearly 3,000 U.S. general hospitals based on over 30 measures of patient safety, like how well patients are protected from preventable medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections.
The average risk of three healthcare-associated infections, including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), spiked to a five-year high in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic and remains high, according to the organization.
The safety grades also showed a continued decline in patient experience measures, which are reported by patients and correlated with patient outcomes, the organization said in a statement.
Read more here.
Well THAT didn’t take long, did it?
Posted in Algonquin Rd, Animal Welfare, Barrington Hills Park District, Barrington Hills Polo Club, BOHICA, Building Department, Commercial Horse Boarding, Cook, County, Deception, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Fox River Valley Hunt, FRVPC, Goat Rodeo, Horse Boarding, Land Use, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, Nostalgia, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Unions, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Code, Village Government, Zoning Board on May 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The Daily Herald recently reported, “After 8-year fight, judge says Barrington Hills horse boarding law is constitutional.” We’ve learned before that article was published, another commercial horse boarding related suit was filed in Cook County on April 25th, and it can be found here.
Ordinance 16-22, referred to in the filing, can be found here. Audio recordings of the Trustee’s discussions prior to approving that ordinance can be heard here.
Related: “After 8-year fight, judge says Barrington Hills horse boarding law is constitutional”
West Dundee picks up another closed anchor at Spring Hill Mall
Posted in Politics, Property Taxes, Real Estate on May 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
After agreeing to buy the shuttered Macy’s building at Spring Hill Mall, West Dundee trustees on Monday night voted to purchase the former Sears building.
West Dundee can now check the former Sears store at Spring Hill Mall off its shopping list.
Trustees on Monday unanimously agreed to spend $2 million to buy the shuttered anchor building. The planned purchase is the village’s latest move in an attempt to clear the path for a developer to re-imagine the troubled mall.
“I think it’s a great move,” West Dundee Trustee Thomas Price said. “The mall needs help. … This gives us that much more control.”
“It’s better than waiting until the bitter end,” added Trustee Andy Yuscka.
Spring Hill Mall, which village officials say has a 20% to 25% occupancy rate, is split between West Dundee and Carpentersville. The 192,000-square-foot former Sears building, owned by Transformco, sits on 14 acres in West Dundee.
The decision to buy the former Sears building comes two weeks after village trustees approved spending $1.25 million to buy the former Macy’s building. Sears and Macy’s closed their Spring Hill Mall stores in early 2020.
The village anticipates it will close on both properties within the next 30 to 45 days.
More here.
West Dundee poised to add another mall anchor to its shopping bag
Posted in Politics, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Taxes, Topics Of Interest on May 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »
After agreeing to buy the former Macy’s at Spring Hill Mall, West Dundee trustees are expected to vote Monday on a proposal to acquire the former Sears on the mall property.
West Dundee trustees are returning to Spring Hill Mall for another shopping trip — this time to buy the former Sears building for $2 million.
Trustees on Monday are expected to approve an ordinance authorizing the purchase. The move comes two weeks after trustees voted to buy the former Macy’s at the mall that straddles both West Dundee and Carpentersville.
With the Sears purchase, only two other property owners remain at the mall — Kohl’s and Kohan Retail Investment Group, which owns the former Carson Pirie Scott building and the interior of the mall.
“We do have an interest in the remainder of the mall, and I hope that we can come to a positive resolution with the Kohan group,” West Dundee Village President Chris Nelson said Wednesday.
Nelson declined to say if the village has made an offer on the mall property. However, Carpentersville officials earlier this month said they were made aware that West Dundee had made an offer to buy the it.
A representative for the New York-based Kohan group did not return calls Wednesday.
“I think we still need to have a deeper discussion with Kohan,” Nelson said. “Having the anchors is a critical step, but it’s still short of where we need to be.”
Read more here.
Related: “‘Value is in the land’: West Dundee looks to buy Macy’s spot with eye on redeveloping Spring Hill,” “West Dundee to own part of Spring Hill Mall”
West Dundee to own part of Spring Hill Mall
Posted in Property Taxes, Real Estate, Taxes, Topics Of Interest on May 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »
West Dundee trustees Monday approved the purchase of the former Macy’s store at Spring Hill Mall. The village will pay $1.25 million for the building and the 8.6 acres it sits on.
The village of West Dundee will soon own a piece of Spring Hill Mall.
Trustees Monday unanimously approved an ordinance to purchase the former Macy’s building. The village will pay $1.25 million for the 123,000-square-foot building and the 8.6 acres it sits on at the mall. The village expects to close on the property, owned by Macy’s, in June.
“I think it’s a good decision we’re making,” West Dundee Trustee Andy Yuscka said. “We’re taking an active role in the future of the mall.”
In a news release Thursday, Village President Chris Nelson said one of the hindrances to the mall’s redevelopment is the multiple property owners and various covenants on the property.
“Almost uniformly, each developer with whom we spoke stated that the site has too many complications – too many owners, too many covenants, too many uncertainties,” he said. “The village’s aim is to bring simplicity to the process so reliable developers with established track records will be interested in partnering to reformat the area. Without
municipal intervention, that simply won’t happen.”
Nelson said the village wants redevelopment of the property but does not favor simply filling mall space to fill space. He anticipates that the Macy’s building will eventually be demolished.
More here.
Related: “‘Value is in the land’: West Dundee looks to buy Macy’s spot with eye on redeveloping Spring Hill“
Living in a Frank Lloyd Wright House: 7 Homeowners Share Their Honest Experience
Posted in Real Estate, Resident Spotlights on April 30, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Does living in a Wright home live up to the architect’s lofty reputation? Photo: James Haefner
When I first moved to New York in 2018, my dad drove me straight from Indiana to Brooklyn, making just one stop in between: Fallingwater in Pennsylvania. Arguably Frank Lloyd Wright’s most iconic residential design, I spent most of the tour admiring the cantilevered rooms, listening to the sound of the waterfall below, and wondering what it would be like to live in a home designed by the American architect. Though my experience was confined to a 1.5-hour tour, even in that short period, I felt like something shifted. I could only imagine what his work would inspire when it became part of one’s daily life.
For some people, this is their reality. Every morning and night, Wright’s work shelters and comforts them—and has profound impacts on the ways they view the world. Below, AD speaks with seven homeowners about living in a Frank Lloyd Wright house and how the experience has shaped them.
It took the McArdles two years to restore the Frederick house. Photo: James Caulfield
When Dave McArdle and his wife, Joyce, first met in high school, their dates often consisted of touring Frank Lloyd Wright homes throughout Oak Park and River Forest. Later, when they eventually got married and were looking for a home to start a family in, they learned that Wright’s 1901 Frank Henderson house was for sale in Elmhurst, Illinois. Though it needed a lot of work, it was within the couple’s budget. “During the renovation, we discovered that there was a real need for a formal way that Frank Lloyd Wright homeowners could share their experiences and resources to maintain and restore their homes,” Dave says. “Along with other Wright homeowners, we founded the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy.”
The pair sold the Henderson house after five years and spent the next 20 or so years in a custom home designed by E. Fay Jones (a previous Wright apprentice) in Illinois, before eventually moving to Florida. Then, “One of our real estate colleagues in Illinois contacted us about a Wright home for sale in Barrington Hills, the Fredrick House. Our colleague had heard of rumors of plans to bulldoze it,” Dave says. Sensing another Wright opportunity, the couple bought the home in 2016 and spent two years restoring the dilapidating home.
The exterior of the Frederick house. Photo: James Caulfield
“As lovers of architecture, Joyce and I always get a certain rush of excitement when we tour a great architectural home,” Dave says. “However, actually living in a work of art affects how you see and feel details on a daily level.” The couple say they constantly notice the way Wright played with light and it makes them look deeper at the element even when not in the home. “Since every element of a Wright home is integrated with all other building elements and with its surroundings, we notice other patterns and rhythms in life and are more aware of when things become ‘out of sync,’” Dave adds. However, the pair say that—aside from living surrounded in beauty—they appreciate the community they’ve met of fellow Wright aficionados. “Especially when [we meet] the few remaining original owners who met and worked with Wright. The stories of this creative genius are so fascinating.”
Read more here.
Related: “Local Couple Gets Nod For Wright Home Restoration”
‘Value is in the land’: West Dundee looks to buy Macy’s spot with eye on redeveloping Spring Hill
Posted in Politics, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Taxes, Topics Of Interest on April 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The village of West Dundee is looking to purchase the property that formerly housed Macy’s, here on the left end, at Spring Hill Mall. The hope is to make the space available for redevelopment and help revitalize the area. (Brian Hill | Staff Photographer)
Once a popular regional destination, Spring Hill Mall sits largely vacant.
Four main retailers — Barnes & Noble, Carson Pirie Scott, Macy’s and Sears — have closed in recent years, leaving only a Kohl’s store and Cinemark theater anchoring the enclosed mall. Smaller tenants have fled to the Randall Road corridor. West Dundee officials estimate only about 25% of the mall’s storefronts are filled.
Village trustees hope to find a developer who can reinvent the shopping mall. But officials want to remove some of the roadblocks first.
On Monday, the board is expected to vote to buy the empty Macy’s department store and the 8.6 acres on which it stands for $1.25 million. Officials say the 43-year-old building is obsolete and will likely be demolished.
Read more here.
After 8-year fight, judge says Barrington Hills horse boarding law is constitutional
Posted in Animal Welfare, Barrington Hills Polo Club, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, FRVPC, Land Use, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, Politics, Public Safety, Real Estate, Resident Spotlights, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Save 5 Acres, Unions, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Code, Village President, Your Barrington Hills, Zoning Board on April 28, 2023| 1 Comment »
A Cook County judge has ruled a Barrington Hills ordinance allowing commercial horse boarding at Oakwood Farms and other places to be constitutional, rejecting arguments that conspiracy and corruption were the basis of its adoption. (Daily Herald file photo, 2011)
A Cook County judge has called constitutional a Barrington Hills ordinance permitting commercial horse boarding as a home-occupation business in the historically equestrian-friendly village, rejecting claims of corruption.
The 8-year-old litigation that resulted in a 21-day trial was born of a neighbor dispute that dominated local politics in Barrington Hills for a time about a dozen years ago.
“I believe it vindicates a number of people,” said attorney James Kelly, who represented a party of intervenors in plaintiff Jim Drury’s lawsuit against the village. “I think it was a good decision.”
Drury — who lives next door to Benjamin and Cathleen LeCompte’s Oakwood Farms, where a 60-horse commercial boarding operation existed — argued the facility’s imposition on his residential peace and quiet clearly was forbidden by existing village code regulating home-occupation businesses in 2011.
Drury tried through lawsuits, newspaper advertisements and official testimony to suggest village officials at that time were refusing to acknowledge this and instead were pandering to the Riding Club of Barrington Hills and other equestrian interests.
While Drury conceded the LeComptes had the right to keep 60 of their own horses on the 130-acre property, he said the number of employees and clients that visited his residential neighborhood most days clearly marked Oakwood Farms as a commercial enterprise.
In claiming political motivations in the village, Drury pointed to $5,000 donations LeCompte made to each of the trustee candidates then-Village President Robert Abboud supported in the 2011 election — Joe Messer, Karen Selman and Patty Meroni.
That money was returned to LeCompte when the State Board of Elections determined he had not been properly identified by the candidates as the original source of the funding.
Read more here.
The Illinois exodus continues. New IRS data shows the Prairie State is nation’s 3rd-biggest loser of people and wealth to other states – Wirepoints
Posted in Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Springfield, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Unions on April 27, 2023| Leave a Comment »
A Wirepoints analysis of the Internal Revenue Service’s just-released 2020-2021 taxpayer migration data shows Illinois lost, on net, 105,000 residents to other states in 2020. A total of 166,000 people moved into Illinois from other states in 2020, while 271,000 moved out of Illinois, resulting in that 105,000 net loss. The state ranked third-worst nationally for net resident losses.
The latest IRS state-by-state migration data is based on tax returns filed in 2020 and 2021, covering taxpayers and their dependents who moved from one state to another between 2019 and 2020 (see appendix for changes in our reporting methodology).
Illinois’ tax base also took a hit as a result of those residents leaving, losing a record net $10.9 billion in taxable income (AGI) to other states in 2020 – a new record. That, too, was the third-worst performance in the country.
In all, Illinois lost residents on a net basis to 45 other states in 2020.
The exodus continues
The IRS migration report provides hard, indisputable data on the movement of Americans between states. The department reviews tax returns annually to track when and where tax filers and their dependents move. It also aggregates the ages, income brackets and adjusted gross incomes of filers.
That data shows Illinois continued to be a national outlier in 2020 when it comes to losing people and the money they earn. Only California and New York lost more residents – 332,000 and 262,000, respectively.
Read more here.
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