The 2022 Barrington High School Homecoming parade is tomorrow morning:
“The BHS Homecoming Parade gets underway at 10:15am on Saturday, Oct. 1. All participants will leave from the METRA Station and march down Main Street to BHS. Alumni floats line up behind all the high school student entries, with the exception of the 50th Reunion Class which will take their place in the front of the parade.”
Since resurfacing construction continues along the most of the parade route, trust us when we write there is little that cannot be accomplished in downtown Barrington before 9:00 AM. So, unless you’re participating in or viewing the festivities, we strongly suggest getting an early start tomorrow.
A list of 2022 Homecoming activities can be found here. Enjoy.
Did you know that the Village has an Ethics Commission? The independent commission adds to the overall transparency of our government and serves to investigate complaints alleging violations of the Ethics Chapter of the Village Code. We are proud to report that this 3-member Commission has never once had to meet regarding a violation!”
As previously chronicled in this publication, if one searches ourVillage Code, keying in the word “ethics,” the result reads, “No Matches Found.”
Our Village needs an Ethics Commission. How else could parties involved in complaints present their respective cases to determine if ethics violations did, or did not, occur? Listed below are typical practices that might arise in our Village, and in our opinion, may warrant investigation, understanding that there are no implications as to guilt or innocence of any on the list:
Should expensive legal battles, possibly precipitated by actions of elected and appointed Village officials, be investigated?
Should the hiring and retention of Village paid staff positions by elected family members be investigated?
Should contracts with vendors who maintain personal and professional relationships with elected Village officials and their families be investigated?
Should the solicitations of funds and hand selection of vendors by family members or close friends of elected Village officials, absent oversight by appointed Village committees, be investigated?
For these and other reasons, our Village needs to appoint an Ethics Commission to act as ombudsmen, when any question of potential maladministration or ethics violations is considered or occurs.
Candidates for this proposed commission could come from existing appointed Village bodies, ones whose objectivity would be unquestioned.
The perfect candidates for this roll are the incumbent members of the Board of Heath. They are highly qualified, underutilized, and would prove to be an effective force in maintaining ethical governance of the Village of Barrington Hills.
Construction crews continue working on a new Hart Road bridge over Flint Creek in Barrington. The road remains closed until early November. (Paul Valade | Staff Photographer)
Crews are making progress on the Hart Road bridge project in Barrington.
The road was shut down last June between Lake Cook Road and Northwest Highway. The Lake County Division of Transportation $3 million project consists of removing three aging metal culverts and replacing those with a bridge over Flint Creek.
An 8-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian path will also be added to the structure.
There is currently no through traffic on Hart Road from Northwest Highway to Lake-Cook Road (Main Street), though local traffic will be allowed on either side of the creek.
The closure impacts nearby Barrington High School. Access to the school and the athletic complex can be made from Lake Cook Road.
According to Lake County’s Sept. 12 update, current work includes pouring concrete on the south approach slab, north side excavating and grading the approach footing and building the road base on the south side of the bridge. Wetland plants were also planted along the creek.
“Monday (9/26) the Contractor will complete milling work on Main Street adjacent to the CN railroad tracks under the supervision of CN railroad flaggers and will begin paving operations at one or both of these railroad crossings, which will continue on Tuesday (9/27).
There will be delays associated with lane closures in this area during this work. The Contractor’s flaggers will maintain two-way traffic. Manhole grade adjustments will also be underway on Main Street throughout the Village during the rest of the week and into the beginning of next week.
Be alert when driving or walking in the construction zone, as this work will raise the structures approximately 2″ above the pavement so they are at the final roadway surface elevation. The placement of the final asphalt surface is anticipated to begin at Ela Road and move westbound beginning early next week.”
“All day Thursday (9/22) and Friday (9/23) IDOT’s Contractor will be completing milling and paving work on Main Street adjacent to the Metra railroad tracks under the supervision of Union Pacific railroad flaggers. There will be delays associated with lane closures in this area during this work.
The Contractor’s flaggers will maintain two-way traffic. Manhole grade adjustments will also be underway on Main Street throughout the Village during the rest of the week and into the beginning of next week. Be alert when driving or walking in the construction zone, as this work will raise the structures approximately 2″ above the pavement so they are at the final roadway surface elevation. The placement of the final asphalt surface is anticipated to begin at Ela Road and move westbound beginning early next week.
There will continue to be delays associated with lane closures during paving operations. Should the weather continue to cooperate, the placement of a second layer of asphalt throughout the Village will likely be complete during the first week of October, leaving only roadway striping work remaining.
We understand the frustration with this construction and the associated traffic delays and congestion. While this is not a Village project, we will continue to share updates from IDOT and are looking forward to the completion of this significant improvement in our community!”
Tuesday morning (9/20) at 7:00 AM, IDOT’s Contractor will begin paving work on Main Street just east of Route 59 (Hough Street) and will move westbound toward Hart Road. The contractor anticipates remaining east of the CN tracks through the end of the morning school drop-off and then will complete asphalt work at the Hart and Main intersection ahead of school letting out in the afternoon.
While this moving operation will still impact traffic, the Village appreciates the Contractor’s assistance in mitigating impacts directly at the Hart Road and Main Street intersection during heavy traffic times. There will continue to be delays associated with lane closures during paving operations. Should weather continue to cooperate, the placement of a second layer of asphalt throughout the Village will begin this week and could be completed as early as the end of this month, leaving only roadway striping work remaining.
We understand the frustration with this construction and the associated traffic delays and congestion. While this is not a Village project, we will continue to share updates from IDOT and are looking forward to the completion of this significant improvement in our community!”
Monday morning (9/19) at 7:00 AM, IDOT’s Contractor will begin paving work adjacent to 515 W. Main Street (School District Administrative Offices) and will move eastbound as they pave the south (eastbound) lane of Main Street. Pavement to the west of this location will be coordinated during off-peak hours so as to limit impacts to the Main Street and Hart Road intersection during school drop off/pick up hours.
While this moving operation will still impact traffic, the Village appreciates the Contractor’s assistance in mitigating impacts directly at the Hart Road and Main Street intersection during heavy traffic times. There will continue to be delays associated with lane closures during paving operations. Should weather continue to cooperate, this work and the placement of a second layer of asphalt throughout the Village could be completed as early as the end of this month, leaving only roadway striping work remaining.
We understand the frustration with this construction and the associated traffic delays and congestion. While this is not a Village project, we will continue to share updates from IDOT and are looking forward to the completion of this significant improvement in our community!”
“This month, ComEd intends to perform tree trimming along Route 14 between Route 59/Hough Street and 20th Street, as shown in green on the map in slide two.
These vegetation management activities are a key component of ComEd’s maintenance program to ensure system electrical reliability, as vegetation contact with ComEd equipment is a leading cause of outages.
ComEd has notified any affected customers and property owners of the work. Qualified line-clearance workers contracted by ComEd will be performing the tree pruning work. Supervisors and General Foremen will be in close contact with the crews, ensuring that the work is performed properly.
If you have questions, please contact ComEd at 1-800-Edison-1.”
The District 220 Board of Education meets this evening at 7:00 PM at the District Administration Center, 515 W. Main Street. Some of the topics on their agenda include:
Consideration to Approve TRS SSP Employer Participation Agreement
“Sounds like a nuisance.” – The Daily Herald’s description of District 220’s traffic plan. Officials are so confused they’ve misspelled traffic signs.
“As you are aware, the Lake County Department of Transportation is replacing the bridge over Flint Creek on Hart Road. The bridge replacement and road closure is scheduled through November. To help mitigate traffic impacts from the road closure, representatives and traffic engineers from the Lake County Department of Transportation, the Village of Barrington, and Barrington 220 have worked in collaboration to improve traffic flow on and around the Barrington High School Campus. Although these efforts will help alleviate congestion at arrival and dismissal time, improved traffic flow can only go so far toward mitigating congestion.
To that end, Barrington 220 and the Village of Barrington have been consulting with Barrington Transportation to help reduce congestion near BHS. We ask that all students and families consider walking, biking, or riding the bus if possible. In fact, students who consistently walk, bike, or ride the bus on and off of campus will be entered into a drawing to win BHS spirit wear, gift cards for Airpods, Apple Watches and more.
Other ways to reduce congestion could be to utilize these remote options:
1) Purchase a parking permit for one of 3 locations at a cost of $100:
The Barrington – 540 W Northwest HWY (125 spots available) (MAP)
The Barrington Metra Station – 201 South Spring Street (125 spots available) (MAP)
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church – 720 Dundee Ave (100 spots available) (MAP)
2) Sign-up for dropping off students at a remote location (FREE)
The Barrington – 540 W Northwest HWY
The Barrington Metra Station – 201 South Spring Street
Both options include a shuttle bus from the location to BHS, leaving remote locations at 8AM and a shuttle bus from BHS to the remote locations at the end of the school day, arriving at the remote locations at approximately 3:50PM. Parking permit and remote drop-off is for August 22 to November 4.
Please note, the Barrington Police department will be patrolling the additional parking areas, and violators will be ticketed and potentially towed at the owner’s expense. In addition, please be aware that parking in the remote lots is at your own risk. In the case of vandalism or damage occurring to their vehicle, the owner of the vehicle is responsible for remediating through their personal auto insurance, or out of pocket.
Please note that during the school year the main entrance to BHS off of Main Street will only be accessible to staff, buses and Build 220 construction traffic. All students and parents must use the west parking lot (off Hart Road) to access the building. The west parking lot is reserved for senior parking only.”
“All day Thursday (9/22) and Friday (9/23) IDOT’s Contractor will be completing milling and paving work on Main Street adjacent to the Metra railroad tracks under the supervision of Union Pacific railroad flaggers. There will be delays associated with lane closures in this area during this work.
From the Village of Barrington:
