Posted in Agendas, BCFPD, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Jewel-Osco, Open Meetings Act, Overhead, Pension Funding, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Taxes, Transparency, Unions, VBHPD on April 20, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The lease on the BCFPD fire station adjacent to Village Hall is being reviewed according to their agenda. | Courtesy Google maps
The Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District (BCFPD) Board of Trustees meets this evening at 6:30 PM at 22222 N. Pepper Road in Lake Barrington. Topics on their agenda include:
A copy of their agenda can be viewed here.
Posted in Agendas, Algonquin Rd, Animal Welfare, Barrington Hills Park District, Barrington Hills Polo Club, BCFPD, Bicyclists, Big Red, BraveHearts, Commercial Horse Boarding, Countryside Elementary School, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Don't Change Barrington Hills, Ethics, Financial Statements, Fox River Valley Hunt, FPDCC, FRVPC, Horizon Farm, Horse Boarding, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Lighting Ordinance, Mad Cows, Massbach Hounds, Open Meetings Act, Overhead, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club Commission, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Save 5 Acres, Simple Minds, SOS Party, Taxes, The Other Half, Transparency, Unions, Well Water Quality, Your Barrington Hills on April 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The Barrington Hills Park District Board/Riding Cult of Barrington Hills will hold their monthly meeting this evening in person and via Zoom at 6:00 PM. Some topics on their agenda include:
A copy of their agenda can be viewed here. Instructions for accessing the meeting remotely can be found here.
Posted in 220, Agendas, Barrington Education Association, Big Brother, Board of Education, Deception, District 220 referendum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Ethics, His Master's Voice, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Look For The Union Label, Overhead, Pension Funding, Politics, Pritzker’s Rules of Order, Property Taxes, Real Estate, School Districts, South Barrington, Taxes, Traffic, Transparency, Unions, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on April 6, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The District 220 Board of Education meets Tuesday evening at 6:00 PM at the District Administration Center, 515 W. Main Street. Items on their agenda include:
A copy of the agenda can be viewed here. The meeting will be live streamed on the district YouTube channel.
*Interesting to see NBC Chicago requests.
Posted in AI, Audio Recordings, Clown Car, Comprehensive Plan, Crime, Data Center, Deception, Dumb and Dumber, ePacket Agendas, Ethics, FOIA, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Disconnection, Land Use, Lennie, New Normal?, Newsletter, OMA, One Barrington Hills, OP/Ed, Open Meetings Act, Perjury, Plan Commission, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Simple Minds, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Transcripts, Transparency, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Government, Village President, Zoning Board on April 3, 2026| 3 Comments »
Village of Barrington Hills board members (l-r) JC Clarke, Laura AB Ekstrom, Brian Cecola, Marsha McClary, David Riff and Jessica Hoffmann. Not pictured: Thomas Strauss.
Our Village Board of Trustees met Monday evening. This marked the third meeting since their December 2025 meeting when residents were blindsided to learn, “110 Acre AI data center campus pitched to Village Board.”
The first speaker Monday night expressed their continued dissatisfaction with the Board as follows:
“All right. Good evening. My name is Aaron Becker. By now you probably know who I am.
I’m speaking tonight in regards to the Village attorney’s letter in response to my questions from January 27th,and I’ve got a couple other comments as well.
I really appreciate the Village responding in righting to my quick response. However, I ask respectfully and directly why several of my explicit questions and requests were not answered at all. They were just omitted, so… .
The response explains why it believes its past actions were lawful, but it does not confirm whether any of the safeguards I requested would be implemented. My question tonight is simple: was the omission intentional?
In the Village Summer 2021 newsletter, residents were told by Trustee Ekstrom, she’s not here today, and I’m going to quote her, ‘Most residents know that they can attend the Village Board meetings, many may not realize that committee and commission meetings are also open to the public. Our Village is a community above all else and having input from our residents reflected in our decision making is not only welcome but encouraged.’
I’ll say this much, I genuinely appreciate that perspective and I believe her. With that in mind, here’s some feedback:
Please confirm that all off-record communications with Brennan Development Group will stop.
Please stop project specific merit discussions absent of formal filings.
Please confirm that unsupported tax claims will not be repeated by the Village without substantiation.
Please confirm that records will be preserved.
Please do everything in your power to maintain true independence of the Plan Commission.
I’d also like the Board to reflect on some of the statements Board of Trustees members have made in the past. In the same Summer 2021 newsletter, residents were told by Trustee Strauss that quote, ‘We live in a special community, and the Board is committed to maintaining our heritage.’
And Trustee Riff said, ‘I would like to make certain that we remain focused on the budget, protect our residential zoning rights (or rather zoning laws), and ensure that our community remains safe and secure for all residents.’
So those are strong words. And they matter. So I’ll ask each of you as Trustee members, do you believe that based on all of the emails we have now seen and read that you have honored those commitments? That you are protecting our residential zoning rights. And that you are maintaining our heritage as a Village.
I’ll be honest, I don’t. I read all the emails. I don’t believe it.
You have to go to bed at night. You have to look yourself in the mirror and say that you believe you’ve protected the residential zoning rights with your actions and your words.
My wife spoke last month about actions and words and holding people accountable when their actions and words don’t align. And that’s what we’re here doing asking of our leaders for continuity between their actions and their words.
That’s all I’m asking. When you say you’re going to do something, follow through and do it. Please.
So, to summarize, respond to the five requests I had in the letter either acknowledging you made a mistake and how you’re going to fix it, or that you made no mistake.
Either way we deserve clarity we deserve responses to those.
That’s my comment. Thank you very much.”
The audio recordings from the March 30, 2026, Board of Trustees meeting can be found here.
Related: “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Follow-up),” “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Part 3),” “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Part 2),” “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Part 1),” “110 Acre AI data center campus pitched to Village Board”
Posted in Aunt Blabby, Deception, ePacket Agendas, Ethics, One Barrington Hills, Open Meetings Act, Overhead, Property Taxes, Road construction, Roads & Bridges Committee, Robert’s Rules of Order, Simple Minds, Taxes, Transparency, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, WTF on March 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The Village Roads & Bridges Committee meets this afternoon at 4 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
A copy of the full posted agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Posted in 220, Agendas, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Clown Car, Deception, District 220 referendum, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Education, Elections, Ethics, His Master's Voice, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Elections, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Look For The Union Label, Open Meetings Act, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, School Districts, South Barrington, Taxes, Transparency, Unions, Video Streaming, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on March 16, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The District 220 Board of Education meet at a special time this evening at 6:00 PM at the District Administration Center, 515 W. Main Street. Items on their agenda include:
A copy of the agenda can be viewed here. The meeting will be live streamed on the district YouTube channel.
Related: “Candidate Erin Chan Ding’s opinion on Data Centers,” “Barrington area Democrats condemn Chan Ding mailers,” “The D220 Board of Ed gets another ‘F’ in accountability & transparency,” “School district’s parking plan defies logic,” “Zoning change defies village policy,” “The Real Issue in Barrington 220 Isn’t Parking or Levies — It’s Leadership Culture,” “Change.org Petition: ‘For the Resignation of Erin Chan Ding ~ D220 Resources are Not for Political Campaigns’,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS – Part 2,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS,” “Erin Chan Ding: The violations just keep piling up…,” “Erin Chan Ding starring in another episode of, ‘Rules For Thee But NOT For Me…’,” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency (Updated),” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency,” “yDing Politicking on School District Property,” “Dual School Board and State Rep Positions Legally Incompatible,” “D220 Abuses Taxpayer Funds in favor of Partisan Campaign,” “Ding In Her Own Words – CONFLICTED!,” “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 Agendas, AI, Audio Recordings, Clown Car, Data Center, Deception, Dumb and Dumber, Ethics, FOIA, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Disconnection, Minutes, Newsletter, OMA, One Barrington Hills, OP/Ed, Open Meetings Act, Plan Commission, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Simple Minds, Taxes, Topics Of Interest, Transcripts, Transparency, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Government, Village President, Zoning Board on March 13, 2026| Leave a Comment »
There was no mention of the data center discussions which began in October in President Cecola’s quarterly Village Newsletter distributed last week. So much for transparency.
Last week we published a series of editorials to enlighten residents on the, “110 Acre AI data center campus pitched to Village Board.” We referenced Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) records we obtained, and several people have asked if they might obtain a copy.
Those records we were provided, edited only to eliminate redundancy such as multiple copies of the “Data Center Overview,” can be found here.
Related: “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Part 3),” “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Part 2),” “Do you trust our Board of Trustees? We don’t. But you decide for yourself once we have finished. (Part 1),” “7 things to know about Illinois data centers,” “Data Center group concerned over pause,” “110 Acre AI data center campus pitched to Village Board”
Posted in 220, BACOG, Board of Education, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Elections, League of Women Voters, Look For The Union Label, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, School Districts, South Barrington, Springfield, Taxes, Transparency, Unions, Well Water Quality, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on March 11, 2026| 1 Comment »
Quote of Erin Chan Ding from League of Women Voters debate with Maria Peterson on February 14, 2026:
“Data Centers right now are obviously a huge issue, an electric issue, no pun intended, and we’ve heard communities speak out against their implementation because of some of the environmental costs. At the same time… you know, we are— our public, our children, they are already hooked on AI and artificial intelligence.
Data centers are going to be built, and if they’re not going to be built in Illinois, they’re going to be built in other states… Data Centers … are a huge water suck, but this problem has begun to be addressed through the use of gray water.
Data Centers provide huge property tax relief, potentially. So, I think we need to consider that as well… I’ve been endorsed by the AFL-CIO, which includes ironworkers and operating engineers, and these are hundreds of thousands of jobs…” ~ Erin Chan Ding
How many Data Centers is Erin Chan Ding proposing to build in our community if she thinks they would be providing “hundreds of thousands of jobs” for AFL – CIO workers?
Why is Erin Chan Ding willing to sell out our community for the “potential” for property tax relief when it is apparent that Pritzker, who Chan Ding is banking on getting campaign donations from, initiatives provide sales and use tax exemptions for Data Centers for up to 20 years?
How will she protect our aquifers? And why is she willing to destroy our tranquil environment for political gain?
We’ll pass on voting for Chan Ding and suggest you do the same!
Related: “Barrington area Democrats condemn Chan Ding mailers,” “The D220 Board of Ed gets another ‘F’ in accountability & transparency,” “School district’s parking plan defies logic,” “Zoning change defies village policy,” “District 220 Public Hearing December 16th re: ‘proposal to sell bonds of the District in an amount not to exceed $5,400,000’,” “The Real Issue in Barrington 220 Isn’t Parking or Levies — It’s Leadership Culture,” “Change.org Petition: ‘For the Resignation of Erin Chan Ding ~ D220 Resources are Not for Political Campaigns’,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS – Part 2,” “BOARD OF ED VOTES, MEMBER CHAN DING MADE FLAGRANT POLICY VIOLATIONS,” “Erin Chan Ding: The violations just keep piling up…,” “Erin Chan Ding starring in another episode of, ‘Rules For Thee But NOT For Me…’,” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency (Updated),” “District 220’s Lack of Transparency,” “Ding Politicking on School District Property,” “Dual School Board and State Rep Positions Legally Incompatible,” “D220 Abuses Taxpayer Funds in favor of Partisan Campaign,” “Ding In Her Own Words – CONFLICTED!,” “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 220, Daily Herald, EJ&E/Canadian National, Land Use, METRA, Real Estate, School Districts, Transparency, U.S. Route 14 Underpass on March 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Rendering of The Residences at Liberty Commons | Courtesy of the Barrington Development Co.
By Steve Zalusky | Daily Herald
Developers aiming to build a $100 million residential complex at Barrington’s Golden Triangle addressed village trustees’ concerns about traffic, while also emphasizing the need to fast-track the project.
The proposal for The Residences at Liberty Commons calls for 16 studio apartments, 119 one-bedroom, 66 two-bedroom, six three-bedroom and 16 townhouses (223 units).
Michael Fleck and Nick Marrocco of the Barrington Development Co. told trustees Monday they will have their traffic consultant, KLOA, conduct a full traffic study of the area, which is already clogged with traffic.
“I think our interests are definitely aligned here,” Fleck said. “We want to make sure that the development is good for Barrington, good for the residents and no further burden.”
Fleck said the overall conclusion of an initial study is the development, bounded by Liberty, Hough and the railroad tracks, will have a modest effect on the surrounding street network.
Fleck noted the development’s location is less than a half-mile from the Barrington Metra station.
Article continues here.
Related: “New residential development floated for Barrington’s Golden Triangle”
Posted in Agendas, Algonquin Rd, Animal Welfare, Barrington Hills Park District, Barrington Hills Polo Club, BraveHearts, Commercial Horse Boarding, Cost of Living, Countryside Elementary School, Deception, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Fox River Valley Hunt, FPDCC, FRVPC, HARPS, Horizon Farm, Immigration, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, Lighting Ordinance, Massbach Hounds, Overhead, Politics, Privacy, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club Commission, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Taxes, The Other Half, Transparency, Unions on March 11, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The Barrington Hills Park District Board/Riding Cult of Barrington Hills will hold their monthly meeting this evening in person and via Zoom at 6:00 PM. Some topics on their agenda include:
A copy of their agenda can be viewed here. Instructions for accessing the meeting remotely can be found here.
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