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Archive for the ‘Barrington Hills Park District’ Category

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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Wisdom

Your fences need to be pig-tight, bull-strong, and horse-high.
Borrowing trouble from the future doesn’t deplete the supply.
Keep skunks, bankers, and politicians at a distance.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stumps.
Every path has a few puddles and bumps.
Hornets and wasps are faster than a John Deere tractor.
Silence is sometimes the best answer.

Words that sink in are whispered, not screeched.
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
If you don’t take the time to do it right, you’ll have to find the time to do it twice.
The time you waste always has a price.

Don’t corner something that is meaner than you, and don’t pick a fight with an old man.
If he’s too old, killing you may be all he can do.
It don’t take a very big person to carry very big grudges.
If you think you are a person of influence, try ordering around someone else’s dog. See if he budges.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.
Always drink upstream from the herd.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to pick up some muck.
Most times, it gets down to common sense, not dumb luck.

Don’t bang your shin on a stool that’s not in your way.
Most of the things people worry about ain’t gonna happen anyway.
Don’t interfere with something that ain’t bothering you none.
Good judgment comes from experience, most often from a bad one.

Don’t judge folks by a relative or two.
Live simply, love generously, care deeply, and speak kindly; the rest is not up to you.
If you’re in a hole, the first thing to do is to stop digging.
Letting the cat out of the bag is a lot easier than putting it back in.

The biggest troublemaker in your life looks at you in the mirror every morning.
Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older, and think back, you’ll get to enjoy it again.
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
If you worry about what people think of you, you’re sure to be worrying a lot.

Source

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RCBH-logo-4-830x455

The Barrington Hills Park District Board will hold their monthly meeting this evening in person and via Zoom at 7:00 PM. Topics on their agenda include:

  • Approval Of The November 2023 Treasurer’s Report
  • Approval Of The November 2023 Closed Session Meeting regarding Staff Wages & Bonuses
  • Tax Levy Ordinance 12-13-2023-01
  • Monitor’s Report & FPD trail pass book, and
  • Rental Requests: Date Approval for Ignite the Night, Sep 21, 2024

A copy of their agenda can be viewed here. Instructions for accessing the meeting remotely can be found here.

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FPDCC Horizon

The Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) presentation of long-term plans for Horizon Farm & Spring Creek scheduled for tomorrow evening has been cancelled.  Before posting news of the cancellation, we’d hoped to announce a new date, however recent news of the Forest Preserves of Cook County General Superintendent stepping down squashed that plan.

Once a new date, time and location is announced, we’ll be sure to post it.

Related:Barrington Hills Park District soliciting recommendations regarding, ‘Future development of Horizon Farm and Spring Creek’

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Arnold Randall

Arnold Randall, the general administrator of the Cook County Forest Preserve District, addresses the audience at the forest preserve’s public meeting in June of 2014 on what should be done with Horizon Farms at Countryside Elementary School. (Daily Herald Staff Photographer)

By Eric Peterson | Daily Herald

Cook County Forest Preserve District General Superintendent Arnold Randall has announced plans to step down next month, ending a distinct and productive 13-year tenure.

He will become the next executive director of the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, whose mission is supporting land conservation, artistic vitality and the regional collections of often overlooked people in the Chicago region and the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

ince Randall’s appointment by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, the forest preserve district has forged an ambitious Next Century Conservation Plan, celebrated its centennial, developed new strategic plans for its trails and habitat restoration, strengthened its partnerships including through the creation of an advisory Conservation and Policy Council, and opened five new campgrounds.

Randall credited Preckwinkle for providing the political will to improve the reputation of all aspects of Cook County government, including ending the practice of making the forest preserves a patronage dumping ground and embracing its original mission of land conservation and investment in equitable accessibility to natural areas.

About 15% of today’s trail system in the county’s preserves has been built during Randall’s tenure.

“The trails get millions and millions of visitors,” he said. “We recognized that improving that trail system was very important. … We looked at places where there had been a historic lack of investment.”

Read more here.

Related: Forest Preserves of Cook County Fully Opens Northwest Cook County’s Horizon Farm Preserve

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Union Label

(Scott Stantis/ For the Chicago Tribune)

By The Editorial Board Wall Street Journal

The alliance between Democrats and public unions is a dominant feature of modern politics, and the mutual love is growing. That’s the message of a new report by the Commonwealth Foundation, which dug into how government unions fund politics through direct campaign spending and political action committees.

The four largest government unions are the National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (Afscme). In the 2021-2022 election cycle, they spent more than $708 million combined on politics. Since 2012 union spending on federal elections has nearly tripled.

Democrats and their causes receive 95.7% of the cash from unions’ political action committees. In 2021-22 the Big Four gave more than $29 million to the SEIU’s United We Can super PAC and the NEA Advocacy Fund super PAC which support federal candidates for office. Another $16 million went to wealthy climate crusader Tom Steyer’s leftwing For Our Future Pac. Some $3 million went to Fair Share Massachusetts which supports a state wealth tax.

Big money also flows at the state level, where public unions all but run many state capitals. In 2021-2022, the four largest government unions spent $27.9 million in Illinois, $24.9 million in California, $13.2 million in Minnesota and $12.1 million in Pennsylvania.

Unions accounted for almost 83% of current Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s campaign funds, and teacher’s unions were the lion’s share. They are getting their money’s worth. Mr. Johnson will be renegotiating the Chicago Teachers Union contract in 2024 and unions will be on both sides of the negotiating table.

Illinois Speaker of the House Emanuel “Chris” Welch received $1.25 million in union PAC cash in the 2021-22 election cycle, more than any other state legislator in the country. Mr. Welch recently let an Illinois school-choice program for low-income children die because it was opposed by the unions.

Read more here.

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RCBH

“RCBH BRIDLE PATH ETIQUETTE AND RULES

The bridle paths include both public trails on county-owned property and private trails in Barrington Hills. Over 150 miles of these paths are maintained by the Riding Club of Barrington Hills. Everyone with a Forest Preserve of Cook County tag for their horse and license for the rider can take advantage of the public trails maintained by the Riding Club of Barrington Hills in the Cook County Forest Preserves. Trails located outside the Forest Preserve are for the exclusive use of Riding Club of Barrington Hills members and guests by stipulation of the land owners where these trails are located.

RCBH TRAILS ON PRIVATE PROPERTY – When the Riding Club of Barrington Hills (RCBH) was established in 1937, an informal agreement was entered into by neighbors, whereby mounted members of the Riding Club could traverse the landowners’ properties on horseback. Almost 80 years later, that relationship still exists. Our relationship, by its very nature, is a delicate one, we therefore ask you to follow the bridle path rules, to ensure that our system will continue to be viable.

  1. Riders must be current RCBH members in order to ride on the private trails, however RCBH members may bring a guest when they ride. The host club member is responsible for ensuring that their guest has signed the required waiver form before riding. Waiver can be found in the directory and is also available on our website https://ridingclubofbarringtonhills.org/online-waiver/
  2. Follow the RCBH bridle path markers, always stay on marked trail, be respectful of the trails and don’t ride if conditions would cause damage or leave hoof prints on the lawn. Don’t litter and where possible consider picking up manure after you ride.
  3. Current RCBH bridle tags must be displayed at all times when riding on private trails.
  4. Private bridle trails are for mounted riders only, no dogs, motorized vehicles or pedestrians allowed.
  5. If you open a gate, close it.
  6. Private trails are walk only.

RCBH TRAILS ON PUBLIC PROPERTY

The Riding Club of Barrington Hills maintains 65+ miles of trails within the Forest Preserve District of Cook County (FPDCC) properties. These are multi-use trails. Riding on FPDCC trails is by permit only: to obtain these permits, please go to their website at https://fpdcc.com/things-to-do/equestrian/. Rules for riding in the FPDCC are available on their website at https://fpdcc.com/about/rules-regulations/.

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO CLEAR A PATH YOURSELF, PLEASE REPORT BLOCKED TRAIL TO THE TRAIL REP IN YOUR SECTOR.

TRAIL REPS ARE LISTED IN THE RCBH DIRECTORY AND ON OUR WEBSITE UNDER TRAILS.

The Sponsor certifies that the Applicant has adequate knowledge of the RCBH Bridle Path Rules to join the Club by entering information below and clicking [Submit]

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madigan

By Glenn Minnis | The Center Square contributor

For the fourth year in a row, Chicago ranks as the country’s most corrupt city. Illinois stands as the third-most corrupt state in a University of Illinois at Chicago study.

To arrive at the findings, researchers analyzed 2021 public corruption statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice. In all, there were 32 public corruption convictions in the Northern District of Illinois that includes Chicago in 2021, nearly a 33% increase from the 22 convictions that were reported the year before.

State Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, isn’t surprised.

“It’s an awful shame, and goes to show you what happens when we have one party controlling everything,” Ugaste told The Center Square. “It gets to people, and they think they can do as they please instead of doing what is required of them under the law and required of them ethically.”

A solution to the long-running problem doesn’t have to be that difficult, Ugaste said.

We have extremely weak ethics laws,” he added. “If we fixed those within the House and Senate and gave our Legislative Inspector General more authority, I think it would go a long way in helping all of it. On the Republican side, we file bills every year to strengthen the legislative inspector general and the ethics laws but they never get hearings.”

Read more here.

(Very) Related: Better (decades) late than never

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Zero

From the BraveHearts Facebook page:

“Our Annual Freedom Trail ride is next Thursday, November 9th, welcoming Veterans to participate as we honor your service ahead of Veterans Day weekend. If you are a Veteran and interested in joining the ride, but haven’t registered yet, please contact Ben at 815-943-8226 as soon as possible to review participation requirements. We look forward to another great day in the saddle

If interested in sponsoring our ride, please click this link for sponsorship levels and details. Thank you for considering such an impactful gift.”

Per the Barrington Hills Park District:

“BraveHearts mission is to bring hope, joy and unlimited possibilities through the healing power of the horse.

Every year the Park District hosts the veterans for lunch at the Riding Center and a trail ride on the beautiful trails of Spring Creek Forest Preserves.

The trail ride is on Nov. 9th.”

The District office number is 847-783-677.

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RCBH-logo-4-830x455The Barrington Hills Park District Board will hold their monthly meeting this evening in person and via Zoom at 7:00 PM. The only item of note on their agenda is a, “Truth in Taxation Ordinance,” and, of course, no further information is provided. Truth without transparency is worthless.

A copy of their agenda can be viewed here. Instructions for accessing the meeting remotely can be found here.

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