The Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District (BCFPD) Board of Trustees meets tonight at 6:30 PM at 22222 N. Pepper Road in Lake Barrington. A copy of their agenda can be viewed here.
Archive for the ‘Jewel-Osco’ Category
Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District Board meets tonight
Posted in Agendas, BCFPD, Jewel-Osco, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, SNAFU, Taxes, Transparency on September 21, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District Open House today
Posted in BCFPD, Education, Entertainment, Jewel-Osco on September 19, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Screenshot
Today’s Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District Our Open House promises a day packed with fun, family, and public safety education!
Come check out:
- Live fire demonstrations
- Vehicle extrication
- Inflatable obstacle course
- Mini horses
- Therapy dogs
- Meet our firefighters and explore the engines
…and plenty more!
Bring the whole family and come see what your local firefighters do, up close! We can’t wait to see you there!
Due to the weather forecast, most of the action will happen indoors.
Source: BCFPD Facebook post
Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District Board might be meeting tonight
Posted in Agendas, BCFPD, Elections, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Jewel-Osco, Open Meetings Act, Pension Funding, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Resident Spotlights, Taxes, The New Normal?, Unions, WTF on August 17, 2026| Leave a Comment »
The Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District (BCFPD) Board of Trustees should be meeting tonight at 6:30 PM at 22222 N. Pepper Road in Lake Barrington according to their website which states, “Meetings are held on the 3rd Monday of the month.”
No agenda is posted for the August meeting, and the last published agenda is for June. Furthermore, the last time they published an agenda in advance of their monthly meeting was back in April, so that’s four (4) Open Meetings Act violations (so far) this year.
For more information, the district website can be found here or call 224-848-4800.
Related: “Website posting requirements for local governments in Illinois”
Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District Board meets tonight
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:
- Station 37 (Barrington Hills) Lease Review
- Local Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) (Type IV) Memorandum of Understanding
A copy of their agenda can be viewed here.
Man arrested during bank robbery in Hoffman Estates
Posted in Crime, Jewel-Osco on April 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »
By Andy Koval | WGN9
A man was taken into custody during a bank robbery Wednesday morning in Hoffman Estates.
Police responded to a Huntington Bank branch (in Jewel Osco), located in the 1400 block of Palatine Road, at around 9:15 a.m. 911 callers reported that a man displayed a gun and demanded money from bank employees.
Officers from the Hoffman Estates Police Department and then Inverness Police Department responded within one minute of the dispatch call, according to police.
Officers made entry into the bank and took the man into custody without further incident.
No injuries were reported and the man was transferred into the custody of the FBI.
Article continues here.
In Cook County, 75% of police, fire property taxes go to pensions
Posted in Cook, County, Illinois Policy Institute, Jewel-Osco, Overhead, Pension Funding, Politics, Property Taxes, Taxes, Unions on March 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »
Outside Chicago, only a fourth of municipal property taxes collected this year for police and fire are going to services.
By LyLena Estabine | Illinois Policy Institute
The vast majority of the police and fire levies in last year’s Cook County property tax bills funded pensions, not protection.
The 2024 police and fire levies for cities outside Chicago total $599 million. Just over $450 million of that is for pensions, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
First-installment bills are due April 1. Many in the county may still be recovering from the delayed property tax bills that were due Dec. 15. Some of those bills grew by record-setting amounts.
Since 1996, the amount Cook County municipalities outside Chicago have levied to keep up with police and fire pensions has grown by 416%, while the amount levied for services hasn’t even doubled.
The amount going to fund protection increased by about $2 million in 2024 levies over 2023. The amount for pensions rose $27 million.
Police and firemen deserve generous pensions given the risk in their work. But when those benefits become too generous — as they are in Illinois — they undermine retirement security and reduce the amount of money available for service.
Article continues here.
Editorial: Fix your lousy shopping app, Jewel-Osco!
Posted in BCFPD, FUBAR, Jewel-Osco on February 26, 2026| 1 Comment »
Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune
By The Editorial Board | Chicago Tribune
In the annals of global problems, a supermarket shopping app sounds like small potatoes. But like much in life, the seemingly trivial bespeaks of issues of weightier import. In this particular case, it involves whether anyone without a smartphone should be paying higher prices than one clutching one in their hands as they push their cart.
That’s how it goes with the Jewel-Osco shopping app that requires you to digitally “clip” coupons to get the store’s best deals on (as we write) such items as Chips Ahoy!, Samyang noodles, Garrett popcorn and Mary Kitchen corned beef hash.
Even Simply Orange juice. Not simply priced.
No phone, higher cost for you.
Jewel’s competitors do it differently: Whole Foods has Amazon Prime discounts, but all you have to do is enter your phone number at check out. Costco, Trader Joe’s and Aldi don’t traffic in clippery and give everyone the same price. At Jewel-Osco, you have to go item by item.
From Jewel’s point of view, this merely is a digital updating of the coupons people still can clip in this and other newspapers. They’re part of what economists call price discrimination. Jewel wants its rich, busy customers who can’t be bothered to “clip” things to pay more while also snagging those who are more price sensitive and willing to invest the time in getting a deal. These days, some form of variable pricing is everywhere, from airlines to online promo codes.
Editorial continues here.
Cook County property taxes funding pensions more than service
Posted in BCFPD, Cook, County, Illinois Policy Institute, Jewel-Osco, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Springfield, Taxes, Unions on December 18, 2025| 1 Comment »
Cook County homeowners face rising property taxes. Three-fourths of that money is going to police and fire pensions instead of services.
By LyLena Estabine | Illinois Policy Institute
Property tax bills (were) due Dec. 15th, and Cook County homeowners are facing tax bills that have grown 16%.
With more money being collected, it makes sense residents would expect better services from the public safety institutions funded by their tax dollars, such as police and fire departments. But Illinois Department of Revenue data from 2023 shows 74% of the money for these entities is going to fund pensions, with little left for public safety.
Cook County weighed down by police, fire pensions
Municipal police and fire department property tax levies for Cook County, 1996-2023, adjusted for inflation and excluding Chicago
Since 1996, the amount of money municipalities in Cook County outside of Chicago have levied to keep up with police and fire pensions has grown nearly five times. The amount levied to keep up services has not even doubled.
Police and firemen receive generous pensions, and rightly so given the dangerous nature of their work. When those benefits become overpromised – as they have become in Illinois – they undermine retirement security and reduce the amount of money available for service.
More here.
Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District Board meets Monday
Posted in Agendas, BCFPD, Jewel-Osco, Pension Funding, Politics, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Taxes, Unions on December 14, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District (BCFPD) Board of Trustees meets tomorrow at 6:30 PM at 22222 N. Pepper Road in Lake Barrington. Topics on their agenda include:
- 2025 Tax Levy Ordinance
- Consent Agenda
- Public Comment Policy
A copy of their agenda can be viewed here.
Residents left homeless after kitchen fire causes damage to house in Barrington Hills
Posted in BCFPD, Jewel-Osco, VBHPD on December 5, 2025| Leave a Comment »
Approximately nine fire departments were called after a fire broke out at a house in the 100 block of Old Sutton Road in Barrington Hills, leaving the residents displaced Tuesday evening. | Photo: Nick Rusin
By Sam Borcia | Lake & McHenry County Scanner
Numerous fire departments were called to a fire that left a house uninhabitable and displaced the residents in Barrington Hills Tuesday evening, fire officials said.
The Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District responded around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to the 100 block of Old Sutton Road in Barrington Hills for a report of a structure fire.
Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District Chief Scott Motisi said fire crews arrived and found a small single-story residence with smoke showing from the front door.
Approximately nine fire departments were called after a fire broke out at a house in the 100 block of Old Sutton Road in Barrington Hills, leaving the residents displaced Tuesday evening. | Photo: Nick Rusin
A further investigation showed active fire on the first floor of the home.
The incident was upgraded to a Code 4 working fire response to bring numerous fire departments from throughout the area to the scene to assist.
Firefighters worked to contain the fire and extinguish it as well as search for anyone trapped inside the home.
Approximately nine fire departments were called after a fire broke out at a house in the 100 block of Old Sutton Road in Barrington Hills, leaving the residents displaced Tuesday evening. | Photo: Nick Rusin
Fire crews also ventilated the smoke from the house and conducted overhaul operations.
More here.
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