Posted in Agenda, Audio Recordings, Cuba Rd Bridge, Cuba Township Road District, Ethics, FUBAR, Mac's Property Management, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Roads & Bridges Committee, TMI, Transparency, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President on March 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The Roads & Bridges Committee meets today at 4:00 PM at Village Hall. This will be the first time the Committee has met November 8 (See, “Special Election Day Roads & Bridges meeting today”).
A copy of their agenda can be viewed here.
Related: “Some perspectives on the proposed 2023 Appropriations Ordinance”
Posted in Cuba Township Road District, Public Safety, Roads & Bridges Committee on January 28, 2023| 3 Comments »
“Take it slow out there today. This is going to be a long duration event. Remember to always give the plow trucks plenty of room and to always drive with your lights ON for safety!”
Editorial note: This from professionals who know what they’re doing. Too bad they no longer service our roads.
Posted in 220, Barrington Education Association, Board of Education, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Cuba Township Road District, Deception, Elections, Ethics, FUBAR, His Master's Voice, Mac's Property Management, One Barrington Hills, OP/Ed, Politics, Public Safety, Resident Spotlights, Roads & Bridges Committee, School Districts, Transparency, Video Recordings, Village Government, What the Ficke (Bradford)? on December 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Following are the eleven (11) most viewed posts published in The Barrington Hills Observer in 2022:
For those wondering why eleven and not an even number, we simply couldn’t end the year without reminding readers where we’ve been in 2022 by omitting #11.
Posted in County, Cuba Township Road District, Lake on November 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Cuba Township to pass out free wood twice a month instead of every Friday due to supply-and-demand issues.
Cuba Township Road District’s “Firewood Friday” giveaway of firewood returned earlier this month, but the program will work somewhat differently this season, according to officials.
“We’ve had to rein it in a little bit. It used to be every Friday through the winter months. It’s not every other Friday but it works out to be twice a month, November through March,” Thomas J. Podgorski, who has been Cuba Township highway commissioner since 2017, told Pioneer Press.
Starting Nov. 4 through the winter months, the road district provides free kindling – bundles that can be a mix of everything from maple, pine and oak to mulberry and chokecherry – to township residents who’ve signed up for the program.
Podgorski explained that each bundle contains eight to 12 pieces of wood, and each participating household is limited to two bundles. The distribution is at the road district office on a first-come, first-served basis until the supply is exhausted. At Friday’s distribution, the district ran out of firewood before 1 p.m. Nov. 18
“It’s meant for weekend fires. It’s not meant for someone to heat their houses off it. The quantity is not there,” said Podgorsk.
According to Podgorski, more than 800 Cuba Township residents are signed up for the program. He said Cuba Township Road District – which covers Lake Barrington, North Barrington, Tower Lakes and small portions of Barrington Hills and Barrington – shifted Firewood Friday from every other Friday during the 2021-2022 season to twice monthly for the 2022-2023 to better serve participants.
“The demand outpaces our supply. These are trees that were taken down through the year. It’s a way to process and get rid of wood we collect [throughout] the year,” said Podgorski.
Residents signed up for the program are given a placard to hang from the rearview mirror of their vehicle, the commissioner explained. The placard is required to participate in the complimentary distribution, and anyone new to the program would have to contact the Cuba Township Road District to get it.
Read more here.
Posted in Appointments, Better Government Association, Big Red, Board of Health, BOHICA, Building Department, Conflict of interest, Contests, Crain's Chicago Business, Cuba Township Road District, Deception, Elections, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Illinois State Board of Elections, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, Mac's Property Management, OMA, One Barrington Hills, OP/Ed, Politics, Property Taxes, Real Estate, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Road construction, Roads & Bridges Committee, The New Normal, The Other Half, Transparency, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Code, Village President, Village Treasurer on September 30, 2022| 1 Comment »
Last Winter, the Village of Lake Barrington published the following in their seasonal newsletter:
“Lake Barrington’s Ethics Commission
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!”
Their Municipal Code actually devotes a chapter to ethics, and the main page of their website contains a link to, “Report a Concern.”
As previously chronicled in this publication, if one searches our Village 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:
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.
Related: “Our predominantly pusillanimous Village Board (Part 1),” “Our predominantly pusillanimous Village Board (Part 2),” “Better Government Association Commends Passage of Chicago Ethics Ordinance–Sees More to Do,” “What happened to ethics reform in Illinois government? Why watchdogs have some hope,” “Meanwhile, One Barrington Hills makes amends, extinguishes website and turns the volume down,” “Learn from your (big) mistake, Laura, Bryan, Dave and Tom,” “Agreed”
Posted in Barrington Honor Ride, Cuba Township Road District, Fundraisers, Resident Spotlights, Village Government on September 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Last week the following was posted to the Village website:
“On Monday, August 29, 2022, Folds of Honor Chicago hosted its annual Barrington Patriot Golf Day at which Barrington Hills’ Trustee Colleen Konicek Hannigan and Cuba Township Supervisor Chris Karam, presented the proceeds raised from July’s 5K/10K The Land We Love Run which kicked off the Independence Day holiday weekend.
Registration proceeds, together with supporter donations, made possible a donation of $7,526.49 for Folds of Honor, a non-profit organization that provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of military members who have fallen or have been disabled while serving in the US Armed Forces.
‘We are so grateful to our military and their families for all the sacrifices they make on behalf of our country. It was our privilege to be able to give back to them in some small way.
Thank you to all who participated and contributed to this effort’
Colleen Konicek Hannigan
You, too, can make a difference! Mark your calendar to participate in next year’s 5K/10K The Land We Love Run July 2023!”
Posted in Cuba Township Road District, Deception, Ethics, Mac's Property Management, Politics, Public Safety, Real Estate, Roads & Bridges Committee, Traffic, Village Government on August 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Snow could be piled high around the suburbs this winter, if early predictions of a snowy and wet season prove correct.
A snowier, wetter winter may be in the cards for the Chicago region, according to the latest seasonal outlook from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.
The forecast shows that — along with a wide swath of the Midwest, including Indiana and much of Ohio — Illinois could see more precipitation than normal, while temperatures are predicted to remain near average levels.
One of the strongest indicators of a wet Chicago winter is the earth is in its third year of the naturally occurring weather phenomenon known as La Niña, which brings cooler-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
Its counterpart, El Niño, refers to warmer tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures.
Meteorologist Matthew Rosencrans said current forecasts are “very reflective” of past La Niña winters, which typically have favored above average precipitation for the Great Lakes region.
“On a year-to-year basis, El Niño or La Niña controls about 38% of your variance, and we are in a La Niña, a decently strong one, and very likely to be in a La Niña through the winter,” he said.
However, don’t load up on salt or buy a heavy duty snowblower just yet. Because we’re still four months away from the icy season, the center’s best models for the Midwest have a hit rate of just about 20%,
More here.
Related: “Farmers’ Almanac releases winter prediction for Illinois”
Posted in 220, Accidents, Agenda, Conflict of interest, Cuba Township Road District, District 220 referendum, Ethics, Mac's Property Management, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Road construction, Roads & Bridges Committee, School Districts, Topics Of Interest, VBHPD, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President on August 11, 2022| 1 Comment »
The Village Roads & Bridges Committee meets for the first time in four (4) months this afternoon at 4 PM. The two topics on their agenda are:
A copy of the agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Related: “Roads & Bridges Committee meeting canceled (again),” “County Line Road work to begin in Barrington Hills Monday,” “Hart Road in Barrington closing for five months beginning June 2”
Posted in Cuba Township Road District, Entertainment, Politics, Roads & Bridges Committee on August 5, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The Cuba Township Road District will have trucks on display tomorrow at the BIG TRUCK Show.
Bring your camera or phone you’re going to want to picture your little one in a School Bus, The entire family is going to love this event! There will be dozens of “Big Trucks of all kinds” in the parking lot at Ron Beese Park in Barrington and then open them up for children to climb in and explore!
School Buses, Fire Engines, Garbage trucks, Village vehicles, Tow trucks and more will be on hand to help your children have fun while learning about each truck, watching demonstrations, and climbing behind the wheel. Compete in big wheel races, ride the trackless train and have fun on the inflatable.
Bring a canned food donation and be entered into a raffle for a prize! Please NO GLASS containers. Check the expiration date before donating. 1 raffle ticket per person.
Posted in Agenda, Cuba Township Road District, Mac's Property Management, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Roads & Bridges Committee, Village Government, Village President on July 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Today’s regular monthly meeting of the Roads & Bridges Committee has been cancelled. Ordinarily, we would not report this except the Committee has only managed to meet three (3) times in seven (7) months this year, and their last meeting was back in April.
Since the less than stellar snow plowing services Village residents endured this past Winter season still weighs on their minds, one can only hope plans are already underway to assure improved services in 2022-2023. After all, the next Committee meeting isn’t until August 11th (tick, tick, tick…).
Related: “Learn from your (big) mistake, Laura, Bryan, Dave and Tom”
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