Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting beginning this evening at 6:30 PM. A copy of the agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Archive for the ‘Big Red’ Category
Village posts unofficial Trustee vote totals
Posted in Big Red, Clown Car, Elections, Ethics, One Barrington Hills, Politics, Property Taxes, The New Normal, The Other Half, TMI, Transparency, Unions, Village Board, Village Government, Village President on April 6, 2023| Leave a Comment »
UNOFFICIAL TOTALS:
- DARBY HILLS: 568
- JESSICA HOFFMAN: 585
- JOHN CARPENTER CLARKE: 514
The results have us wondering if Dinky was out campaigning for votes, or if residents weren’t pleased with the Cecola Administration’s choice of Clarke to run for Village Board? We should have an idea soon enough…
Village Board of Trustees meets tonight
Posted in Big Red, Building Department, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Deception, Elections, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Finance Committee, Heritage and Environs Committee, Insurance Committee, One Barrington Hills, Plan Commission, Police Pension Board, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Resident Spotlights, Road construction, Roads & Bridges Committee, Taxes, TMI, Transparency, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village President, Zoning Board on March 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting beginning this evening at 6:30 PM. A copy of the agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Happy Retro Thanksgiving!
Posted in Barrington Hills Park District, Bicyclists, Big Red, Building Department, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Ethics, Horse Boarding, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, Mac's Property Management, Mad Cow, One Barrington Hills, OP/Ed, Politics, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Roads & Bridges Committee, Transparency, Village Board, Village President, Your Barrington Hills on November 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“TV families are a lot like real families. They always come together for Thanksgiving. For the ultimate TV Thanksgiving, look no further than the 1968 episode of The (Barrington) Hillbillies, “The Thanksgiving Spirit.”
The crossover episode not only features the Clampetts, it features the cast members of Green Acres and Petticoat Junction. The episode culminates with a shared dinner that includes characters from the three shows.” (Source)
Editorial note: Many preferred to use the phrase, “Barrington Hillbillies,” when referring to the political antics of some in our “oasis of another time” Village, but that subsided until recently when the Cecola Administration took office. Now the popularity of that phrase is experiencing a resurgence.
Village Board of Trustees meets tonight
Posted in Agendas, Audio Recordings, Big Red, Building Department, Clown Car, Conflict of interest, Deception, Elections, ePacket Agendas, Finance Committee, Financial Reports, FOIA, FUBAR, Legal Expenses, Mac's Property Management, Minutes, Pension Funding, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Road construction, Roads & Bridges Committee, Roads and Bridges, Taxes, The New Normal, Transparency, VBHPD, Village Board, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Village Treasurer on November 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting beginning this evening at 6:30 PM. A copy of their agenda can be viewed and downloaded here, however residents should take special note of their draft 2023 Budget, particularly as it relates to Roads & Bridges where at least one expense is up over 100%.
By far one of the largest increases is in, “Road Maintenance Contracts.” This year’s budget is $661,000. But the proposed amount next year is $1,059,200. That’s an increase of $398,200.
“Mowing/Cleanup Contracts,” is going from $70,00 this year to more than double that in 2023 at $150,000.
In an effort to understand the underlying reasons for these and other increases, we listened to the recordings of the nearly two (2) hour November 8th Special Meeting of the Roads & Bridges Committee yesterday. What we found revealed largely incoherent rambling (as usual) by the chair. As of this posting, the audio now states, “Unsupported audio,” as seen in this link, unfortunately, but some who heard the recording might consider this a blessing.
Hopefully this evening we’ll learn why such exorbitant roads increases are being proposed, but beforehand we’d like to share some advice with the Roads & Bridges Chair in the form quote from a famous Thanksgiving movie that goes, “…when you’re telling these little stories, here’s a good idea. Have a point. It makes it so much more interesting for the listener!”
Village Board of Trustees meets tonight
Posted in Agendas, BACOG, Big Red, BOHICA, Building Department, Conflict of interest, ePacket Agendas, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Financial Reports, FUBAR, Mac's Property Management, Minutes, OMA, Organizations, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Road construction, Roads & Bridges Committee, Transparency, VBHPD, Village Attorney, Village Board, Village Clerk, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Engineer, Village Government, Village President, Well Water Quality on October 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Our Village Board of Trustees will be conducting their regular monthly meeting beginning this evening at 6:30 PM. Some topics on the agenda include:
- [Vote] A Resolution Authorizing the Purchase and Installation of Tile Flooring by the Village of Barrington Hills Resolution 22 – 12
- Meeting Calendar 2023 – Draft
- BACOG’s Private Well Water Testing Summary
Also, for those who’ve endured the deplorable sound quality when phoning in to attempt to participate in board meetings conversations, a new phone number appears on tonight’s agenda. What’s just swell about this new number is an eleven (11) digit meeting ID is required to participate on the call.
One can only assume this added aggravation will result in significantly improved sound quality. We’re looking forward to being pleasantly surprised.
A copy of the agenda can be viewed and downloaded here.
Better (decades) late than never
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:
- 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.
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”
Barrington Hills Park District Board meets tonight
Posted in Agendas, Algonquin Rd, Animal Welfare, Barrington Hills Park District, Barrington Hills Polo Club, Big Red, Cell Towers, Conflict of interest, Deception, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Fox River Valley Hunt, FRVPC, Horizon Farm, Horse Boarding, Intergovernmental agreements (IGA), Land Use, LeCompte/Anderson Commercial Horse boarding amendment, Massbach Hounds, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Real Estate, Riding Center Advisory Committee, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Unions, Village Government, Well Water Quality on August 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The Barrington Hills Park District Board will hold their regular monthly meeting this evening in person and via Zoom at 7:00 PM. Topics on their agenda include:
- Horizon Farms Update
- Damaged John Deere 4700 Tractor
- New Tractor/Mower Future Purchases, existing equipment update, and
- Hills are Alive Event Preparations*
A copy of their agenda can be viewed here. Instructions for accessing the meeting remotely can be found here
*The Hills Are Alive Fall Festival returns to the Riding Center September 18th.
June Riding Club newsletter released
Posted in Barrington Hills Farm, Barrington Hills Polo Club, Big Red, BraveHearts, Conflict of interest, Cook, County, Crime, Deception, Equestrian Commission, Ethics, Fox River Valley Hunt, FPDCC, Friends of Forest Preserves, FRVPC, Fundraisers, Horizon Farm, Land Use, Politics, Property Taxes, Public Safety, Riding Club Commission, Riding Club of Barrington Hills, Transparency, Unions on June 12, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The Riding Club of Barrington Hills (RCBH) recently released their April newsletter. Topics covered this month include:
- State of the trails
- Saturday morning trail rides
- 4th of July parade
- What’s happening at the Park District, and
- Forest Preserve
A copy of the RCBH newsletter can be viewed and downloaded here.
What happened to ethics reform in Illinois government? Why watchdogs have some hope.
Posted in Better Government Association, Big Red, Building Department, Conflict of interest, Deception, Elections, Ethics, One Barrington Hills, Politics, Property Taxes, Springfield, Village Attorney, Village Code, Village Director of Administration, Village Government, Village President on May 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Ethics reform advocates say they’re disappointed but not surprised little was done during the Illinois legislature’s spring session to curry the public’s trust, even as former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s indictment in March put public corruption back in the spotlight.
But they still hold out hope for the future.
“You would think after what we saw with former Speaker Mike Madigan, there would be a fire under legislators … especially with an election coming up,” Bryan Zarou, director of policy for the Better Government Association, said regarding the inaction on ethics reform.
The BGA plans a new push for ethics reform this summer, with a set of proposals to be considered for the 2023 legislative session.
The subject will soon be brought to the forefront of public attention again, with former state Sen. Thomas Cullerton’s sentencing scheduled for June 21 and Madigan’s next status hearing set for Aug. 2.
Cullerton, a Democrat from Villa Park, pleaded guilty March 8 to a federal embezzlement charge for receiving nearly $250,000 in pay and benefits from the Teamsters union without working for it.
Madigan, once the most powerful politician in Illinois, was indicted on charges of racketeering and bribery and accused of running a “criminal enterprise.” He has pleaded not guilty.
Read more here.
Related: “Kane County officials at odds over hiring of IT director’s wife”
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