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The District 220 Board of Education meets this evening at 6:00 PM at the District Administration Center, 515 W. Main Street. Items on their agenda include:

  • Hearing – Property Tax Levy (Estimated at $177,248,798 for 2025, or a 7.32 percent increase over 2024)
  • Information (FOIA) Reports (None submitted? Really?)
  • Personnel Report
  • Board of Education Norms and Expectations
  • Action on Suspension Appeal for Student A
  • Consideration to Approve Resolution declaring the intention to issue not to exceed $5,400,000 Working Cash Fund Bonds of the District for the purpose of increasing the Working Cash Fund of the District, and directing that notice of such intention be published in the manner provided by law.
  • First Reading of Board Policy
  • BHS Interior Space
  • Barrington High School Parking Considerations

A copy of the agenda can be viewed here. The meeting will be live-streamed on the district YouTube channel.

Related: “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

The Village Roads & Bridges Committee meets Tuesday at 2PM. This marks only the second time the committee has met in 2025, and the topic is, “Road Program 2026.”

A copy of the agenda can be viewed here.

The Equestrian Commission/Riding Club will be meeting this evening at 6:30 PM.  Though scheduled to meet quarterly, their last meeting was over a year ago on August 7, 2024.

Topics on their agenda include:

A copy of the agenda can be viewed here.

“Widespread snowfall totals of 6-12″ were common across much of Northern and Central Illinois!”

Source

By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor

Illinois is not adopting the new federal “no tax on tips” provision, meaning tipped workers in the state will still owe Illinois income tax on tips, even when those tips are exempt at the federal level.

Manish Bhatt, senior policy analyst with the Tax Foundation, said Illinois’ tax structure makes it possible for the state to decline the new tip exemption.

“Only those states that begin state-level income tax calculations using the federal definition of taxable income have it automatically incorporated into the tax code,” Bhatt explained. “I don’t believe Illinois does that. So I think the states are certainly able to not incorporate that individual sort of exemption on tips and overtime wages.”

Even for states that do automatically conform to federal tax changes, Bhatt said it may be wiser to “decouple” from the federal rule.

“It’s much more sound tax policy to not create carve-outs for certain taxpayers at the expense of others,” he said. “More general reform certainly needs to happen to bring the tax burden down for everybody.”

Bhatt said taxpayers who are seeing and hearing about the no tax on tips at the federal level might not think about having to actually add those back into their state return.

“It’s not that those individuals are trying to avoid taxation. They just don’t know to add that back into their state income tax,” Bhatt told The Center Square.

Bhatt warned that confusion could lead to filing mistakes or the need for paid tax preparation services.

Read more here.

Katie Anderson-Tedder and her three children, Arthur Tedder, 5, Georgia Tedder, 7, and Grand Tedder, 3, leave Anderson’s Candy Shop in Barrington on Nov. 26, 2025. Anderson-Tedder is co-owner of the candy shop, which has been in her family for four generations. | Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune

By The Editorial Board | Chicago Tribune

Nestled in the back of a cottage in the hamlet of Richmond, Illinois, just minutes from the Wisconsin border, is a room dedicated solely to chocolate.

In this special place, on stone slabs, generations of skilled artisans hand-dip the good stuff, creating confections that rival the finest gourmet candies just about anywhere. Customers come back year after year not just for sweets, but for the feeling that some things still run on care and quality rather than volume.

Anderson’s Candy Shop has been around for more than 100 years. The business, first located on Armitage Avenue in Chicago, moved roughly 60 miles north to a popular tourist route on the way to Lake Geneva and other cheesehead holiday spots.

Katie Anderson-Tedder is the fourth generation to run the shop, which also has a smaller location in suburban Barrington. She juggles life with three kids alongside running the business and makes it look easy.

These days, it’s anything but simple.

Anderson told us this holiday season feels unusual. On the one hand, prices are high everywhere and consumers are feeling the pinch. Sure, folks are still shopping, but the average spend per customer is expected to drop 10% year over year this holiday season, according to Deloitte’s 2025 Holiday Retail Survey. Shoppers are seeking deals and discounts in the expectation that the economy is going to weaken, and even Black Friday and Cyber Monday spending is projected to decline after four years of growth, according to Deloitte.

Arthur Tedder, 5, hands a package to Xander Novak, left, as Tedder and his mom, Katie Anderson-Tedder, and his siblings arrive at the family’s candy shop, Anderson’s Candy Shop in Barrington on Nov. 26, 2025. Anderson-Tedder is co-owner of the candy shop, which has been in her family for four generations. | Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune

Yet while Anderson knows shoppers are being more frugal, she hopes there might be a silver lining for smaller shops.

Read more here.

Open House at Beverly Lake Trailhead in Hoffman Estates on Sunday, December 7th

CHICAGO – Celebrate the winter season with Friends of the Forest Preserves (FOTFP) and Grounding with the Season, a wellness workshop led by V4ME Wellness. Cook County residents are invited to attend a free Open House at Beverly Lake Trailhead in Hoffman Estates on Sunday, December 7th from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Activities include:
  • Mindful nature walk to connect with the landscape and embrace the season
  • Cozy bonfire to gather, reflect, and warm up together
  • Art-making and creative expression inspired by nature
  • Hands-on stewardship through invasive brush clearing and burning
  • Seasonal refreshments including roasted sweet potatoes, herbal tea, and chocolate
This event is free and open to participants ages 13 and up. Minors must be accompanied by a chaperone.
Event Details: Sunday, December 7th | 10:00 AM–1:00 PM
  • 10:00–10:45AM | Wellness Workshop with Ana Way
  • 10:45 AM–12:15 PM | Hands-on Stewardship Activity
  • 12:15–1:00 PM | Food, Fire and Reflections

Submitted by Donna Lake

The Elgin Symphony Orchestra is ushering in the holiday season with six holiday themed concerts. Tickets for all performances are available at ElginSymphony.org or by calling the ESO’s box office at (847) 888-4000. The box office is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Brass & Percussion

The ESO’s Brass and Percussion sections will present concerts in St. Charles, Schaumburg, and Barrington that feature favorite holiday melodies, including arrangements of “The Nutcracker,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Silent Night,” and more.

Nicholas Koos will conduct the concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, at the Norris Cultural Arts Center, 1040 Dunham Road in St. Charles. Tickets are $25 or $5 for students.

ESO Music Director Chad Goodman will conduct the concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Worship Center, 930 W. Higgins Road in Schaumburg. Tickets are $25 or $5 for students.

A free Brass & Percussion concert led by ESO Music Director Chad Goodman will take place at St. Anne Catholic Church, 120 Ela Street, Barrington, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7. RSVPs are requested at ElginSymphony.org.

Holiday Spectacular

A treasured tradition, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra’s festive “Holiday Spectacular” concerts will feature favorite carols with the voices of the Elgin Master Chorale, selections from “The Nutcracker” with performances by students from Integrity School of Dance, and an appearance by Santa Claus.

ESO Music Director Chad Goodman conducts the concerts, which will take place at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14, at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way in downtown Elgin. Tickets start at $20 and are available at ElginSymphony.org.

Holiday shoppers are eager to spend this year. Illinois is overly eager to tax them.

By Jerry Barmore | Illinois Policy Institute

The 2025 holiday shopping season is expected to be strong, with 186.9 million people – 3 million more than last year’s record – planning to make purchases from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday.

While this is great news for retailers and a good sign for the economy, Illinois shoppers will see their bills padded by the nation’s seventh-highest combined state and local sales tax averaging 8.92%. Some local governments hike the sales tax well above that rate.

Chicago shoppers see a 10.25% sales tax bumping up the checkout totals on all their purchases. Chicago’s sales tax is the second highest of any major city in the nation, but it will go even higher in the New Year: 10.5%, becoming  the No. 1 sales tax in the nation as part of a transit bailout.

Illinois’ tax policies aren’t much better. They’re a drag on the state’s economy, as is shown by the state’s worsening tax competitiveness rating compared with other states. Illinois recently dropped six spots in the national rankings, losing out to 37 other states and putting in the worst performance of any state in the Midwest.

This kind of trajectory only discourages business formation and prompts families and businesses that are already here to consider leaving the state, maybe for shopping or maybe for good. Polls show voters are fed up and see high taxes as the top issue facing Illinois.

Read more here.

Resembling tiny gray umbrellas, pleated inkcap mushrooms can be found in grassy areas alone or in small groupings. | Pleated Inkcap Mushrooms (Parasola plicatilis), Photo by: Katy Schafer

In this Issue:

  • Forest Preserves, Partners Celebrate New Recreational Amenities at Beaubien Woods
  • Wood Ducks and the Science of Health: 40-Year Study Enters New Era
  • 2025 Photo Contest Winners Announced
  • Sharing the Grove: What to Know About Barn Swallows at Picnic Shelters
  • Discover Your Camping Adventure in the Forest Preserves; New Partnership Helps Forest Preserves, Residents Safely Dispose of Hazardous Waste; The Secret Lives of Squirrels; Illuminate Your Holidays with Lightscape at Chicago Botanic Garden; Learn About the Forest Preserve Foundation
  • Upcoming Events & Programs
  • Volunteer Opportunities: Calumet Seed Processing Workdays

Read more here.