The village of Barrington began 2023 with home rule status, and among other highs of the year, village officials moved forward with plans to finally create a vehicle underpass at the Canadian National Railway crossing in town. Also, Barrington was designated “storm ready” by the National Weather Service.
Barrington School District 220 celebrated 50 years of being the unit district it is now and a new superintendent was named. The district showed off new capital projects paid for through a previous referendum, and school officials began planning for another oneb to support building a new fine arts, visual arts and performing arts space at Barrington High School.
Village begins year with home rule status
Barrington voters favored a referendum that granted the village of 11,000 residents home rule status, allowing village officials to consider a home rule sales tax, enter into multi-year contracts with village vendors to improve cost savings, create rental housing regulations, simplify the hiring of police and attain a AAA credit rating which would lower village interest costs.
“Home rule is important because it allows the village trustees to craft better solutions to some of the local issues that we have,” Trustee Jason Lohmeyer previously told Pioneer Press, also citing crime-free housing as a top issue. “Home rule would allow us to pass an ordinance that would provide greater powers to evict tenants who conduct criminal activity in rental units. Approximately 25% of our housing in Barrington is rental housing. I think this would be important to our residents, because these types of issues can directly affect neighborhoods and the overall property values in the village.”
New superintendent named for Barrington 220
Craig Winkelman, Barrington School District 220 deputy superintendent, was named superintendent after Robert Hunt resigned. Hunt had joined the district in July 2021 but chose to return to Ohio to be the superintendent of Upper Arlington Schools.
Winkleman started his career as a teacher in SD220, and was also an assistant superintendent of K-12 schools and operations. In his roles, he has overseen such district efforts Build 220, Equity 220, Framework 220 and Safety 220. According to the district, he has supervised and evaluated principals, tracked school board policy updates, led district leadership meetings and worked as a “strategic partner” with community organizations. He started as superintendent May 1.
Canadian National Railway underpass, home rule faces new trustees
Since 2009, trains blocking traffic on the Canadian National Railway tracks has been a common headache for motorists at Route 14 in the village. Barrington officials began working with both federal and state leaders to secure funding to build an underpass on Route 14
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which would be 23 feet under the CN tracks.
Village leaders hope the underpass will alleviate traffic congestion and make way for emergency vehicles to better access nearby Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital. In 2023, village officials worked closely with other stakeholders to get highway plat approval, railroad bridge design, a hydraulics review and coordination of the Flint Creek relocation. The project is currently being permitted and approved through the Illinois Department of Transportation since the roadway is a state route, village officials said. If all is approved, construction on the underpass is finally expected to begin summer 2024.
New Village Board seated following election
After the April 4 election, two incumbents and one newcomer were on the Village Board. Trustee Kate Duncan, who was first elected in 2019, returned to the board with her expertise as a partner at Akerman LLP in Chicago specializing in land use and development. Trustee Jason Lohmeyer, chief financial officer of Lifeline Vascular Care, first joined the board in 2015 and was reelected in 2023. Brian Prigge, president and chief technology officer of Scriptly, a pharmacy company, was elected to the board for the first time in 2023 filling the seat of Trustee Emily Young who chose not to run for a second term.
The state superintendent visits Barrington School District 220
Superintendent Tony Sanders visited a trio of Barrington School District 220 schools, checking out the new construction and security enhancements purchased with funds from the $147 million referendum passed by voters in March 2020.
The school district turns the big 5-0
From its humble beginnings as a one-room schoolhouse in 1835, the District 220 evolved into a consolidated one on Aug. 18, 1973, when the community voted to combine three area public school organizations – Districts 1, 4 and 224 – to form a single district that now serves 8,000 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. A series of celebratory events have been planned throughout the 2023-2024 school year.
Village designated storm ready
The village of Barrington has been designated StormReady by the National Weather Service, joining 93 Illinois municipalities in being prepared for weather disasters. Mick Fleming, director of the Joint Emergency Management System, and Mike Bardou of the National Weather Service, presented the designation to Village President Karen Darch during the Nov. 13 Village Board meeting.
Taxpayers may be asked to fund arts space at Barrington High School
A referendum advisory committee is being formed by Barrington School District 220 to explore a potential $50 million referendum where school officials would ask taxpayers for money to help pay for a new arts space at Barrington High School. The committee is expected to begin community outreach in January and make recommendations to the school board in March regarding a possible referendum on the ballot in the Nov. 5, 2024 election.
In March 2020, Barrington voters approved a $147 million referendum for capital projects throughout the school district. Paying for design work for the fine arts center was covered by this referendum but the cost to actually build the new space was not.
Cash flow shutters longtime neighborhood pub
More than a decade after opening its doors in Barrington, McGonigal’s Pub closed at the end of 2023. A centerpiece in Barrington’s downtown, at 105 S. Cook St., McGonigal’s Pub cited financial hardship as its reason for closing on Dec. 31.
Pioneer Press freelancer Elizabeth Owens-Schiele contributed.