McHenry County Blog

Put this 2002 campaign flyer in support of a Home Rule referendum in Bridgeview:

The Chicago Tribune found this campaign brochure from the 2002 Bridgeview Home Rule campaign.

Look at the Home Rule promises:

• No property tax increases for eight years.
• No new utility taxes.
• No real estate transfer taxes.
• Other sources of village revenue besides real estate taxes.
• Financial future of village “stable and secure.”

There is huge amount of research on the Village of Bridgeview’s building of a soccer field named Toyota Park.

As we were heading down Harlem Avenue to Tinley Park’s 2012 Illinois Republican State Convention, I asked what the Toyota Park signs were all about.

Anyone who reads the articles by Joseph Ryan and Joe Mahr:

• Soccer Ball and Chain
• Public, private interests intersect
• Some firms faced little competition on contracts
• Broken [Home Rule] Promise

might figure out why I opposed Home Rule for Lakewood after being stuck with a similar tax hi8ke problem when my village board voted to buy a failing golf course a bit over twenty years ago.

Looking at this disaster in public finance might also give readers an idea why I opposed the minor league baseball stadium proposed by the McHenry County College board.

The debt debacle in Bridgeview.

The shifty bond salesman convinced the board that it would be cheaper to put the taxpayers on the hook than to let the golf course pay off the purchase price, plus lots of interest, with what are called revenue bonds.  With revenue bonds, if the enterprise does not bring in enough money to pay off the bonds, the bondholders, not the taxpayers get hurt.

Not many locally elected officials have blogs.

Today I discovered one for Denise Barreto, elected to the Lake in the Hills village board last spring.

Her blog is the only one I know of in McHenry County.

It’s called,

On her blog profile, Barreto states,

“I am a dynamic leader who specializes in the art of influence. Whether its creating a vision and plan for launching a new product or service, or touching the lives of kindergarden/first graders in my church ministry – I live to teach and be taught.”

“Here’s the biography she posted on the village web site:

“Denise (Wilmer) Barreto brings over 16 years of progressive corporate marketing experience to the Lake in the Hills Village Board. She has led new business marketing efforts or re-tooled marketing programs for companies such as the Chicago Fire Major League Soccer Team, United Airlines, Pella Window and Doors and most recently, storied retailer, Sears, where she currently works in marketing program development.

“In 1997, Denise founded and led (until 2000) the FireWorks for Kids Foundation, the 501-c3 non-profit arm of the Chicago Fire Major League Soccer team that provides recreational opportunities to underprivileged children throughout the Chicagoland area.

“Denise has been an active parent advocate for the Lake in the Hills Parks and Recreation Department since her arrival in Lake in the Hills in late 2002. More recently, she has volunteered her marketing talents to the Funtastic Camp program for the past two years. She also volunteers at Willowcreek Community Church in the Promiseland Children’s ministry program

“She is married to Isael Barreto and has two children, Emma and Evan.”