Barrington

Barrington is a village in Cook County and Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,722 at the 2020 census. Barrington is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and serves as the hub of activity for the surrounding 90-square-mile (230 km²) region. The area features wetlands, forest preserves, parks, and horse trails in a country-suburban setting. The name Barrington was taken from Great Barrington in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, but there is currently no evidence that settlers emigrated from the area itself. In 1854, the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Railroad (now known as the Union Pacific/Northwest Line), led by William Ogden, extended the train line to the northwest corner of Cook County. The village's first lumber facility began operations on Franklin Street during the Civil War era. In order to provide a tax mechanism to finance improvements, Barrington submitted its request for incorporation in 1863. In February 1855, the Illinois legislature granted Barrington's charter on a vote of 300 to 300. The first white pioneers known to have settled in Barrington township were Jesse F. Miller and William Van Orsdal of Steuben County, New York, who arrived in 1834. The combined settlement of these pioneers, located at the intersection of Illinois Route 68 and Sutton Road, was originally called Miller Grove due to the number of families with that surname but later renamed Barrington Center because it "centered" both ways from the present Sutton Road and from Algonquin and Higgins roads.

History

Barrington is the primary city name, but also Deer Park, Fox River Valley Gardens, Fox Rv Vly Gn, Hoffman Est, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Kildeer, Lake Barrington, Lk Barrington, N Barrington, North Barrington, Port Barrington, Pt Barrington, S Barrington, South Barrington, Tower Lakes are acceptable city names or spellings, Barrington Hills, Lake Barrington Shores, Timber Lake on the other hand no longer accepted or obsolete and are no longer used as a designation. The official name is Village of Barrington. Barrington, Illinois, was named after Great Barrington in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The original settlers of the Barrington area were the indigenous peoples of the Prairie Potawatomi or Mascoutin tribes. Many local roads still in use today, including Algonquin Road, Rand Road, Higgins Road, and St. Charles Road, were originally Native American trails. For many years, Barrington was considered part of the Northwest Territory, then the Illinois Territory. In 1854, the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Railroad (now known as the Union Pacific/Northwest Line), led by William Butler Ogden, extended the train line to the northwest corner of Cook County. In 1889, the Joliet and Elgin Railway (the "EJE") was built through Barrington. In the late 19th century, a series of fires damaged numerous buildings in downtown Barrington, destroying several buildings. In 1890, a fire destroyed several buildings along the north side of Main Street, east of East Street, and along the east side of East Avenue. The town's first mayor was Homer Wilmar, who served as Mayor for one year in 1866. The village's first lumber facility began operations on Franklin Street in 1855. The first white pioneers known to have settled in Barrington township were Jesse F. Miller and William Van Orsdal of Steuben County, New York, who arrived in 1834, before the three-year period which had been given the Native Americans to vacate the region. Other settlers from Vermont and New York settled in what is now the northwest corners of Cook and Lake counties.

Features and resources

Barrington's historic district is noted for its Victorian, Victorian Gothic, Queen Anne, and other popular late-19th century forms of architecture. The downtown area is home to the historic Catlow Theater, which features interiors by noted Prairie School sculptor and designer Alfonso Iannelli. The Arbor Day Foundation has recognized Barrington as a Tree City USA every year since 1986, in part due to the village's Tree Preservation and Management Ordinance governing the proper care for trees within the area. South Barrington has been described as the, 9th circle of McMansion Hell by local architectural critic, Kate Wagner, on architecture humor website McMansions. The village hosts the "Barrington Brew Fest", a mid-summer event showcasing Midwest microbrewers and local entertainment, as well as the "Great Taste Fest of Barrington", a food festival exhibiting fare from local restaurants. In 2011, Barrington received a $65,000 grant from the Northwest Municipal Conference for preliminary engineering of a bike path along Northwest Highway. A Nightmare on Elm Street was partially filmed in Barrington's Jewel Park subdivision (Built by the Jewel T company for their executives) using a home actually on Elm St. as a backdrop. Barrington also hosts a variety of charity functions, including the Duck Race by the American Cancer Society held at Barrington High School; a rubber duck race to benefit the CROP Hunger Walk; and the J.R. J. Shepherd Relay for Life Pool Party.

Economy

Barrington receives much of its sales tax revenue from its half-dozen car dealerships. The Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1969 to support local businesses. The Gatorade Sports Science Institute, often featured in the company's commercials, is located in Barrington just west of downtown. For many years, the village was home to the Jewel Tea Company; its former headquarters was razed in the early 21st century for redevelopment as Citizens Park. Barrington was also formerly home to GE Healthcare IT prior to relocating to Chicago in 2016. Other notable businesses include defense contractor ISR Systems, part of the Goodrich Corporation (formerly known as Recon Optical), and commercial real estate developer GK Development. According to Barrington's 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are: Bank of America, the Barrington Bank & Trust Company, Chase, Fifth Third Bank, BMO Harris and Northern Trust all have locations within the village. In May 2009, Chrysler informed the Wickstrom (which took over the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep franchise from Champion) location that it would not be among the 40 dealerships closed in Illinois. The village is home to several shopping centers, including the Ice House Mall and The Foundry, located northwest of town. In 2008, state-taxable auto repairs accounted for $2.1 million in sales taxes for the village in 2008, or approximately 56 percent of the sales-tax income. The top employers are: Barrington Volvo, Marquardt, Motor Werks of Barrington, and Wickstrom Auto Group.

Geography

Barrington is located 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Chicago. The village is located approximately 830 feet (250 m) above sea level. Barrington is approximately bordered by Hart Road to the west, Illinois Route 68 (Dundee Road) to the south, Ela Road toThe east and Providence Road and Taylor road to the north. According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Barrington has a total area of 4.79 square miles (12.41 km²) (or 96.12%) of which is land and 0.19 sq miles (0.49 km²), or 3.88% is water. The town's neighboring communities are: Lake Zurich, Lake Cook, and Otis Road. It is located on the Illinois River, which flows into the Chicago River from the Illinois Turnpike. It has a population of 1,816. It was founded in 1858. It became a village in 1881. It's located on a former rail line that was built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Illinois River runs through the village, which was originally built as a rail line to connect Chicago with Lake Zurich and Lake Cook. It also runs through Lake Cook and Lake Zurich. It runs through Barrington's central business district, where it is also known as Barrington Center. The city's name is derived from Barrington, Illinois, a town that was once the site of the U.S. Army Ammunition Plant.

Government

The Village of Barrington is a non-home rule municipality which functions under the council-manager form of government with a village President and a six-member board of trustees. The vision of the village is "to preserve and promote its unique small-town heritage" In April 2009, village residents voted in favor of permitting Barrington township officials to begin looking into seceding from Cook County. The referendum came in response to Cook County's increased sales tax, now the highest in the country, and increased tensions between the county and towns neighboring Lake County. Barrington estimates its revenues for fiscal years 2009 and 2010 to be approximately $30.22 million and $29.04 million, respectively. Meanwhile, the village estimates total budget expenditures of approximately $33.68 million for fiscal year 2009 and $34.88 million for Fiscal year 2010. The current Police Chief is Jerry Libit, and the current Fire Chief is Jim Arie. The village clerk, also an elected position, is responsible for taking and transcribing minutes of all Village Board and Committee of the Whole meetings along with other municipal clerk duties. Since 1970, growth in the area has been monitored by the Barrington Area Council of Governments (BACOG), which includes representatives of the townships of Deer Park, Barrington Hills, North Barrington, South Barrington and Tower Lakes, and local townships who strive to balance the needs of residents for expansion against environmental and aesthetic concerns. A village manager currently Jeff Lawler assist the President with local operations and projects.

Education

The village of Barrington serves as the geographic center of the 72-square-mile (190 km²) Barrington Community Unit School District 220. The district features one high school, Barrington High School, for grades 912 and two middle school campuses for grades 68, Station Campus and Prairie Campus. The U.S. Department of Education recognized the Grove Avenue and Arnett C. Lines elementary schools as Blue Ribbon schools in 2007 and 2008, respectively, and Hough Street School as a Blue Ribbon school in 2015. All Barrington-area public elementary schools received the 2008 Academic Excellence Award from the Illinois State Board of Education. The high school has many notable alumni, including former Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, author Veronica Roth, fashion designer Cynthia Rowley, and former Seattle Mariners catcher Dan Wilson. Barrington also features a Catholic school for kindergarten through eighth grade, St. Anne School, which the U.N. recognized as aBlue Ribbon School in 2006. A second early learning center adjacent to Barrington Middle School's Prairie Campus opened for classes in October 2010. In 2011 its students scored a composite average of 25 on the ACT college entrance exam, which is the highest average in the school's history and roughly four points higher than the state and national averages. The school itself is featured in the title of the music album Fast Times at Barrington high from The Academy Is....Barrington also has an early childhood center, Woodland Early Learning Center, located in Carpentersville.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census there were 10,722 people, 3,988 households, and 2,902 families residing in the village. There were 4,394 housing units at an average density of 916.75 per square mile (353.96/km²) The racial makeup of the village was 84.29% White, 6.02% Asian, 1.15% African American, 0.29%. Native American, 2.11% from other races, and 6.15%. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.07% of the population. The median income for a household was $112,794, and $157,083 for a family. The village's age distribution consisted of 26.9% under the age of 18, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.1% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 84.1 males. The average household size was 3.09 and the average family size was 2.56. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of anyrace. The US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. The per capita income for the village is $64,507. About 2.0% of families and 3.6% of people were below the poverty line, including 0.2% of those under age 18 and 13.0%.

Climate

Barrington has a continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa), with summers generally wetter than the winters. The highest recorded temperature was 103 °F (39 °C) on July 10, 1974. Historical tornado activity for the Barrington area is slightly below Illinois state average. On April 11, 1965, an F4 tornado. approximately 9.4 miles (15.1 km) away from downtown Barrington killed 6 people and injured 75. on April 21, 1967, another F4. tornado approximately 5.1 miles (8.2 km) Away from the village center killed one person, injured approximately 100 people and. caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. on January 31, 2019, the lowest recorded temperature in the village was 28°F (33°C) in Barrington. The village has a population of about 1,200 people. It is located on the Illinois Turnpike, which runs from Chicago to Illinois-Illinois. The town is located in the Sangamon County, which is in the southern part of the Illinois River Valley. It has an elevation of 1,100 meters (3,200 feet) and has a water level of about 2,000 feet (600 m) below sea level. The city has a ZIP code of 7054. It also has a post office, which serves the village of Barrington and the surrounding area. It was founded in 1881. It had a population in 1883.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Barrington, Lake County, Illinois = 6.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 31. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Barrington = 3.6 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 10,722 individuals with a median age of 40.5 age the population grows by 10.97% in Barrington, Lake County, Illinois population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,327.33 residents per square mile of area (898.50/km²). There are average 2.85 people per household in the 5,457 households with an average household income of $118,893 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.80% of the available work force and has dropped -4.37% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 20.46%. The number of physicians in Barrington per 100,000 population = 255.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Barrington = 36 inches and the annual snowfall = 33 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 109. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 189. 83 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 10.8 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 47, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Barrington, Lake County, Illinois which are owned by the occupant = 82.72%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 29 years with median home cost = $601,820 and home appreciation of -7.93%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $16.10 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,795 per student. There are 16.4 students for each teacher in the school, 930 students for each Librarian and 1718 students for each Counselor. 5.59% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 33.54% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 23.65% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).