Our Record: 2023–2026

Some people spent the last three years critiquing from the audience. We spent them doing the work. Nearly every item below started as a Board initiative. Many required public hearings and stacks of documents. Village staff did great and necessary work to carry them out, but Board members pushed for every one of them.

Here is what professionalism looks like when it shows up on the agenda.

2023: Getting the Basics Right

  • Resumed operating with a lawfully appointed Village Clerk.
  • Amended the code so the Clerk can publish Village records on the website.
  • Settled long-running litigation instead of spending more money on a case the Village was unlikely to win.
  • Hired a professional Village Administrator.
  • Confirmed the appointment of a Building and Zoning Officer, a required position that had gone unfilled for years.
  • Promoted a new police chief who has stabilized the department.
  • Created an IT Committee.

2024: Policy That Caught Up

  • Adopted social media policies, including recording and posting Village meetings.
  • Passed an improved zoning ordinance and, for the first time, a zoning map to go with it.
  • Moved the Village to secure Microsoft 365 .gov infrastructure, replaced the server, secured networks to federal CISA guidance and established backups.
  • Helped stop the St. Charles/Pulte annexation plan for La Fox.
  • Completed engineering and won grant funding for full-depth reclamation of Denker Road, Brown Road and part of Campton Hills Road.
  • Passed an intergovernmental agreement with the Campton Township Highway Department that ends itemized billing in exchange for the remaining 50% of Road and Bridge funds each year.
  • Engaged Lexipol to provide professional General Orders for the police department.
  • Established a stormwater reimbursement fund for drainage problems on private property.

2025: A Plan, and the Means to Pay for It

  • Passed taxes on utilities and streaming services to create a funding source for roads.
  • Completed a new Comprehensive Plan.
  • Upgraded Village building codes from 2012 editions to 2024 editions. FEMA requires codes that are current or one edition back.
  • Liberalized permitting so most repair and replacement work no longer requires a permit.
  • Completed the required affordable housing plan.
  • Passed a boundary agreement with Burlington.
  • Annexed the 980 acres that became the La Fox subdivision, and passed its preliminary Planned Unit Development.
  • Reached an impact fee agreement with School District 301.
  • Worked with Norton Lake, Shodeen and the original developer to resolve final issues.

2026: Growth That Pays Its Own Way

  • Reached an agreement with the Kane County Forest Preserve District to acquire about 450 acres of open space, intact.
  • Annexed four additional areas on the west side of Harley Road, and cooperated on pending annexations east of Brundage Road.
  • Created a Tax Increment Financing district to fund water and sewer infrastructure for the new subdivision, established its Joint Review Board and held the required hearing.
  • Passed a Redevelopment Agreement and the Plat of Subdivision for La Fox of Campton Hills.
  • Established Special Service Areas for roads and stormwater in La Fox, including a backup in case an HOA fails.
  • Passed an intergovernmental agreement with KDOT for the turnover of La Fox Road and other improvements.
  • Passed an intergovernmental agreement with Blackberry Township assigning roadwork to Campton Township.

2025–2026: A Government That Is Organized Like One

  • Passed a new organization chart that places all supervisory authority in the Administrator, and began aligning the Village code with it.
  • Defended the Village Attorney against a removal attempt.
  • Outsourced the Village’s financial management to a professional municipal accounting firm and confirmed an outsourced Treasurer.
  • Passed an ordinance clarifying how financed treasury services work.
  • Formalized Board member participation on the Finance Committee.
  • Streamlined the agenda process.
  • Hired a professional, right-sized Administrator.
  • Moved to engage an independent accounting firm to audit key accounts.

Roads

Between catching up on paving that had been paused, grant funding for several miles of Village-owned roads and the new road revenue, the Village is on track to pave about 15% of its roads. Newly annexed areas come with their own road Special Service Areas.

That pace cannot be sustained on current revenue alone. Fox Mill by itself will take three to four years of the road budget. Here is why.

Public Safety

We have supported the police department’s steady professionalization of equipment, training, vehicles and technology. The department’s grant writing is outstanding.

We supported new rules for e-bikes and scooters, the volunteer organizations connected to the department and National Night Out every year. We have also made a series of traffic control changes on McDonald, Connors, Burlington, Brown and Old La Fox roads.

Managing Growth

In 2024, developers proposed about 2,000 houses, at one point as many as 2,500. We got that down to 900, with infrastructure paid for by the development itself.

We approved most variance applications and one PUD amendment (Farmhouse School).

What’s Next

Development to the north will not arrive in big, visible pieces like La Fox. It will come as 50- to 200-unit projects that are hard to see coming. The Village needs to be proactive.

  • Defend our boundary with Burlington at Plato and Burlington roads, an aquifer recharge zone that cannot be developed.
  • Plan the Route 47 corridor. How many warehouses will we tolerate?
  • Pursue boundary agreements with Elburn, Lily Lake, Elgin and St. Charles.
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