In the Eye of the Beholder

Operatives passing thru Barrington Hills after dark would be wrong to think they had been teleported to downtown-Tokyo-Disney. In fact they would be passing through the freefire zone of an internecine struggle among Barrington Hills natives -- a contest to see who has the brightest frontyard home display in town. Warned that they were perilously close to bringing down the ComEd powergrid, the village of Barrington Hills found it necessary to intervene with an ordinance placing restrictions on the the amount lumens emitted by the outdoor lighting.

The ordinance succeeded, however, only in uniting the warring homeowners against the new common enemy in cityhall. And now the high-voltage bulbs from H.A.L.O. -- Homeowners Against Lighting Ordinances -- are feeling their oats. The pressure group of homeowners successfully fought off the restrictive ordinance to make them dial down their outdoor lighting displays. As explained in the Daily Herald ...

Opponents of the ordinance from the village's new Common Sense Party and its preceding group — Homeowners Against Lighting Ordinances — agreed the law has been watered down since it first was proposed. But it's the principle of having any regulation at all that they're against, Common Sense Party member and village trustee candidate Dede Wamberg said.

H.A.L.O. members regard Barrington Hills ...

as a place where residents paid a premium to be free of regulation and left alone.
Barrington Hills approves lighting law for new homes only

In a related story, there have been a surge of local incidents where lasers are being shined at airliners. It is unknown whether the planes were flying over Barrington Hills at the time. The Daily Herald reports one proposed remedy ...

Republican state Rep. Dave Winters wants the legislature to create state criminal charges that can be used against people who shoot laser pointers at pilots. Winters, who is also a pilot from Shirland, near Rockford, said there is not enough protection against an offense that could temporarily blind pilots and cause devastation.
State lawmakers push to criminalize pointing lasers at planes

Your LakeCountyEye fully expects to see H.A.L.O. fight this laser ordinance as well.