‘Life’s an adventure’; Barrington village president reflects on 20-year tenure
As Karen Darch steps down after 20 years as Barrington village president, she can see the fruits of her three-decade career in public service.
They include the establishment of Barrington as a home rule community, the construction of a long-awaited Route 14 underpass, the upcoming redevelopment of the ‘Golden Triangle’ site and a revitalized downtown that soon will include Park Avenue Plaza.
Approaching her final village board meeting on Monday, Darch reflected on her eventful stint as the village’s top elected leader.
“Life's an adventure, a journey with lots of interesting moments that I never would have expected in a million years,” she said.
Born and raised in Ridgefield, Connecticut, Darch moved to the Chicago area after meeting her husband, Doug, in law school at the University of North Carolina.
They settled in Barrington in 1985, drawn by the community's small-town charm and walkable downtown.
Her entry into local politics began unexpectedly when she publicly supported the development of a property that is now the village’s public safety building. After she spoke about the proposal at a village board meeting, then-Village President Ron Hamelberg approached about running for village trustee. She won election, was sworn in the same night her fifth child turned one, and served in that role for the next 10 years.
Hamelberg would be supplanted as village president by Marshall Reagle in 2021, setting the village on a rocky path strewed with executive orders, lawsuits and televised meetings that became must-watch events for residents.
“The big Monday night fun to watch our board meeting,” Darch recalled. “People would tell us it’s the best TV in town.”
Darch put an end to the Reagle era when she defeated the incumbent and challenger David Schmidt in 2005. Following that victory, Darch and the village board focused on completing development projects that had stalled, including Cook Street Plaza.
Barrington is a railroad town, and that reality was brought home in a big way with the Canadian National Railroad's 2007 announcement that it would purchase the EJ & E line.
The dramatic increase in freight train traffic led to significant backups at Barrington’s railroad crossings. At times, ambulances headed to Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital would be blocked.
“At any moment, the entire town was blocked,” Darch added.
The fight against CN consumed significant resources and ultimately required the village to pursue federal funding for the Route 14 underpass which, more than a decade later, is finally being constructed.
Darch calls the underpass one of her proudest achievements.
Another significant achievement during her tenure was securing home rule status for the village through a 2022 referendum, after a previous attempt was rejected by voters in 2014.
“I think a community has to trust its leadership to approve that kind of thing, and I think the communications with the public were better over the next several years,” Darch said. “We did a better job of presenting the case and explaining it to people.”
The designation has allowed Barrington to implement multiyear contracting and a sales tax that generates revenue for infrastructure improvements.
Darch also pointed to successful redevelopment efforts, including “redevelopment area number one” — a triangle-shaped property at Liberty and Hough streets that will feature car condos, apartments and retail space, funded partly through tax increment financing.
She also takes pride in her work on statewide issues, having served on the Illinois Municipal League board and as its president in 2016. Her advocacy on issues like pension consolidation established her as an influential voice for municipal interests in Springfield.
As she prepares to hand over leadership to incoming village President Mike Moran, Darch expressed confidence in Barrington's future while acknowledging the need to balance development with preservation.