November, 2026

Serving Our Community

Road District: 847-381-7793

Township Office: 847-381-1924

Assessor's Office: 847-381-1120

Dear Cuba Township Neighbors,

What a great October we just experienced! It was a fantastic opportunity to extend some summer activities while enjoying traditional fall community gatherings. We also get to look ahead to the giving season beginning in November.

Our Fall Festival was a tremendous success, bringing neighbors, families, and friends together for a day of fun and community spirit. A heartfelt thank you to our sponsors including Barrington Bank & Trust, Colin Wickstrom, Signarama, and LRS Services, as well as Onion Pub of Lake Barrington, Spin Spun Cotton Candy of Northbrook, Sons of Bildor, Midwest Fun Factory, Safehouse Farm Alpacas, Jumbo Jump Rental, Community Historian Barbara Benson, Q-Barrington's Lisa Stamos, and the many volunteers who helped make the event memorable for everyone who attended. Be sure to look for event photos in the next issue of Q-Barrington.

Exercise your Right to Vote

Strong communities are built through participation. As Election Day approaches, we encourage every eligible resident to plan to vote. Your voice plays an important role in shaping the future of our community. Please check your Election Day polling locations before heading to the polls.

Firewood Fridays Return

The arrival of cooler temperatures means the return of Firewood Fridays, beginning November 6. Whether you're preparing your fireplace or simply stocking up for winter, we encourage residents to review the full schedule and take advantage of this popular township program.

Leaf Pickup Continues Through November

Cuba Road's seasonal leaf pickup program will continue every Monday morning throughout November. To help crews work safely and efficiently, please have leaves prepared for collection before Monday morning and follow township guidelines for placement and pickup.

Honoring Our Veterans

This year our country celebrated our 250^th birthday and our Veterans are a big reason why our republic has endured a quarter of a millennia. On Veterans Day, November 11, we pause to recognize and thank the brave men and women who have served in our nation's armed forces. Veterans Day traces its origins to November 11, 1918, when an armistice ended fighting in World War I. More than a century later, the day remains a time to honor the service, sacrifice, and dedication of America's veterans. Please note that Cuba Township offices will be closed on Veterans Day in observance of the holiday.

A Season of Gratitude

As Thanksgiving approaches, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to live in a community defined by neighborliness, volunteerism, and civic pride. Thank you for your continued support, involvement, and commitment to making Cuba Township a wonderful place to live. Whether you volunteer at community events, participate in local elections, support township programs, or simply lend a helping hand to a neighbor, you contribute to the strength of our community. We wish you and your loved ones a Thanksgiving filled with warmth, good health, happiness, and time with family and friends.

Warm regards,

Christopher Karam

Supervisor

Cuba Township

****Appointments for services are REQUIRED****

Passport Services

Passport Applications: Passport processing takes 2-3 weeks for expedited processing and 4-6 weeks for standard processing. Expedited processing is an additional $60 per passport. Passport appointments are required - call 847-381-1924 to schedule an appointment. To check the status of your passport, click here.

Visit Travel.state.gov's renewal page if you want to renew an adult passport.

Food Pantry

The Tuesday food pantry continues weekly, by appointment only, from 10 AM to 1 PM. If you need food assistance, please email info@cubatwpil.gov or call 847-381-1924. You can also complete an online Intake Form, save it to your desktop, and email it to info@cubatwpil.gov, to sign up for the food pantry. A staff member will contact you within 24 hours (except on weekends).

If you are interested in organizing a food drive or donating to the food pantry, contact Ant at 847-381-1924, and she will assist in promoting the drive.



Below is a list of needed items:

• Bags of brown or white rice
• Madras lentils
• Canned corned beef hash and Spam
• Canned meals including chili (mild), and stew
• Pasta Sides
• Ramen Noodles
• Rice Sides (Rice-a-Roni or Near East)
• Whole wheat pasta
• Cereals
• Pinto and Garbanzo beans
• Scalloped potatoes
• Oatmeal - old fashioned oats
• Pasta sauce, tomato paste, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes
• Snacks including Cookies, Crackers, Nuts, Dried Fruit and Granola Bars
• Gluten-free products
• Cake, Bisquick, and brownie mix
• Toilet Paper and Paper Towels
• 32 oz bottles of liquid laundry detergent
• Dryer sheets
• Cleaning wipes
• Paper towels, toilet paper
• Shampoo and conditioner

Cuba Township Half-Fare Taxi Program

The half-fare taxi program is available for Township residents who are 65 or older. The Township will subsidize half of the taxi fare up to $10.00. Please stop by the office to sign up for this program. Proof of age and residency is required. Limits may apply.

Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA), formerly RTA

The Northern Illinois Transit Authority, formerly RTA, launched NITA.ILLINOIS.GOV. This web-based online customer portal allows seniors and residents with qualifying disabilities to apply for, replace, and renew Reduced Fare and Ride Free Permits. The portal can be accessed at NITA.ILLINOIS.GOV. Please call our office at 847-381-1924 if you need assistance with your application.

Cuba and Barrington Township PACE Service

The Pace program is subsidized by Cuba and Barrington Townships, and the Villages of Barrington, Lake Barrington, North Barrington, South Barrington, and Tower Lakes.

The service is available to seniors and disabled persons. Service hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM. The fares are $2.00 each way. Advanced reservations are required. Call 1-800-451-4599, Monday - Friday, from 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM.

For additional assistance, call Pace customer service at 800-606-1282, option 2.

Ride Lake County - PACE Service

Seniors aged 60+ and people with disabilities interested in using Ride Lake County are encouraged to register by calling the Pace Call Center at 1-800-201-6446.

Registering early for Ride Lake County will allow riders to schedule trips. Seniors must provide their date of birth at registration, and individuals with disabilities must provide their RTA Reduced Fare Permit number at registration. Learn more

LIHEAP, Nicor Sharing, Energy Aide and Shield of Caring Programs

Program Requirements:

• Must meet income guidelines
• Utilities must be in the applicant’s name
• Applicant must have a photo ID
• Applicant must have proof of Social Security Card
• Applicant must provide proof of income for the last 30 days
• Applicant must provide a lease agreement if renting

Contact Ant Simonian at 847-381-1924 or asimonian@cubaassessoril.gov to schedule an appointment.

For the latest road updates, follow us on Facebook!

Firewood Fridays Kick-Off in November

This is available to Cuba Township residents. Pick-up time is 7:30 AM - 2:30 PM at the Road District Office.

If you are interested in this program, you must be registered. Call Sue at 847-381-7793 to register. Once you are registered, you do not need to re-register.

November 6th and 20th

December 4th and 18th

January 8th and 22nd

February 5th and 19th

March 5th and 19th

Leaf Pickup Continues Through November

Our seasonal leaf pickup program will continue every Monday morning throughout November. To help crews work safely and efficiently, please have leaves prepared for collection before Monday morning and follow township guidelines for placement and pickup.



i3 Broadband Working in Cuba Township

i3 Broadband is expanding high-speed broadband infrastructure. If you have questions or concerns, contact Lisa Ripper at 309-453-5475.

Self-Serve Mulch

Self-serve mulch is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The mulch pile is next to the textile recycling bin in the same lot as the road salt.



Mulch Madness!

Mulch is now available for delivery to Cuba Township residents ONLY, for a delivery charge of $125.00 per truckload. Mulch is delivered on Fridays from 7:30 AM - 2:30 PM. Each load is 6-8 yards. The mulch is a double-ground mixture of hard and softwoods from removed Cuba Township trees. Email Sue at info@cubaroads.org or call 847-381-7793 to schedule your delivery.

Driveway Alert for Unincorporated Homeowners

If you are a homeowner in unincorporated Lake County and planning to put in a new driveway over an existing culvert, contact the Cuba Township Road District to inspect the culvert.

Instructions for Trees or Limbs Touching Utility Lines or Power Outages

If you have issues with trees or limbs touching utility lines, contact the utility company directly. The Township cannot trim trees or limbs within 10 feet of utility lines.

If trees are blocking the road, dial 911.

Need to report a pothole?

• Lake County roads - (847) 377-7400 or visit the LCDOT site.
• Unincorporated Cuba Township Roads - 847-381-7793

The Road District does not offer year-round electronics recycling. Visit LRS Recycling, Wauconda Recycling, or the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County.

So ran the headlines of an article published in the Chicago Sunday Tribune on May 23, 1937, the article adapted here by Barbara L. Benson with some facts that are important to Cuba Township. It appeared originally under the by-line of Al Chase their Real Estate Editor.

"Chicagoland's growing back-to-the-farm movement - for both pleasure and profit developed earlier and has continued with greater impetus in the Barrington district than in perhaps any other suburban area. During the last four years that rolling, wooded and lake-dotted terrain has attracted city dwellers from Chicago and nearby towns to purchase approximately 14,000 acres. A survey just completed by The Tribune disclosed 128 farm

properties averaging 111 acres, have been bought during the last four years."

"Most of these are for year-round residence and a majority of them are operated as practical farms by their owners. Perhaps in no other section of the Chicago suburban area have so many old-time farmhouses been remodeled into modern homes for agriculture-minded urbanites. A number of acre properties, too small for farming, have been improved with new, and in many cases luxurious residences."

The article, with a coded map, names the many well-known and successful "Urbanites" who permanently moved their families to the Barrington countryside and, within those 14,000 acres and using a 1936 Cuba Township Plat map, approximately 4,000 acres had been acquired in Cuba Township.                    

But that was not the whole story, because in fact, the acquisition of pioneer farms for country estates had begun in 1907, through the enterprise of Barrington realtor Sanford Peck, when, in Cuba Township, George Van Hagen and H. Stillson Hart, had respectively acquired 310 and 500 acres along County Line Road. Both men were successful in the railroad business, and there were also similar buyers of large farms in Barrington Township,

notably Spencer Otis, Sr. buying over 2,000 acres in the vicinity of Brinker and Otis Roads.

The 1920s saw a remarkable increase in these land purchases as shown in a 1926 Cuba Township Plat map. Besides original pioneer names like the Kelseys and F. Sandman, and around Honey Lake, the Kimberlys, we find W.J. Klingenberg (no relation to our own historian Bill Klingenberg), the Buckleys, H.A. Howland, H.D. Wetmore, W. Leonard and James McGraw, among others with significant property.

Many large estates were subdivided after the Second World War, but a few descendants of those "Urbanite" pioneers remained on smaller properties. Because of the investments made by "farm-minded city dwellers" beginning in the early years of the twentieth century, and subsequent good stewardship, Cuba Township remains a place of rolling, wooded, and lake-dotted terrain, with many residential choices along its highways and byways.

• Village of Lake Barrington
• Village of North Barrington
• Village of Barrington
• Village of Port Barrington
• Village of Barrington Hills
• Village of Tower Lakes
• Lake County Permit Facility
• Lake County Sheriff's Office
• Barrington Countryside Fire Department
• LRS Recycling
• Wauconda Recycling
• Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO)
• Barrington Area Council on Aging (BACOA)
• Barrington Area Volunteer Connection
• Barrington Youth & Family Services
• Nicasa Behavioral Health Services
• PADS Lake County
• Barrington Area Council of Governments
• GiGi's Playhouse
• Smart Farms
• Citizens for Conservation
• Flint Creek/Spring Creek Watershed Partnership

County Board Commissioners

• Commissioner Mike Danforth – District 17

Illinois State Legislators

• State Senator Darby Hills – 26th Senate District (includes all areas of 52nd and 51st House Districts below)
• State Representative Marty McLaughlin – 52^nd House District (Cary, Fox River Grove, Port Barrington and parts of Lake Barrington, Barrington Hills, and Barrington)