SALEM LAKES, Wis. — Residents are organizing on social media and telling KCE they don’t want Salem Lakes transformed by a trio of large-scale BEAR Development proposals that could be paired with Tax Increment District (TID) financing. They say the village’s rural character is at stake, and they object to any plan that diverts new property-tax growth away from the general fund for years.
Village Administrator Cassandra Hiller (D) and Village President Rita Bucur (D) support using TIDs and placed the topic on a special board agenda. The notice calls a special meeting for Monday, August 18, 2025, at 6:00 p.m., with an Ehlers presentation on how TIF works followed by discussion of three BEAR concept plans: “Salem Hills,” the “Silver Lake Parcels,” and the “STH 83 Parcels.”
Residents argue the timing and sequencing look like a sales pitch for subsidies: learn the TID playbook, then hear three development pitches in one night. The agenda language itself frames these as “discussion” items, not formal approvals, but opponents see momentum building to advance them quickly.
The packet materials outline the scope: 11 large-lot single-family homes off STH 50 (“Salem Hills”); 19 single-family lots plus three larger Dells Road lots near Lakeview (“Silver Lake Parcels”); and a mixed plan off STH 83 with 46 single-family lots, 68 duplex condominium units, and a commercial outlot.
One flashpoint is whether this is “low-income housing.” The village agenda and BEAR’s letters do not label these Salem Lakes concepts as low-income projects; they are described as single-family and duplex condo neighborhoods (with a commercial outlot) at this early, conceptual stage. Still, residents note BEAR’s long record of using public tools—including LIHTC and TIDs—on affordable developments elsewhere, and they worry a similar model could emerge here.
Critics also point to BEAR’s past litigation with the City of Kenosha over a low-income (LIHTC) project, which ended with the city paying the developer $3.7 million in a 2011 settlement—a case frequently cited by locals as a cautionary tale about public exposure in developer disputes.
(facebook.com)
(Photo by Nathan DeBruin, Kenosha County Eye)
Complicating the local politics, Bucur’s boyfriend, Michael Daniels, while doesn’t live in the Village, has been helping promote the developments online despite holding no public office. Residents contacting KCE describe him as the de-facto village leader on this issue while Bucur—who works full-time at Uline—has told KCE she is in over her head and considering resignation, with Daniels stepping in to help in her stead. KCE’s prior reporting has documented Daniels’ ongoing legal troubles; he is currently out on bail. The two reportedly see each other out of town so they aren’t seen together.
TID mechanics are also drawing ire. As Ehlers explains, once a TID is created, all new value within its boundaries is captured and the corresponding tax increment flows to the district—at the combined mill rate of all taxing bodies—until the TID closes. That means schools, the county and the village general fund do not receive the growth from that new value during the life of the district.
Opponents say that is exactly why they’re pushing back: years of forgone general-fund growth, higher service demands from new housing, and uncertainty if the projects underperform. Supporters counter that TIDs are the principal economic-development tool available to Wisconsin municipalities and can fund needed infrastructure without immediately raising taxes.
Monday’s special meeting will test where the board intends to steer the village. The agenda sets the stage: a TIF primer first, then BEAR’s three concepts. Residents say they will be watching closely—and speaking up—before the village commits to any plan that changes Salem Lakes’ identity and ties up its future tax base.
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40 Responses
Welcome to Lake County North. You get what you vote for and who they hire and refuse to fire. The Bucur/Hiller Administration is bound and determined to increase housing density and property taxes.
Elections have consequences.
Yup, and you know what? Lake County is one of the wealthiest counties in the ENTIRE COUNTRY. I went to high school there. My high school now has a $90+ million dollar contingency fund. That’s $90 million in the bank just for the future. You’re broke!!! Wake up!!! You need development!!!
For a Candidate or like last time , a group of Candidates to “Rise Up” and put forth “Their Vision” for what they will do to “Fix” this Village !
(Who knows, Brian may embrace a new group)
If it is as broken as both sides say, the board and administration saying “we need money” and the opposition commenters here saying “leave everything alone, no problems to fix” other than get rid of anyone that wants to change things,
then show yourselves and tell the rest of us how to move forward !
Virtually Every board meeting including planning commission and now the Economic Development Committee (EDC) has time for public comments. Many a county and village candidate has introduced themselves here at our podium.
Step Up !! Be Heard !!
Tell us how to pay for everything with the inflation of years past that outpaced any “NEW MONEY” that is available to this Village ?
Or what to cut out and what to keep in our restricted finite budget.
Budget meetings just around the corner.
Show up. Get involved. Put in your two cents worth and be a part of the solution instead of just complaining here.
Everyone, regardless of which side, wants a leader.
Is that YOU ?
Who can be the next administrator that will do the job because they know this place because they live here ?
I thought Mike Murdock was a great choice until he wasn’t. Worked here a long time. Knew what’s what and who’s who.
But that didn’t quite work out the way it was supposed to, did it ?
So who’s next ?
Experienced in public administration. Understanding public finances and the laws governing those dollars. Where they come from and where they go to.
Able to negotiate with neighboring communities both in exchange of services and cooperation on land use ?
Who is the super man or woman ?!
It’s not Rita. Maybe Bill Hopkins should apply for administrator ? Can’t tell me he hasn’t thought about it. He’s retired. Plenty of time for a new full time job. Just ask him.
Another visionary from Illinois here to rescue us from our quaint little village ways. Administrator Hiller must be exhausted from all that selfless service… You know, tirelessly paving the way for her developer buddies and lawn care cronies. Ordinances? Why not rewrite the whole charter while we’re at it? And hey, let’s keep hemorrhaging public funds for the change we don’t want or need. Now you want the Taxpayers to fund infrastructure with our tax dollars. Why? The promise of high-density developments to lower taxes, yeah, and I got some ocean front property to sell you in Arizona, or at least Rock Lake Water Front, but that’s a give-away.
You are broke!!! Raise taxes or allow WELL PLANNED DEVELOPMENT!!!
For those giving thumbs down, then what’s your solution? You only have two. Raise taxes or develop. Development doesn’t have to be random. A big box here, a fast food there. It can be planned. You can have a town that has a charming small town feel but still gets you out of debt. To just say no and have no plan is just sticking your head in the sand.
Then what’s the answer? You paying the $5.5 million you’re in debt? Where is it coming from? Whose paying to redo the roads?
I think there is a Mills in the woodpile.
TIF districts have some utility if they create jobs and turn money over in the community. Pleasant Prairie used them with industrial development.
Yes, and there are plans that could provide jobs without turning the town into a sea of massive white factories with 50 docking bays or rows of big boxes stores.
….that big box stores want to be here.
Do they ?
Why would they ?
We’ve got 3, count them, 3 Dollar stores all within 4 minutes of each other.
Dollar stores today are what 7-11s were 30 years ago in the city and suburbs. Places to get milk and bread on the way home. And a lot more. Festival is open till 10.
Kwik Trip is open all night.
All the immediate conveniences anyone needs 24 hours a day.
Walmarts in three directions. Somers. Antioch and Lake Geneva. Are they to far ?
Menards in two directions and Home Depot in the other. A Lowe’s out there too !
WE DON’T WANT BIG BOXES.
WE WANT RURAL COUNTRY ROADS WITH SUBDIVISIONS. QUAINT LITTLE PARKS AND BOAT LAUNCHES. SWING SETS AND FRISBEE COURSES. LOW TRAFFIC ROADS SO WE ALL CAN HAVE OUR GOLF CARTS AND ATVs.
So let’s make up our effin minds on not what we want but what we can get !!
Don’t worry about warehouses and semi trucks. They’re not interested in us. The interstate corridor has all that. Room for more too ! There’s a Data Center going out by the interstate. Don’t worry about those.
Solar farms ? Maybe. But they’re already here close by.
Might have been one in Salem already but the property owner there said No Thanks !
Houses. And more houses. That’s what we get. That’s what we are !
A fricken BEDROOM COMMUNITY !!!
Give me a good fire department. Ambulances and paramedics that can save a life onsite ! Good roads and guys to plow them so I can get to work in a blizzard ! Work somewhere else so when I get home I can sit in my yard in peace !
Birds. Squirrels. Rabbits. Oh yeah, and chickens too ! Remember that ordinance ?
First write up to have them then rewrite it to let everybody have more of them. And they are. A couple in my neighborhood. Love em !!
Grandkids love to stop and visit them.
Ride bikes on low traffic roads.
I fricken love my Bedroom Community living !!!
Build the friggin houses. Give em sewer. Maybe water too for the new homes but leave me and my well water alone. I’ll be damned if I’m going to start paying for water. I’ll pay for you to take it away but not to get it.
But NO TIF or TID. Pay your own way.
Very well said, don’t be made to believe that development is the only answer. We want a quite community, if that’s important, it worth pushback against these development is the only way people.
Then what’s the answer? There are only two. Raise taxes or develop. Housing is the worst form. One family at a time paying taxes will take you years just to get out of debt. Plus, you will need bigger schools. Westosha planned for their future not yours. A big box store? That’s how Paddock Lake is going and all the other businesses that come with every big box. I suppose there is Pleasant Prairie. Nothing says “bedroom community” like blocks of white industrial buildings. I mean who doesn’t love Haribo on the skyline. There are other options. Open your minds to them.
You have a huge Lowe’s coming at the intersection of 83 and 50 next to the Kwik Trip. You can’t stop this. They are coming. But there are better ideas. But first you have to except that growth is happening and corn fields are going away. Building houses is one of the worst options. It means constant construction for years unless they build an entire neighborhood of cookie cutter homes. Each house is sold independently meaning property taxes trickle in rather than pour in. You will have to build more schools. Paddock Lake is growing. You won’t be able to use their high school forever. My hometown in Lake County went through that twice. We had two other towns using our schools and services. In the end they had to build their own at expense. But you have to plan now and with an open mind. But you’re not gonna stay rural. You just aren’t.
The rural character disappeared a long time ago.
And it’s not coming back. Lake County and Milwaukee ARE GROWING TOGETHER
Failed Farmer?
All the farmers I know are jacked or wirey.
Maybe that fat dude was playing farm games on his phone and there was some confusion?
Why? There is no need for more housing- the population is rising by well less than 100 every couple years- and that’s a stretch. This is completely unnecessary and is just Hiller trying to do something since her giant f-up.
Really ??
Population is only increasing by 100 every couple of years ?
Why is that ?
That’s because the only new housing is when people from elsewhere come here, buy a vacant lot and build a new home. There’s your hundred.
Yet at Salem school we have declining enrollment.
Central high school needs open enrollment to forestall raising taxes there. Didn’t you see Gendron’s 15 minute speech and review at the Salem board meeting a while back. He said right out that if it wasn’t for parents from Kenosha driving their kids west out of Kenosha, 300 of them, central would be in the hole financially. That’s the only reason they aren’t asking for referendums.
He said it !!
Salem Grade has capacity for 1,500.
Currently it’s at about 950 or so. They’re hurting.
School finances have been a problem since the 90s. Laws in Madison screwed that up.
The ONLY WAY OUT is new homes. Lots of them !
Both for the schools and village services.
New homes don’t burn down. New homes don’t have a lot of old people in them needing ambulances. Yet they will contribute to the village budget without increasing the burden of services.
Yes we need new housing. But not with these TIF or TID districts. Let Bear pay out of their own pocket for the infrastructure. Then charge more for the lots.
In my neighborhood 25 years ago we had 20 kids at three bus stops for grade school. Now we have two families with kids, one home schools and the bus barely slows down to pick up the others.
Yet in 15 or 20 years my whole neighborhood will be new families. All us Boomers will be dead and gone and every house will have new owners. But families now days are one or two kids not 3-4 or 5 like years ago. So to support the existing schools we need new homes for these new 1 and 2 kid families to pay the freight.
I’m against delaying taxes like this but I’m for increasing the tax base.
New homes ? Bring them on !!
But pay your own way
So you want to build a shit ton of shitty homes JUST to fund your school enrollment problem?! That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard! Here’s and idea- spend within your budget.
Shocker, I know.
the Village budget problems. Tax base.
New homes is the fastest easiest way to do that.
Business ? Industrial or manufacturing ?
They don’t fit in our “rural” desires.
Service business ?
Doctors? Lawyers ? Dentists ? Car mechanics ? Restaurant ?
What small businesses can we attract that we don’t already have ? Or can drive to ?
Somebody says a Lowe’s is going in ? Really ? There’s one in Kenosha. Used to be on In Gurnee. That one closed up. Too close to Menards and Home Depot.
Can this area support a Lowe’s ?
Heck we barely support the Ace Hardware. We are lucky they stayed once Reinemans got old and wanted out.
Good for them.
WE ARE A BEDROOM COMMUNITY.
JUST LIKE LINDENHURST IS.
Houses. Gas stations. A single food store.
Not counting Kwik Trip.
Accept the houses.
Or accept sub standard services.
It’s one of the other
Yes the Lowe’s is coming. Very likely it will have other businesses come with it. The people of Paddock Lake had their say. The decision was made. There are things out there that make money without becoming Hwy 50 east of the I or Gurnee. But you need to plan. Paddock is committed, it seems, to build up a commercial center between those in Kenosha and Lake Geneva. It makes sense. It’s also not that the schools need to be filled, as some said, but they have planned for the growth they know is coming like it or not. You can’t tell someone they can’t sell there land or tell people they can’t build on it. But you can plan it out!!!
With No Fire Department ?
Ok. They just write checks.
Sure. Buy what you don’t have.
But really ?
Is not having their own fire trucks really going to help attract anyone ?
Does Lowe’s know how far the truck is away ? From Bristol ?
Does Lowe’s care ?
Should they ?
How about these 4 different old people homes ? Have they said anything yet about ambulance wait times ? Or is everyone just waiting till New Years Day ?
Bear Realty is loving the new Illinois democrat on the board.
Kiss the farmland goodbye.
This is Rita’s fault, hiring someone who has zero in common with the village people.
Biggest disappointment this area has seen in decades.
This Village NEEDS MONEY !
The only way that happens is with Growth !
The Economic Development Committee is just starting their tenure and may be able to bring in business to help with the tax base. But that’s just one leg in the chair.
Resident Growth is also part of expanding our tax base.
Bear seems to be the only developer around that is bringing anything to the table. And something is better than nothing.
If it wasn’t Cassandra in that job it would just be someone else. She’s just the messenger.
Build or crawl back under the rock and hope somebody dies and leaves us 10 million.
Because without growth nothing more happens here. We are a land rich cash poor village.
Our only asset is land. If we don’t develop it and send out those “NEW” tax bills, then we might as well give up our Village Charter and become a town again. Then we’ll have Sam and the county board deciding things for us.
You are absolutely right!!! YOU CANNOT STOP GROWTH!!! Thinking you can is just naive. The Chicago suburbs end at the state line. The next thing north is Bristol and Salem Lakes. 15 years ago there was nothing between 94 and Green Bay. Now there isn’t vacant land anywhere. If you think that Chicago, Milwaukee, and Rockford aren’t growing together take your head out of the sand. The town is severely in the red. You have TWO CHOICES. HIGHER TAXES OR DEVELOPMENT. But development can be planned. It doesn’t have to be sporadic. You don’t have to end up like Gurnee or East of the I on 50. It can be planned to keep a small town feel but with enough growth to fund the future (and pay off the past). But YOU CANNOT STOP IT. These farmers will sell. Many don’t have family interested in riding a tractor. So, unless you personally can buy the land I suggest you stop complaining and start planning. Otherwise you will end up with a Walmart, Costco, strip malls and fast food everywhere. But planning the feel of the town is possible. Landscaping and signage ordinances. Banning certain types of businesses like pawn shops, liquor stores, and multiple big boxes. There are other options. But you have to accept growth and plan for it. Otherwise it will run you over. Then all of the complainers can be proven right and feel happy. But you still will loose the rural property. I grew up in a town very similar to we went from 7,000 to 30,000. But there was a plan!!!
Bear has bought off every Alderman and the previous mayor Antaramian in Kenosha now he just moving west to buy off whatever politician you can to satisfy his t needs to build his fortune ..
Antaramian used to kneel before Mills and pleasure him. The Salem town board is no different.
I assume everyone here knows what a choke hold is, or a noose? You are in one right now. Lake County is coming from the south. Pleasant Prairie and Kenosha have moved west of 94. Paddock Lake is getting a Lowes. That will come with a bunch of other stores and fast food. That is happening on the corner of 83 and 50!!! Growth is happening from the west. (It wasn’t long ago that there was nothing at the intersection of 50 and 12). So you are SURROUNDED by growth. You cannot be an island of rural. It’s noise is tightening!!!
A bit off topic here, but while driving home from the fair on HWY B; I noticed that the business area along the west side of Silver Lake is looking rather abandoned /unkept. There is private money going into some homes near the lake; but the Village of Salem Lakes appears to not be every concerned about developing or attracting business into that area. I’m not saying that a small town or village has to look like a resort catering to tourists; but I think it would be nice for a resident coming home after a day at work to have a smile on their face because the area looked as if somebody cared. A community’s appearance does make a difference in community pride/happiness, and attracting new residents and business people.
It will improve property values, bring in revenue for local businesses , Chubby’s can use the customers
Attracting new businesses is desirable
It’s cause everyone wants out of that Illinois dump of a state. Overtaxed and corruption run rampant. Now they want to move North and ruin us.
Cassie needs to go. Enough said.
for you residents that are anti-development, better get your checkbooks out, development helps share the tax burden, get out of your drug induced utopia dream, we’re located between two major urban areas. development needs to be managed and thought out, that will be the challenge for the Bristol’s and Salem Lakes of the area. Its not a short term effort. Its always interesting when the resident is mad about the corn field being developed behind their lot, if you want to keep the view, buy the land. everybody wants more, buts wants to pay less.
What we do need is a collective decision—do we go all-in on mass development to pad the tax base, opt for limited growth with some belt-tightening, or (brace yourself) consider a balanced approach? Radical, I know.
And let’s be clear: the Village can maintain its rural character. It’ll take hard work, but that’s still better than sitting around griping about it. If you care, get involved—keyboard outrage alone won’t fix anything.
Schools. Roads. Emergency services. Affordable taxes. That’s not a fantasy—it’s been achievable in Salem since the 1800s. Everything else? Bonus.
Salem Lakes isn’t perfect, but it’s our utopia. Sure, it could use some polish, but it’s far from a failure.
We should support our Schools—not just because they’re ours, but because they should be the best of the best. The idea that housing alone will magically save our schools? That’s charmingly simplistic. Yes, we need students, but we also need excellence. Let’s be the kind of district that attracts families because of our schools, not just despite them.
Support doesn’t mean blind trust. It means education, accountability, and leadership. This country wasn’t built by idiots It starts with education and parenting.
It’s time they trusted the citizens to help guide the future. Unfortunately, our administrator seems more interested in letting outside forces steer the ship. Spending on things we don’t need and can’t afford? Classic. And yet, somehow, the Village has managed to survive all these years without our very own Rock Star Admin.
It’s funny how FIBS flee Illinois. Still manage to bring all their stupid communist policies with them north and proceed to ruin next area. LOL. Rinse n repeat.
It’s not just the “fibs”. Milwaukee is growning to the south. Kenosha, Racine and Pleasant Prairie to the west. Lake Geneva to the east. You are surrounded and will be developed!!!
Lake County is one of the richest in the Country??????? Hahahaha! Ever been to the West Coast ? Scottsdale, San Diego, Orange and the list goes on. We dont need a Lake County – thank you anyways.
Nobody said you needed them. But they have no money issues. They have no debt. It’s easy to criticize when you’re the ones in debt. So how you gonna fix it?