Jack Franks

Donna Schaefer, 69, of McHenry, the former McHenry Township Supervisor and McHenry County board member, died on Sunday, March 24, 2024. She was remembered as an advocate for townships, seniors and those less fortunate, friends said.

A McHenry County judge ruled last week that a law passed and signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2019, allowing residents of only McHenry County to dissolve their townships in a referendum, is unconstitutional.

McHenry County Board Chair Mike Buehler on Thursday called the indictment against former President Donald Trump “politically motivated,” while the county’s Democratic Party Chair Kristina Zahorik said it’s “justice being served.”

Recent proposals to open new gravel and sand mining near homes in McHenry County have left some neighbors eyeing those pitches warily.

After leading a neo-Nazi group for 25 years, Jeff Schoep has spent the past few years spreading the exact opposite message, working not only to prove that his transformation is genuine but that his message is necessary.

Former McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks argues the home addresses of current County Board members should not have been considered in drawing district lines.

‘This merger should be mostly invisible to the customers of both banks,’ First Secure chairman says

New hearing date set for 10 a.m., Jan. 15

Illinois regional health centers are expected to receive the first shipment of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 10, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi O. Ezike told county and municipal leaders from across the state

The McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office will not enforce Governor JB Pritzker's ban on indoor dining, State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally announced Wednesday.

Business owners facing fines for breaking the state's COVID-19 rules – including the ban on indoor dining – could go through an expedited adjudication process instead of the courts

The health department did come up with an initial proposal last Friday and was planning on running it by the board of health at its Monday meeting, but that meeting was later canceled, Franks said.

McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks called upon the McHenry County Department of Health Thursday to figure out what they would need to enforce COVID-19 mitigation measures more effectively

McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks, an incumbent Democrat, conceded his bid for re-election to his Republican opponent, Mike Buehler, at a meeting of the County Board Thursday morning.

Municipalities in McHenry County will largely leave enforcement of COVID-19 business restrictions to other entities, forwarding noncompliance complaints to the McHenry County Department of Health as they come in, their leaders said.

Bars and restaurants in McHenry and Lake counties will be forced to close to indoor dining starting Saturday, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced.

McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks and State's Attorney Patrick Kenneally are gathering signatures in an effort to put a question on the April 2021 ballot that could abolish Algonquin Township, according to a Tuesday news release.

McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks is urging the Illinois Department of Public Health to change its methodology for tracking the number of positive COVID-19 tests in the region.

A key metric used by the Illinois Department of Public Health to decide whether a region should face additional restrictions is being adopted by the McHenry County Department of Health, the local agency announced Wednesday.

McHenry County could see reduced capacity at its businesses and the end of indoor dining as early as next week if the state’s metrics on local COVID-19 cases do not improve, the McHenry County Board chairman said Thursday.

As the first term of McHenry County’s first publicly elected County Board chair comes to an end, clashes between the McHenry County Board and its chairman have sparked questions of where the limits of the board chair’s power should lie.

Buehler described himself Thursday as a local business man running on an anti-corruption platform, while Franks said in a phone interview Wednesday that pushing back against the "status quo" of the County Board is necessary

About 60 small businesses will receive $5,000 in one-time emergency stabilization grants from McHenry County to help replace revenue lost because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Friday news release.

A recurring theme emerged among the member comments at Tuesday evening’s meeting of the McHenry County Board, with nearly every member who spoke compelled to take a side in a recent controversy between County Board Chairman Jack Franks and county auditor Shannon Teresi

McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks sent a letter to Algonquin Township officials on Thursday calling for a referendum on the elimination of the township to be added to the Nov. 3 ballot.

At the start of Tuesday evening’s McHenry County Board meeting, District 3 board member Joseph Gottemoller filed a motion to remove two new resolutions from the meeting’s agenda.

At Thursday's Committee of the Whole meeting, McHenry County board members were given the chance to discuss two new resolutions proposed by Board Chairman Jack Franks.

On Monday, McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks proposed a resolution to cut the salaries of most elected officials by 10% as the county faces immense losses in revenue because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

McHenry County is projected to see upwards of $22 million in lost revenue for fiscal 2020 because of COVID-19-related shutdowns, according to a May 5 report from the county's Director of Finance Kevin Bueso.

In an emergency meeting Tuesday evening, McHenry County Board members voted unanimously to approve an ordinance waiving late fees and interest accruement for the first installment of this year’s property taxes for a period of 90 days.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law giving voters in one Illinois county an option to more easily dissolve township governments. It is an initiative of two state lawmakers to ease residents’ property taxes by reducing levels of government.

A McHenry County Sheriff’s Deputy shot outside a Rockford hotel Thursday morning has died, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy has been identified as Crystal Lake resident Jacob Keltner.

McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks is angling to refund $15 million from Valley Hi Nursing Home reserves to eligible residents

The McHenry County Board voted Tuesday night to reduce its size by 25 percent

On Friday afternoon, Algonquin Township Highway Commissioner Andrew Gasser used the road district’s marquee to share a message attacking the Northwest Herald:

The McHenry County Board voted Tuesday to push two binding referendums to the November ballot that could impose term limits on board members and the chairman.

McHenry County Chief Deputy Auditor Shannon Teresi has been nominated to fill the vacant office of county auditor

CRGC includes leadership from Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties and the city of Chicago

An auction company has bought delinquent property taxes for Harvard’s former Motorola campus

McHenry County Board Chairman Jack Franks has been appointed to a task force looking to bring Amazon’s second headquarters to the Chicago area – and possibly McHenry County.

A proposal to end the McHenry County Board’s participation in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cleared its last procedural hurdle before heading for a formal vote later this month.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner won a legislative victory Wednesday evening when the Illinois House failed to override his veto of a bill aimed at limiting his ability to negotiate a new contract with a powerful state employee union.