Local News

Thunderstorms downed trees and power lines around McHenry County Thursday evening.

The local Police Memorial ceremony is part of the annual National Police Week, which runs through Sunday.

Joliet eyes moving City Hall away from the river, building five-story buildings, and other options as part of its downtown redevelopment.

Hilary Agnello, a volleyball coach for Prairie Ridge High and dean at Crystal Lake South High, has been charged with misdemeanor DUI and child endangerment following a crash in Crystal Lake, according to police and court records.

Illinois Valley Indivisible will hold a rally with other local organizations for “women, children and public education” this Saturday in downtown Ottawa.

Mt. St. Mary Park in St. Charles was awarded Level II status by ArbNet, a global tree-centered network sponsored by The Morton Arboretum in Lisle.

Four people were hospitalized Wednesday after suffering injuries in a two-car, head-on crash west of Hampshire and Burlington in DeKalb County, authorities said.

Kankakee police investigated a shots fired incident that occurred Wednesday in the 400 block of North East Avenue.

Ray Slattery was on the Joliet Township board for 20 years before leaving this week along with three other trustees who were in their first terms.

In Tuesday’s Kankakee County Board meeting, the board unanimously approved a resolution that “recognizes the value agriculture contributes to our county and that the rural way of life is the backbone of our county.” Roughly, one in 12 jobs in the county is tied to agriculture.

Sycamore City Manager Michael Hall was given a pay raise by the Sycamore City Council recently. Hall’s base salary has increased by $21,385 over the past three years, records show.

Several parks and green spaces throughout Yorkville have been paid for with fees charged to residential developers. Here’s a closer look at the city’s ‘land cash funds,’ how they work, and where they benefit. The Grande Reserve subdivision will generate over $900K.

Three incumbents took oaths of office to continue serving on the Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School Board, which approved a resolution allowing the district to reimburse its operations and maintenance fund using bond sale proceeds at Monday's meeting.

An Ottawa-based pizzeria is opening a second location in downtown DeKalb, expected to open in June, owner Tim Cottingim said. “It’s a different type of pizza than American-style pizza,” he said.

PrairieFest will take place from June 12-15 at PrairieFest Park, 91 Plank Drive in Oswego.

The family of a 20-year-old Huntley man who was fatally struck by a car while performing utility work last year on a Huntley road received a record $11.5 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver and Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

A fire caused $5,000 in damage to a garage in the 200 block of North Hammes Avenue on Kankakee’s east side Wednesday.

The District Salon Suites, will occupy the nearly 4,000 square foot building, located at 201 W. Hydraulic Street. The building was purchased by The Williams Group in September 2024.

The La Salle County Sheriff’s Office is reminding drivers to buckle up as part of the national “Click It or Ticket” campaign, which runs May 16 to May 27

Joliet police arrested a woman following a disturbance at Motel 6 in Joliet. She faces charges for aggravated battery to a peace officer.

The Pembroke school district is seeking a new leader, with Nicole Terrell-Smith, superintendent since 2022, set to begin a new role in the south Chicago suburbs starting July 1.

The Batavia Park District will host a grand opening event for the newly renovated Patrick J. Callahan Community Center on Aug. 9.

The Salvation Army in McHenry County is celebrating National Salvation Army Week through May 18, and local restaurants are showing their support by donating a portion of sales to help the organization continue to meet the needs of 6,000 local neighbors.

A Woodstock man convicted twice of sexually assaulting a four-year-old child won another appeal and a shot at a third trial, in another twist in a case that included a judge overturning his own verdict.

A Lemont man is facing multiple charges after he fled Bolingbrook police and his SUV struck a vehicle causing serious injuries to a woman and her 3-month-old child.

A resolution to the Concerned Citizens of Manteno vs. Village of Manteno & Gotion Inc. lawsuit will not come anytime soon as Circuit Judge Lindsay Parkhurst denied dismissal Wednesday on all but three of the 10 counts.

A DeKalb man convicted of murdering high school teenager Gracie Sasso-Cleveland in 2023 has new charges after he punched a DeKalb County jail deputy and spit at another, broke a fire sprinkler and damaged jail property, court records allege.

Batavia is in the early stages of reviewing a $24 million development proposal to convert a vacant quarry site just east of the Fox River into a three-story, 72-unit affordable, apartment building called The Residence at River Point.

A Cicero man who prosecutors said turned the Fox River Grove Jewel-Osco parking lot into an “open-air drug market” was found guilty Tuesday of selling cocaine there twice last year.

Interim Bourbonnais Police Chief Dave Anderson announced Wednesday he is retiring from the force after serving in the position since the end of 2024.

Downtown Third Street in Geneva will be closed from the south of James to the south side of Campbell streets for concrete pavement patching projects through Friday, May 23.

The Joliet Park District on Wednesday announced the lineup for Latino music completing the schedule for three days of entertainment at Taste of Joliet.

The city is closing Boombah Boulevard on Thursday, May 15, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. A detour has been designated, taking drivers along Corneils Road to Route 47.

Geneva alderpersons recommended approval of a nearly $715,000 contract for underground electric replacement due to age and system capacity.

An agreement has been jockeyed between developers of a solar farm in Yorkville and an adjacent horse racing training business, sending the 20-acre project off and running. The horses run tracks directly south of the proposed Beecher Road Solar LLC solar farm development.

McColly Rosenboom announces top producers for April.

After June 6, Laurie Cyr will take her go-getter attitude as Bourbonnais assistant administrator to Loudon, Tenn., where she will become the city planner.

The annual Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Ceremony honoring Kankakee County officers is set for 11 a.m. Thursday on the lawn of the Kankakee County Courthouse.

At the May 12 Oswego School Board, board members voted unanimously to accept Bourbon Tile & Marble’s bid of $67,030 for the project.

A driver suffered injuries from a two-vehicle crash Monday morning at the curved intersection along Route 14 in downtown Cary, officials reported.

Ousted last year, Juanita Gumble is back as Hebron's police chief on an interim basis. Former Treasurer Susan Fotland has also been reinstated.

Six members of the Ottawa Fire Department have graduated from the paramedic program at Illinois Valley Community College

The DeKalb County Board on Wednesday will get a chance to comment on a proposal that could add a countywide 1% grocery tax, though not everyone appears for it. A Board committee unanimously opposed the tax last week. A full County Board vote still could happen, however.

Geneva police officers came to the rescue of five ducklings that fell into a storm sewer.

A small group of Saint Mary's Hospital patients, staff and a doctor participated in a protest rally Saturday regarding the pending cutback of labor and delivery services at the Kankakee hospital.

The Iroquois County Sheriff’s Department arrested Nicholas Gregory, of Milford, after he allegedly shot and killed 57-year-old Angela Taylor, of Donovan, Monday.

Community members are invited to attend the Plano Food Pantry on Friday, May 16, from 6 – 7:30 p.m.

A planned change in leadership at the Forest Preserve District of Will County takes place Friday when Executive Director Ralph Schultz retires.

The Illinois Department of Transportation is asking the public to provide feedback on the state’s transportation system and the agency’s overall performance by taking the annual Traveler Opinion Survey.

Geneva alderpersons recommended approval of an economic incentive agreement of $131,762 for a developer who proposes to rehabilitate a 113-year-old building for commercial and residential use.