Road closures, park closures, more sandbagging and – with a break in the rainfall – the waiting game for waters to top out were the focuses Monday along the Fox River in the McHenry County area.

Bill Breit, 87, is on hospice care and doesn't care to leave his Johnsburg home, even as the Fox River rises to flood stages outside. The community, including strangers to Breit, rallied to sandbag his house.

Firefighters responding to a call in Lake in the Hills discovered a deceased male inside Monday.

Five months after the Thompson’s Appliances building in downtown Woodstock partially collapsed, the city pumped the brakes on legal action to get the remaining structure torn down.

Authorities have identified a man who was found dead in a Woodstock homeless encampment and determined whether it was a natural death.

Firefighters doused a blaze that broke out late Sunday in a Crystal Lake home.

Almost 10,000 more people voted Democratic in the March primary in McHenry County. Was that simply indicative of more competitive races on that side of the aisle, or a bigger political shift?

Crystal Lake Central co-op's Anna Starr scored 19 goals in three wins against St. Charles East co-op, Hampshire co-op and Lincoln-Way Central co-op and surpassed 300 in her career. Starr is the Northwest Herald Athlete of the Week.

The family of a Crystal Lake man claims a Woodstock cinema left him inside a dark theater, causing him to fall and leading to his death about a week later.

After initial skepticism, Lake in the Hills officials have given the go-ahead for a new car wash on Randall Road.

The village of Algonquin is looking to residents to help draft a renovation plan for High Hill Park and Nature Preserve.

The Fox River isn't set to crest until later this week as people deal with rising waters and flooded conditions and watch to see how high it gets.

Catch up on the week’s top McHenry County news in minutes. Hear the week’s 5 most popular stories, read aloud for you, for the week of April 12-18

A residential home in Prairie Grove that sold for $630,000 tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in McHenry County during the past week.

The reconstruction of Crystal Lake’s downtown park continues but the city has set an opening date in early June.

A car veered off Route 14 in Woodstock on Saturday and hit several cars in the Culver's parking lot.

The Fox River is rising in McHenry and Kane counties and is expected to crest next week.

The McHenry Township Fire Protection District is eyeing projects including a new fire station and a training center for firefighters.

Utility work in anticipation of the Kreutzer Road widening in Huntley is due to begin next week, Village Manager Dave Johnson said Thursday.

A Crystal Lake man has been accused of 10 thefts this year in McHenry and Kane counties and elsewhere, officials say, and they blame the state's criminal justice reforms for him not being locked up.

As Shaw Media celebrates its 175th anniversary, we looked back at four front pages from April 18, including this from 2006 when former Illinois Governor George Ryan was found guilty on racketeering and fraud charges

Much of northern Illinois has been placed under a tornado watch until 8 p.m. Friday. A Level 3 severe risk brings strong storms, hail and possible tornadoes to northern Illinois on Friday evening.

McHenry County officials are urging people along the Fox River to get their sandbags and “go” bags ready ahead of more rain in the forecast.

A Spring Grove man was found dead in a wooded area with a gunshot wound to the head, according to authorities, who said there did not appear to be foul play involved.

A man is facing new felony charges just months after he was paroled from prison for burglarizing a Lakewood home, stealing from a vehicle in Crystal Lake and participating in mob action in Cary.

A Milwaukee woman is accused of stealing perfume and cologne from Ulta stores in McHenry County and has past retail theft convictions in Wisconsin and Illinois, according to authorities and court records.

While on pretrial release for driving on a revoked license, a McHenry man with 29 prior convictions, including four for domestic batteries, is accused of abusing a woman - again, according to authorities.

QuikTrip - not to be confused with Kwik Trip – could be debuting in at a location off Route 25 in Algonquin.

Sandbagging has begun in spots along the Fox River as its levels are expected to continue rising into next week following several inches of rain over recent days. A flood warning is in place for McHenry, Kane and Lake counties.

The Woodstock Opera House will host a performance from Levi Kreis, best known for originating the role of Jerry Lee Lewis in Broadway’s “Million Dollar Quartet,” at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 19.

The long-awaited Route 47 widening through Woodstock has finally started. Here’s what you need to know.

A fire broke out in an attached garage near Richmond.

On the anniversary of the famous sinking of the Titanic ship, waters also troubled the Volo Museum, as its Titanic exhibit was flooded after Tuesday night’s downpour of storms.

Coming off a recent approval to open in Crystal Lake, drive-thru coffee shop Dutch Bros. now has its sights on opening in Algonquin.

Prosecutors allege that a convicted felon who lives in Crystal Lake sexually assaulted a 9-year-old child he knows several times over the course of three years.

A tornado watch has been issued for several northern Illinois counties, including Kane, DeKalb, McHenry, Lake, Ogle, Lee, Whiteside and more.

Four Crystal Lake police officers received an award for their heroic efforts in rescuing residents from a house fire in February.

Kelleher + Holland LLC, touted as one of the Chicago area’s largest full-service suburban law firms, has announced the opening of a Crystal Lake office.

A lawsuit claims Kalahari, a Wisconsin Dells water park, was “negligent” for serving alcohol to an Elgin man who later “violently collided” in his Mercedes with another car near Woodstock, killing him and critically injuring a family of four.

Friends of the Cary Area Library’s Spring 2026 Used Book Sale takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

A Harvard man was denied pretrial release Monday after he was accused of strangling a woman until she passed out.

Cary successfully passed a balanced budget Tuesday, but not without some major changes from the draft presented last month, including an updated budget for renovations for a downtown alley that increased by over $500,000.

Recently hatched bald eagles have been spotted around the Chicago area, including at Fermilab grounds in Batavia.

The McHenry County Department of Health has reopened its Crystal Lake facility after about a year of renovations.

Cats and birds were among the pets that were missing following a house fire outside McHenry in an area without hydrants.

Woodstock sophomore Megan Kuiper struck out 38 batters in her first 14 1/3 innings of the season, including 20 in a near no-hitter against Round Lake. Kuiper is the Northwest Herald Athlete of the Week in an online vote.

A level 3 severe risk is now in place, with the strongest storms likely on Tuesday afternoon into the evening

Top senior players from across the McHenry County area participate in the All-Star Basketball Extravaganza on Sunday, April 12, 2026, at Alden-Hebron High School in Hebron.

Top senior players from across the McHenry County area participate in the All-Star Basketball Extravaganza on Sunday, April 12, 2026, at Alden-Hebron High School in Hebron.

A man already on the sex offender registry is accused of luring a child from Harvard to Wisconsin and sexually assaulting the child, authorities said.