Visitors and residents alike all find something to love about this town. Anything that cannot be found right in town is just a short trip away. South Elgin has long benefited from a close proximity to major transportation corridors. Residents routinely travel to Chicago for work or recreation and gladly return to their hometown at the end of the day. Of course, with so much to do around town, who needs to look any further?  

Latest Headlines:

Fox Valley Webworks Launches New Hosting Plans
Get a fast and reliable hosting account from Webworks Hosting. Basic plans start at $9.95 and include the awesome cPanel Control Panel, over 4000 design templates, easy script installs for Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal, etc., 99.9% uptime, and a 30-Day money back guarantee!

Andy Zepeda dies, surrounded by his large Aurora family
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:15:56 -0600
Andy Zepeda died exactly as he had requested: surrounded by the large Aurora-area family who made it their mission to bring him home. The 44-year-old former Auroran whose family made an emergency cross-country road trip from California to the Fox Valley last week, passed away at 12:05 a.m. Friday in his parents’ Montgomery home. “Andy finished his first journey ... and is now on his next journey,” said Pinky Zepeda, Andy’s uncle. He passed away “with all his family around him.” For 32 hours straight, Andy’s brother Domonick and sisters Theresa and Rose, along with cousin Cindy Gonzales Martinez, drove …

U46 issues alert about recalled eggs
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:06:34 -0600
Streamwood High School students were served salad containing recalled hard-cooked eggs during lunch service Thursday, Elgin School District U46 said Friday. A nationwide precautionary recall of GFS-brand hard-cooked eggs was not issued until after lunch service had ended Thursday, U46 said. It notified parents of Streamwood students Friday that the eggs had been served at the school. Those eggs could be contaminated Listeria monocytogenes. U46 vendor Michael Foods told the district that the voluntary recall is precautionary and there have been no reported illness. The recall is the result of lab testing that showed the eggs may contain the Listeria. …

Prepping kids for college
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:32:00 -0600
ELGIN — Allison Jones, vice president for postsecondary collaboration at the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, said he really believes “the stars are aligned.” And, Jones said, “We’re going to have systemic change in K-12 and in higher education as a result. … I think it’s going to be successful. “There’s a lot of work to be done. It’s a short time frame. But I think we can do it.” That’s all because of the Common Core Standards, the state learning standards that Illinois school districts adopted in 2010 for students in kindergarten through grade …

Elgin cuts 19 workers, eliminates 29 positions
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:30:43 -0600
ELGIN — The city cut 13 full-time and six part-time positions Friday in a cost-cutting move. Among those whose jobs were cut were Senior Recreation Supervisor Deb Barr, Deputy Police Chief Bob Beeter, Public Services Director David Lawry, Public Safety Communications Official Sue Olafson and Community Restitution Work Coordinator Ed Swierbinski. With spots already open and not to be filled in the mix, overall 22 full-time and seven part-time positions have been eliminated, City Manager Sean Stegall said. The moves will save the city about $1.8 million, according to Stegall, who added that further reorganization will take place. “It’s a …

Huntley encouraging businesses to look there first
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:02:15 -0600
HUNTLEY — The village is promoting itself as a good place to do business. Village board recently heard an overview of the Huntley First! economic development program, which seeks to enhance the business community’s perception of the village and entice owners to locate here. To that end, the village launched a new economic development web portal on Thursday, which is separate from the village’s regular website. It targets development and details the reasons a site developed in Huntley would be advantageous to businesses both large and small. The website allows users to search available properties in the village to find …

Panel suggests $1 increase in license plate fee
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:42:01 -0600
SPRINGFIELD — A state panel is suggesting a $1 increase in Illinois license plate fees to encourage usage of electric cars. The recommendation is included in a report forwarded to members of the Illinois General Assembly and Gov. Pat Quinn by the state’s Electric Vehicle Advisory Council. The panel suggests the money raised be used to help pay for rebates and grants for alternative fuel vehicles. The $1 increase would bring Illinois’ standard license plate renewal cost to $100 annually. The panel was formed last year as part of a legislative initiative designed to make Illinois a center for electric …

Hampshire students get role in film on veterans
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:10:00 -0600
HAMPSHIRE — There were no desks in the classroom. Just a teacher, about 30 students, a blue star flag and a question written on the chalkboard: “What have you done to earn to earn the right to sit at your desk?” When the students answered that question, their teacher told them, they could have their desks. It wasn’t their grades or their behavior. It wasn’t even their good looks, Colorado-based filmmaker Larry Cappetto added. At the end of the day, it was the veterans of the U.S. military who carried the students’ desks into the classroom. It was the very …

Gov. Quinn to propose raising school dropout age 18
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:22:13 -0600
Gov. Pat Quinn says he’ll propose raising the age at which students can drop out of school in Illinois to 18. It’s 17 now. That makes Illinois one of 29 states that let students leave school before they turn 18. In an appearance Friday in New York on the MSNBC cable TV show “Morning Joe,” Quinn said he’ll propose raising the minimum age to drop out during his “State of the State” address next week.

Kane coroner candidates focus on incumbent, own backgrounds during debate
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:28:20 -0600
Much of this week’s debate between the two Republican candidates for Kane County coroner focused on incumbent Coroner Chuck West. Physician and infectious-diseases specialist Robert Tiballi of Elgin and DuPage County sheriff’s Sgt. Rob Russell of South Elgin squared off on the stage of the Norris Cultural Arts Center in St. Charles. In his opening statements, Tiballi said he called out “unprofessional and unethical practices” in the Kane coroner’s office when he ran for the post eight years ago. Since that time, Coroner Chuck West has been charged with criminal official misconduct, and has been sued by a coroner’s office …

Locals soaring at 107th Norge Ski Jump Tournament
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:08:17 -0600
FOX RIVER GROVE — One of the seasonal highlights of any winter in the Fox Valley takes place this weekend with the 107th Norge Ski Jump Tournament here. The event happens at the Norge Ski Club, 100 Ski Hill Road, which was founded in 1905 by Norwegian immigrants and is one of the oldest continuously operated ski clubs in the country. Among the participants will be Faith and Shane Kocher of Algonquin, who are learning the sport through the club’s training center. The two have been jumping for just three winters but already have been winning titles in their respective …

Aurora man accused of taking Rx meds from car at casino
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:28:25 -0600
Elgin Stolen prescriptions: Cameron J. Nelson, 22, of the 800 block of North Ohio Street, Aurora, was charged with burglary. He is accused of taking prescription medications from a man’s car while it was parked, unlocked, in the Grand Victoria Casino parking lot Friday. According to police, video surveillance showed a car moving between parking spaces and a man getting out of that car and walking between other vehicles. Bail was set at $80,000, and he was given a Feb. 9 court date. Fought with officer: Tony T. Grayer, 19, of the 0-100 block of North McLean Boulevard, Elgin, was …

Hampshire Area Chamber mixes it up with new faces
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:28:06 -0600
HAMPSHIRE — The Hampshire Area Chamber of Commerce held an after-hours mixer this week to welcome Bonnie Hanson, the chamber’s new executive director. Hanson was formerly the executive director of the Genoa Area Chamber of Commerce. “You will find that Bonnie is a great addition to our chamber,” said Lynn Acker, chamber president. The mixer was held at the Hampshire Professional Center, 895 S. State St., which is managed by Bruce Burklow Properties. New rep The event was attended by about 25 chamber members and state Rep. Robert Pritchard, R-Hinckley. Due to redistricting, parts of Hampshire and all of Burlington …

Elgin serious crime lowest in 40 years
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:28:00 -0600
ELGIN — Despite some high-profile homicides and a rise in the number of burglaries, the number of serious crimes reported in Elgin dropped by more than 7 percent in 2011 compared to the number for 2010, Police Chief Jeff Swoboda announced Thursday. It was the single-largest decline in the city in five years. And when more-minor offenses such as misdemeanor battery, vandalism and drug possession are included, the number of crimes dropped a whopping 15.5 percent. The FBI, which compiles “Uniform Crime Reports” from all police departments, does not yet have final figures for the second half of 2011 from …

Area’s worst blizzard hit 45 years ago
Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:44:55 -0600
You thought last week’s snow was bad? Compared to the snow that paralyzed the city 45 years ago Thursday and Friday, it was nothing. On January 26 and 27, 1967, Chicago endured its worst snowstorm ever. The snow started at 5:02 a.m. on the 26th, and by 10:10 a.m. on the 27th a record 23 inches of snow crippled the city, according to the National Weather Service. During the storm winds gusted to 53 mph at Midway Airport. The high winds caused considerable blowing and drifting, and drifts 4 to 6 feet high were widespread throughout the area, the weather …

Found bullets put Burlington, Elgin schools on lockdown
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:10:26 -0600
ELGIN — Central Community Unit School District 301 is encouraging parents to talk to their children about “the importance of not bringing prohibited items to school” after bullets were found this week at two separate schools in the district. Country Trails Elementary School in Elgin was placed on “soft lockdown” Tuesday after a teacher found a bullet in the second-floor hallway “right at dismissal” Monday, according to District 301 Superintendent Todd Stirn. “It was decided when students arrived in the building, we wanted to disrupt their day as little as possible,” Stirn said. A soft lockdown means that while students …

Preckwinkle on county morgue mess: People will ‘lose their jobs’
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:18:05 -0600
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Thursday that the management of the county morgue will be overhauled and said some staffers will lose their jobs. The move comes in the wake of Chicago Sun-Times reports about bodies piling up at the West Side facility and workers complaining about unhealthy working conditions.

Sponsored Links

Innovative Ideas Screen Printing
We offer a wide variety of products for printing. There's nothing like a good graphic to promote your business or make any occasion extra special. We can work with your specific artwork or you can tell us what you're thinking and we'll design it for you. In any event it will be something you can wear with pride.

Webworks Hosting
Get a fast and reliable hosting account from Webworks Hosting. Basic plans start at $9.95 and include the awesome cPanel Control Panel, over 4000 design templates, easy script installs for Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal, etc., 99.9% uptime, and a 30-Day money back guarantee!