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?  

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Soldier surprised with welcome home celebration
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:37:14 -0600
ALGONQUIN — When Army Pfc. Matthew Thomas Crawford, 24, agreed on Saturday afternoon to drive his sister, Amanda Crawford, and her 3-week-old son, Cayden, from Genoa to a family party, he never expected Warriors’ Watch Riders to meet them at Starks Corner gas station at Routes 47 and 72 and then escort them to Riverview Restaurant & Tavern in Algonquin. Matthew’s aunt, Algonquin resident Cindy Balke, arranged for the motorcade. She works at JA Frate in Crystal Lake. Joe Alger, JA Frate president, knows Cheryl “Beads” Riley, a Marine mom from Island Lake who is a member of Warriors’ Watch. …

Elgin man faces cocaine, stolen-weapon charges
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:40:32 -0600
Elgin Crack cocaine raid: Kane County sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant at 420 Walnut Ave., Apt. 1, in Elgin at about 6 a.m. Friday, arresting a man who lives there and seizing 126 grams of crack cocaine plus a stolen handgun, authorities said. Sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Pat Gengler said Sheldon McClellan, 40, was charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was being held in the Kane County jail pending a …

Bond set for man accused of killing Naperville teacher
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:30:32 -0600
DuPage Circuit Court Judge Neal Cerne set a $3 million bond Sunday for the alleged murderer of Spring Brook Elementary School teacher Shaun Wild. Daniel J. Olaska, 27, of Naperville, listened on a closed circuit television connection as his attorney, Earl Grinbarg, argued unsuccessfully for a lower bond. The fatal stabbing of Wild happened during an altercation that saw three people stabbed early Saturday morning at Frankie’s Blue Room, 16 W. Chicago Ave. in Naperville. Wild was later pronounced dead at Edward Hospital, while his friend, North Central College senior William Hayes III, underwent emergency surgery. He is recovering. A …

Districts proactive in meeting new school lunch standards
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:44:29 -0600
LAKE IN THE HILLS — Ten-year-old Denise Bush said the chicken patty sandwich is “mostly my favorite” school lunch. “My mom cooks it, and it’s really good,” she said. Luckily for the pigtailed fourth-grader, that was one of the items on the menu Thursday in the Cool Caf at Lake in the Hills Elementary School, 519 Willow St. And while a chicken patty sandwich might sound unhealthy, the chicken is oven-baked, not deep-fried, with whole wheat breading, according to Scott Rodgers, general manager of Aramark, School District 300’s food service provider. It’s also served on a whole wheat bun, not …

Getting giddy over Gorbachev visit
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:49:52 -0600
I don’t have many political heroes and often lament that our Springfieldians don’t provide me with nearly enough opportunities to accentuate the positive. The only politician I’ve praised lately is Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon, and I’ve been trying to tell him to get the hell out of it before even he turns to the dark side. But there is one name that, when even whispered, gets me to jump out of my chair and thrust my fist in the air — Mikhail Gorbachev. And he’s coming to talk at Judson College, which is a far better sight than …

Cops say help from public can help bust burglars
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:42:52 -0600
ELGIN — It was 11 a.m. the Monday before Christmas. The men seemed casual and normal as they carried pipe out of a vacant restaurant in the Town & Country Shopping Center and attached it to the roof of their truck. But a passing police officer smelled a rat. He stopped and asked them what they were doing. They said the vacant building’s owner had hired them to carry away some of the equipment inside. The officer found out who did own the building, called up and learned that the men actually were burglars. ***** Just after sunset a week …

Schools fear Quinn idea to shift pension costs
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:42:00 -0600
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Making local school districts pick up the employers’ portion of teacher retirement benefits could save more than $1.3 billion a year for Illinois’ beleaguered state treasury. It also could mean financial ruin for some local school districts, school administrators say. Gov. Pat Quinn, with at least tentative nods from Democratic leaders in the Illinois General Assembly, has expressed support for the state shifting its obligation to local school districts. It would free up money needed to pay down a huge backlog of bills and to catch up with a decades-long shortchanging of public pension systems. Local …

Author helps kids dream at Elgin Black History Family fest
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:40:13 -0600
ELGIN — Char McAllister, a second-year music student at Elgin Community College, had a full house to listen to her sing her original number “Believe in Your Dreams” to kick off the 2012 Black History Family Festival Saturday at Gail Borden Public Library. The inspirational message was an appropriate one for the families who had come to celebrate the seventh-annual event. The festival, started by local education leader Phyllis Folarin, strives to “promote literacy and unite the greater community in celebration of the African American experience.” This year’s theme was African-American Firsts: Black Americans who have shaped the country. The …

Huntley eyes plans and costs to upgrade downtown streetscape
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:40:25 -0600
HUNTLEY — The village board reviewed concept plans for an improved downtown streetscape Thursday night, getting cost estimates on the initial phases for the work. Representatives from Christopher Burke Engineering shared their proposal based on the recommendations from the 2010 Downtown Revitalization Plan. The firm proposed three phases of work that would improve the look of Huntley from Route 47 and Main Street all the way to Myrtle Street. The completion of this proposal will enable the village to seek federal, state and local grants to pay for the improvements. The village has earmarked $50,000 in the 2012 budget for …

Gov. Quinn’s housing program targets Cook Co.
Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:44:00 -0600
CHICAGO (AP) — Gov. Pat Quinn has announced a $50 million program to buy and rehabilitate vacant housing in parts of Cook County hit hard by foreclosures. The homes would then be put on the market as part of an effort to revitalize neighborhoods. The Building Blocks Pilot Program sets aside another $5 million to help buyers with $10,000 grants for down payments. That will help up to 500 homebuyers in the pilot stage of the project. Illinois is consistently ranked among the top 10 states with the highest number of foreclosures and job losses are driving a growing number …

Tea Party behind year of drama in Congress
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:25:03 -0600
WASHINGTON — The Tea Party was the most dynamic policy force in Congress for most of the 2011 session, but ended the year in a legislative flop that raised questions as to whether the movement’s influence on Capitol Hill has begun to wane. Tea Partiers were the driving force behind two large budget-cutting packages that GOP leaders negotiated with President Obama and congressional Democrats. In both cases, their winning strategy was to demand outlandishly high spending cuts and repudiate tax increases — then threaten to seriously disrupt government operations if the other side didn’t go along. “I’d like to see …

Elgin man prepares for Have a Heart dinner
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:25:47 -0600
ELGIN — When the cogs in the wheel work together, wonderful things can be done, said Jeff Turner this week as he worked to pull together the third-annual Have a Heart dinner. “We are just cogs in the wheel that is Elgin,” said Turner. Those cogs, he said, are the volunteers, donors, suppliers and diners who attend one of the four annual dinners he helps orchestrate in Elgin. “I am just the face that gets to take the credit,” he said. Set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, the community …

Carpentersville joins statewide Yellow Dot crash safety program
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:33:14 -0600
CARPENTERSVILLE — The best chance for survival following a traumatic injury in a car accident comes when those injured are seen and treated within the first hour. In the moments after a crash, seconds count, according to emergency officials. That’s why Carpentersville has joined the Illinois “Yellow Dot” program, according to a press release from the Carpentersville Fire Department. “This program will truly save lives in situations where occupants of cars involved in crashes are unconscious, by providing medical information that is vital to the correct and successful treatment by first-responders,” Carpentersville Fire Chief John Schuldt said in the release. …

Fermilab sounds debut at CSO performance
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:14:01 -0600
BATAVIA — Most Fermilab personnel have learned to ignore the ubiquitous booms, hums, growls and crackles of Fermilab machinery. But composer Mason Bates places these sounds center stage in his new piece “Alternative Energy.” “Alternative Energy” is an imaginative musical narrative that follows the evolution of energy and technology. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra will perform the piece at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Tuesday at the Symphony Center, 22.S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago. “The idea was that each movement would be separated by a hundred years, starting with old energy and moving to present and future energy,” Bates said about …

Batavia attorney newest 16th Circuit judge
Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:12:09 -0600
Bill Parkhurst of Batavia has been selected as the newest associate judge in the 16th Judicial Circuit. Parkhurst received the most votes of any of the 41 candidates who applied for the new judicial post, according to a press release from the chief judge’s Oofice sent Thursday. Associate judges are elected by circuit judges. The 16th Judicial Circuit covers Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties. Parkhurst, 51, works for the law firm of Johnson Westra Broeker Whittaker and Newitt in St. Charles. He specializes in family law and has represented clients in custody, removal, child support, visitation, adoption and other areas …

Hampshire grows to need police pension fund, panel
Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:40:20 -0600
HAMPSHIRE — The village is moving ahead with creation of a police pension fund and board to administer it in the wake of census data showing its population has risen to more than 5,000 residents. Village President Jeffrey Magnussen has appointed Hampshire residents Christopher Hessenflow, a certified financial planner, and Chris Speicher, of Fifth Third Bank, to serve on the newly created board. The village board approved the appointments Thursday night. Their terms will begin in May. Hessenflow’s term will expire in April 2013. Speicher’s term will end in April 2014. According to Illinois law, a police pension fund and …

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