Local News

The next history lecture at the Ottawa Historical and Scouting Heritage Museum will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 27. 

This year's projects are part of Will County’s five-year Transportation Improvement Plan, mapping out $662 million in local infrastructure spending. 

The Zonta Club of Kankakee recently announced that Brianna Meehan is the recipient of the 2025 Zonta Women in Business Leadership Award.

A former investigator for the Will County Public Defender’s Office was sentenced to serve 85% of an eight-year prison sentence for driving under the influence of drugs in a 2022 crash that killed a psychologist.

An Island Lake man, who admitted along with a Glenview woman to cruelly housing 46 cats in a U-Haul truck for months, began serving his 40-day jail sentence last week.

The Government Finance Officers Association has honored the McHenry County Conservation District with its National Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.

Registration is still open for the 57th annual Charlemagne Award ceremony on Friday, May 2, hosted by the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce at the Royal Fox Country Club.

With all ballots counted, Jeff Schielke is set to be elected to his 12th term in office as mayor of Batavia against his challenger Tom Connelly. The updated voting totals include late-arriving mail-in and provisional ballots.

Two memorial monuments honoring the sacrifices of Gold Star families, those who have lost love ones in active military duty, will be dedicated in the area Saturday.

A Will County judge has denied the pretrial release of a Markham man charged with the 2023 murder of a Joliet teen who was shot 25 times near a playground and community center.

Local nonprofit Let's Ketchup has kept the good going by helping area school districts eliminate lunch debt and stock essentials for Care Closets.

The BMO bank in downtown Joliet was robbed on Monday afternoon, police said.

Marquette Academy Elementary in Ottawa announced its honor roll for the third quarter of the 2024-2025 school year.

Pastors and members of Batavia, Geneva and Aurora United Methodist churches celebrated Good Friday with a joint Tenebrae service at United Methodist Church of Geneva.

The Joliet Area Historical Museum was recently honored by The Illinois Association of Museums by winning its highest award.

Peru’s new city clerk, a former alderman, said he is looking forward to working with the city’s citizens and businesses over the next four years.

The longtime location of Goetsch’s Fresh Fruits & Veggies Farm Stand is for sale putting the farm stand’s future in jeopardy.

A school librarian in Wheaton is donating one of her kidneys to her best friend’s father.

Health teacher Nicole Thompson of Bernotas Middle School in Crystal Lake was honored with the inaugural Turning Point Heart Award.

A Wisconsin man was sentenced to six years in prison for passing off a fake cashier’s check for $11,900 when buying a car in McHenry.

The city of Joliet will be closing a portion of North Raynor Avenue on Tuesday for water main work.

First United Methodist Church will host its 20th annual spaghetti lunch and dinner on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at the 100 W. Jefferson St. in Ottawa.

UPDATE: Kankakee Police Chief Chris Kidwell said officers responded at approximately 1:07 a.m. to the crash that occurred in the 900 block of South Cobb Boulevard.

With all ballots counted, the Batavia School District 101 is set to swear-in two new board members while welcoming back two familiar faces. The updated voting totals include all mail-in ballots.

Tributes to Pope Francis were shared Monday by McHenry County churches, schools and Catholic faithful, many of whom awoke to the news of the pontiff’s death after having observed Easter the day before.

The public is invited as a citizens committee on Joliet's comprehensive plan meets at 11 a.m. at City Hall.

A shooting was reported in the parking lot of McDonald’s restaurant on Cass Street in Joliet.

The sixth season of the Batavia Boardwalk Shops kicks off Friday, May 9, with ten artisanal spots offering everything from globally inspired goods to handcrafted home décor.

Bradley Elementary schools have seen some attendance improvements after ramping up efforts to combat chronic absenteeism this school year.

Parking restrictions in Yorkville outside Grande Reserve Elementary are designed to mitigate safety concerns raised by teachers and parents of traffic backing up along the street with schoolchildren darting between cars.

A La Salle teacher landed in Rome on Monday to see a new saint canonized. Alex Dittmer will instead be on hand for the funeral of a pope.

A masked Joliet man armed with a gun had allegedly invaded a New Lenox residence, battered a 74-year-old man after demanding gold and then took silver coins and jewelry from him, prosecutors said. 

A communication board was recently installed at Oswegoland Park District’s Hudson Crossing Park in downtown Oswego.

Mayor Terry D’Arcy will make a state of the city speech at a May 28 luncheon for the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Geneva Bike & Pedestrian Committee will host a Bike Rodeo from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4 at the Wheeler Park north parking lot, 822 N. First St., Geneva.

The McHenry County Department of Health encourages private well owners to test their water supply at yearly and is offering reduced-cost testing in April. .

The Ottawa YMCA, in partnership with OSF HealthCare, will host the Spring Into Health Family Health Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at 411 Canal St, Ottawa.

Patients and their families may dispose of unwanted medications at the Drug Enforcement Administration take-back event in Plainfield on Saturday, April 26.

City council will consider approving an extension of the current fees without a raise or decrease in the rates. Once approved, the new rates will extend to April 30, 2026.

Streator Mayor Tara Bedei said bringing change in the wake of a recent shooting Sunday will take a unified effort from residents.

Remains found in North Carolina have been confirmed to belong to missing Crystal Lake woman Caitlin Hodges, 29, according to authorities.

Ottawa Township High School Drama Club will present “Almost, Maine,” a collection of short plays that explores love, loss and the human heart, each with a compelling couple at its center.

The Hardscrabble Lions presented a $2,000 check to Streator Unlimited.

The Cleng Peerson Lodge will host a Christmas craft workshop at noon Sunday, April 27, at the Norway Community Building, 3676 E. 2603rd Road, Sheridan.

The Pop-Up Players, a nonprofit traveling community theater troupe based in the Illinois Valley, will be staging three performances of an all new radio play adaptation (complete with retro commercials and live sound effects) of the classic, 1940 comedy “My Favorite Wife."

The Streator Public Library will be hosting a spring book sale Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26.

The Crystal Lake Park District will host its second annual Once Upon A Time Princess Fest April 26.

Reddick Library in Ottawa will be hosting a sourdough class for adults Thursday, April 24.

Akima Beauty salon and spa is now open in downtown Joliet

A list of area births at Kankakee hospitals.