Latest Headlines:
Need spurs plans for Veterans Memorial Park addition
Sun, 20 May 2012 02:57:06 -0500
ELGIN — There was a time when a downtown bridge was closed during Memorial Day ceremonies so those honoring veterans could toss flowers and a wreath into the Fox River. That wreath is to honor veterans who were buried at sea, said Jerry Turnquist, a local historian and member of the Elgin Veterans Memorial Park “Phase II” Committee. Modern-day traffic doesn’t allow the city to close downtown bridges anymore, he said. Instead, those laying wreaths find themselves walking out on mud, or artificial turf, to toss the wreath into the river — and praying it makes it in OK. The …
Little Angels run celebrates 15 years
Sun, 20 May 2012 18:42:34 -0500
WOODSTOCK — Little Angels has a very special place in A.J. Moore’s heart. His sister, now 48, lived at the home for severely disabled children and young adults on Elgin’s far east side from the time she was 7 to age 15. In the past 22 years, Moore, a South Elgin deputy chief of police, has helped raise a several hundred dollars for the home during the annual Little Angels Pledge run. Sunday marked the 25th anniversary of the motorcycle run and fundraiser, said Little Angels Director Shelley Lewis. Originally run in the Elgin area, the bike rally moved to …
Elgin Rotary has been putting ‘service above self’ for 90 years
Sun, 20 May 2012 17:08:00 -0500
ELGIN — It has been bringing Elgin business and community leaders together since Babe Ruth ruled the American League and Al Capone ruled the speakeasies of Chicago. The fist straight-A Elgin high school students it honored are now 103, if any remain alive. Its list of past presidents, not to mention ordinary members, reads like a who’s who of Elgin VIPs. It is the Rotary Cub of Elgin. One of the healthiest of the area’s fraternal, service and veterans groups — though it struggles to recruit the young — the club will celebrate its 90th birthday on Tuesday. Club President …
What’s a mom, and a school district, to do?
Sun, 20 May 2012 18:21:08 -0500
I’m shocked. One of the phantom plaintiffs finally found her way down to that Chicago courtroom to testify in the now officially perpetual School District U46 discrimination lawsuit. Of course, the only reason that happened was her chronic absences forced Judge Robert Gettelman to insist upon her presence. Four of Tracy McFadden’s six children are indeed members of this class action lawsuit that alleges the Elgin school district did not provide minorities equal access to its gifted and academy programs and the district’s 2004 boundary plan relegated minorities to older and overcrowded schools. Last Wednesday, our Elgin mother testified that …
DuPage Airport prepared to handle extra business during NATO summit in Chicago
Sun, 20 May 2012 02:58:44 -0500
WEST CHICAGO — Officials at DuPage Airport say a runway long enough to handle commercial airliners and a 24-hour control tower put them in good shape to handle increased business during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s conference in Chicago that began this weekend. “With our 24-hour FAA air control tower and on-site U.S. customs service, as well as our state-of-the-art security, DuPage Airport is ideally suited to relocate traffic that is impacted by the NATO conference,” said DuPage Executive Director David Bird. “We have a one-stop shop concierge service and 24-hour emergency response capability with personnel from the West Chicago …
State bill targets agenda details from meetings
Sun, 20 May 2012 03:19:54 -0500
A proposal making its way through the General Assembly would make it easier for people to decide if they want to have a voice in government decision making. Introduced by Glen Ellyn Republican Rep. Sandra Pihos and cosponsored by Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, House Bill 4687 would require posted meeting agendas to include enough information “to give the public reasonable notice of the items that will be considered or will be the subject of final action at the meeting,” the bill’s synopsis reads on the state website. Dillard noted that the point of mandated meeting notices is to encourage public …
COD unveils memorial to those killed at Kent State
Sun, 20 May 2012 03:19:47 -0500
In commemoration of the 42nd anniversary of the Kent State University shootings, College of DuPage officials recently unveiled a memorial created by Chicago artist Richard Rezac. Crafted from wood from four memorial Silver Leaf maple trees removed during construction of the Homeland Security Education Center on the Glen Ellyn campus, the sculpture is one of the few times Rezac has worked with provided materials. The final piece incorporates four trunk portions, as well as bronzed stems in a tabletop formation that features the original memorial plaque along with a poem by Marvin Bell, commemorating the four students killed May 4, …
Chicago man guilty in Carpentersville molestations
Sun, 20 May 2012 02:57:20 -0500
ST. CHARLES TWP. — A man awaits a life prison sentence for sexually assaulting two young children he knew in Carpentersville. Tynell D. Dixon, 31, who lives in Chicago, was convicted late Thursday by a Kane County jury of eight counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, each a Class X felony; and three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, each a Class 2 felony. Evidence showed that between Dec. 1, 2004, and June 30, 2007, Dixon preyed upon and had sexual contact with two children he knew under age 13. Each child was assaulted and abused multiple times at their …
One man’s summer vacation of a lifetime
Sun, 20 May 2012 02:57:45 -0500
ELGIN — Joseph Onesimus has paid a steep price to bring a clean water source to his home village in Mbooni, Kenya. It has cost Onesimus money, for sure, to fly back and forth between the African country and his current home in Plato Center. It also has cost him time, taking months off from his job as an adjunct instructor of business at Elgin Community College to oversee the work in Kenya. And it has cost him his marriage: He now is going through a divorce, he said, because his wife didn’t have the same vision and because he …
Group plans troop effort
Sun, 20 May 2012 02:59:46 -0500
Fox Valley Troop Support is a group of citizens whose mission is to support local troops with letters of encouragement and care packages. Deployed service members receive a bit of cheer from the folks back home. Fox Valley Troop Support Inc. is partnered with the Batavia Veterans of Foreign Wars, 652 S. River St., Batavia. Community care package dates at the Batavia VFW are: June 1, for dropping off donations and sorting (5 to 8 p.m.); and June 2, care packages will be prepared, inspected and sealed. (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.). Contact Sarah Giachino at 630-587-3789 sarah@fvts.org or Kathy …
Part-time DuPage County forest board reduces pay 6 percent ... to $53,500
Fri, 18 May 2012 16:34:42 -0500
A pay cut is in store for commissioners in the DuPage County forest preserve district — down to $53,500 for the part-time position.
Senate Democrats’ spending plan offers deeper cuts than Quinn proposed
Sat, 19 May 2012 02:08:24 -0500
SPRINGFIELD — Senate Democrats on Friday outlined a spending plan that cuts deeper than Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget proposal, shaving about $250 million more from areas such as human services and public safety — but Republicans contended still more cuts were needed.
Hampshire approves changes to help out Lakewood Crossing
Sun, 20 May 2012 02:57:52 -0500
HAMPSHIRE — The village board has approved a second amendment to the annexation agreement for the Brier Hill Crossing property in a move officials believe will help the owner sell homes there. Known as the Lakewood Crossing subdivision, the property is north of Big Timber Road, west of Route 47 and south of I-90. Ryland Homes took over the subdivision after its previous developer lost the unsold parts of the development to its mortgage holder. The subdivision includes both single-family and duplex homes. Ryland Homes came before the board earlier this year asking to reduce the rear yard setbacks on …
Missing C’ville woman found OK in Wisconsin
Sun, 20 May 2012 02:57:28 -0500
CARPENTERSVILLE — Authorities have located a missing Carpentersville woman with Alzheimer’s in a Wisconsin county and in good health, police said Saturday. Carpentersville police said Dorothy Carrigan, 78, who had been missing since Thursday morning, was located by the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Department. Ozaukee County is north of Milwaukee. Police said Carrigan’s dark-blue 2002 Hyundai, whose description was provided in reports of her disappearance, had had a flat time, and someone stopped to change it for her. The Ozaukee Fire Department took her to the Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, Wis., as a precaution, police said. Carrigan’s family was notified …
ECC-inspired bill one vote away from law
Sun, 20 May 2012 16:48:42 -0500
The Illinois House of Representatives has passed a bill that will make it easier for community colleges to buy American-made products, inspired by Elgin Community College trustees. Senate Bill 2929 passed with 76-35, and now heads back to the Illinois Senate for a concurrence vote after it was amended by State Rep. Keith Farnham, D-Elgin. It was introduced in February by State Sen. Michael Noland, D-Elgin, and unanimously passed the Senate in March. “This legislation will give community colleges the flexibility of purchasing American-made products if they are available at a reasonable cost to taxpayers,” Farnham said in a written …
Elgin man charged with rape of girl, woman
Sun, 20 May 2012 02:57:13 -0500
ELGIN — Bail was set at $5 million Friday for an Elgin man accused sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl. When her adult female cousin walked in on the act, according to police, the man also attacked and raped the cousin. Jesus E. Hernandez, 38, of the 300 block of McClure Avenue, was charged with a Class X felony count of aggravated sexual criminal assault while armed with a weapon; and Class 1 felony counts of criminal sexual assault with the threat of force, attempted predatory criminal sexual assault to a child under the age of 13, aggravated criminal sexual abuse …
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