Stories from surrounding communities, closest first.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Lakewood, IL
Nearby: Lakewood, ILLakewood’s village manager has resigned after less than six months on the job and the village president says trustees who second-guess staff are making it hard to keep good people, drawing pushback from two trustees. Lakewood Village President David Stavropoulos said in a letter to residents dated November 10 and released Wednesday that Village Manager Justyn Miller gave formal notice of his resignation on November 4. Miller’s last day with the village will be January 4, Stavropoulos said. The Lakewood Village Board appointed Miller as village manager on May 20, effective May 29, according to the board’s minutes. Miller replaced former Village Manager Jean Heckman, who retired earlier this year. Stavropoulos said Miller “stepped into an extremely difficult environment” and worked through complicated audit and accounting issues, the draft budget for the 2027 fiscal year, the property tax levy, staffing matters and day-to-day operations.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Algonquin, IL
Nearby: Algonquin, ILA pedestrian suffered a head injury after being struck by a vehicle turning at an intersection in Algonquin and a medical helicopter was requested but unavailable, authorities said. The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District and Algonquin Police Department responded around 9:18 a.m. on October 2 to the area of Algonquin Road and Sandbloom Road in Algonquin for a report of a vehicle crash. Emergency crews arrived and found a pedestrian on the ground who was conscious and breathing with a head injury, according to fire department radio traffic. Algonquin Police Department Sgt. Johnny Beltran said a vehicle was in the southbound lanes of Countryside Drive, which becomes Sandbloom Road south of the intersection, waiting to turn left onto eastbound Route 62, also known as Algonquin Road. Witnesses reported the vehicle had a green turn arrow and the pedestrian signal “displayed do not cross,” Beltran said.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Cary, IL
Nearby: Cary, ILA teenage girl was airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries after being hit by a vehicle and found lying in the road near a crosswalk in Cary Tuesday afternoon, fire officials said. The Cary Fire Protection District and Cary Police Department responded just before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to the intersection of Cary-Algonquin Road and Norman Drive in Cary for a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle. Dispatchers relayed to responding crews that one person was on the ground and not moving, according to fire department radio traffic. Paramedics arrived within moments and found a teenage girl lying in the roadway near the crosswalk next to the intersection, Cary Fire Protection District Public Information Officer Alex Vucha said. The intersection, which has a marked pedestrian crosswalk with crossing signs, is just down the road from the fire district’s Station 1 at 400 Cary-Algonquin Road.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Woodstock, IL
Nearby: Woodstock, ILA former elementary school counselor and swim team coach in Woodstock who is charged with offering sex for money online allegedly lied to police that someone was impersonating her on a fetish website before her arrest. Renee J. Walker, 52, of Woodstock, is charged with one count of disorderly conduct by filing a false police report, a Class 4 felony, and three counts of prostitution, all Class A misdemeanors. Walker was a counselor at Dean Street Elementary School in Woodstock and also coached high school girls swimming, Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 said in a statement. Walker was the head coach of the Woodstock co-op girls swim team and 2026 was set to be her 13th season in the role, Woodstock Blue Streak Athletics previously said.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Woodstock, IL
Nearby: Woodstock, ILA police officer was evaluated by paramedics after a driver rear-ended a squad car as the officer responded to a burglar alarm at a residence near Woodstock. The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 6:09 p.m. on October 28 to the 10300 block of Country Club Road in unincorporated Woodstock for a report of a burglar alarm. A Woodstock Police Department officer also responded to assist the sheriff’s office, Woodstock Police Chief John L. Lieb said. The officer was positioning his marked squad car so he could get out and approach the home when a vehicle came up behind him and struck the squad car, Lieb said. The driver of the other vehicle said he did not see the squad car’s taillights and “did not see the squad car until it was too late,” Lieb said. The Woodstock Fire/Rescue District responded around 6:20 p.m. to the crash, which involved the Woodstock police squad car and a small BMW SUV, Woodstock Fire/Rescue District Public Information Officer Alex Vucha said.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Woodstock, IL
Nearby: Woodstock, ILA bomb squad, the FBI and National Guard representatives responded after a homeowner found what looked like a U.S. Army rocket in a tree near Woodstock Tuesday but was actually a hobby model rocket. The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office responded around 8:20 a.m. Tuesday to the 15300 block of Kishwaukee Valley Road in unincorporated Woodstock for a report of a suspicious incident. The homeowner had found an object hanging about 30 feet above the ground in a tree, Woodstock Fire/Rescue District Public Information Officer Alex Vucha said. The homeowner reported the object had landed in her tree, had U.S. Army on its side and looked like a rocket or a missile with a parachute and an engine, according to police radio traffic. Vucha said firefighters were requested a short time later to help assess the situation and establish safety measures. Fire crews were dispatched around 8:45 a.m., according to fire department radio traffic.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · McHenry, IL
Nearby: McHenry, ILA Crystal Lake man already serving a federal prison sentence for an $8 million Ponzi scheme was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to stealing from a McHenry veterans group while he was its commander. Alan J. Hanke, 62, of Crystal Lake, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of theft of property valued between $10,000 and $100,000, a Class 2 felony, as part of a negotiated plea agreement, court records show. McHenry County Judge Tiffany Davis sentenced Hanke to four years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, followed by one year of mandatory supervised release. Davis ordered the sentence to run concurrently with the federal prison sentence Hanke is serving for his role in an $8 million Ponzi scheme. Truth-in-sentencing guidelines require the sentence to be served at 50%, court documents show. Hanke was given credit for 268 days already spent in custody, which covers one day in September 2024 and every day since February 19.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · McHenry, IL
Nearby: McHenry, ILAn insurer is suing to avoid paying for the crash that killed a U.S. Marine veteran on the Fox River near McHenry and records show the accused boater swore he could not pay his lawyers months after his family’s firm paid $454K for his pontoon. Richard M. Stevenson, 45, of Lisle, who is also known as Ricky Stevenson, is charged with first-degree murder in the July 25 death of Magdalena Jablonska, 48, of Des Plaines, along with four counts each of aggravated driving under the influence and operating a watercraft under the influence, which are Class 2 felonies. Stevenson is also the defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in August by Michelle Macias, the special administrator of the estate of her sister, Jablonska, and Jablonska’s fiancé, Alan Telmini, who was injured in the crash. McHenry County Judge Joel D.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · McHenry, IL
Nearby: McHenry, ILThe Chicago deep dish chain Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria is expanding to McHenry with a carryout, delivery and catering location set to open next spring that city officials called “a great addition to our community.” Lou Malnati’s will occupy a 1,630-square-foot space at 1777 North Richmond Road in the McHenry Grounds shopping center, the company said in a statement. The McHenry store will be the company’s 71st location and will offer carryout, delivery and catering, giving McHenry-area residents a closer way to get the chain’s signature deep dish pizza and other menu favorites, the company said. “As we continue to grow throughout the Chicagoland area, we’re focused on bringing Lou Malnati’s to more communities where we have unmet customer demand,” Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria CEO Julie Younglove-Webb said.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Sycamore, IL
Nearby: Sycamore, ILAntioch High School’s undefeated football season ended Saturday after an inadvertent whistle wiped out what would have been a game-winning Hail Mary touchdown and the coach says the referee has since apologized. Top-seeded Antioch hosted No. 9 seed Sycamore in a Class 5A second-round playoff game that kicked off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Antioch Community High School. Antioch entered the game undefeated at 10-0 after going 9-0 in the regular season and winning its first-round playoff game. Antioch led 28-17 late in the third quarter before Sycamore came back and took a 32-28 lead on a touchdown with 20 seconds left, said Joshua Shuman, who covers high school sports in the Chicago area and recorded the game. Antioch had time for one more play and the Sequoits’ quarterback threw a long Hail Mary pass that an Antioch receiver caught as a “live bobble” and carried into the end zone for “what everyone believed to be the game-winning score,” Shuman said.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Round Lake, IL
Nearby: Round Lake, ILThe legal team for a Round Lake mother held by ICE in a Kentucky jail for more than 15 months over two old retail theft cases said in an update Tuesday that she was granted a $7,500 bond and is awaiting release. Beata Siemionkowicz, 57, of Round Lake, has been held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for more than 15 months, mostly at the Campbell County Detention Center in Newport, Kentucky. Siemionkowicz was granted bond at a hearing before an immigration judge Friday and the bond was set at $7,500, ACLU of Illinois Director of Communications and Public Policy Ed Yohnka said Tuesday. “We continue to await her release,” Yohnka told Lake and McHenry County Scanner. Siemionkowicz was still listed at the Campbell County Detention Center Tuesday morning, according to ICE’s online detainee locator. It was not immediately known when she would be released.
