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 · 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 · Huntley, IL
Nearby: Huntley, ILA Huntley police officer has been reassigned after the department received a cybertip linked to a school bus driver in 2022 but did not arrest him on child sexual abuse material charges until last month. Jon M. Roth, 43, of Huntley, a Huntley Community School District 158 school bus driver who parents say drove preschool routes, was charged with 10 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material depicting a victim under 13 years old, a Class 2 felony. The Huntley Police Department said in a statement Tuesday that it received a previous cybertip linked to Roth in 2022. Roth was not arrested until years later, on October 20. Prosecutors said the investigation that led to Roth’s arrest began when the Huntley Police Department received another cybertip in August from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). That tip originated from Google, which had flagged files containing suspected child sexual abuse material associated with one of its accounts.
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 · 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 · 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.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Antioch, IL
Nearby: Antioch, ILThere was no evidence of foul play in the death of a Wisconsin woman who was found dead and submerged in a bathtub during a well-being check at an Antioch hotel Saturday evening, the coroner’s office said as it released new details. Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton said Wednesday the victim was a 54-year-old resident of Trevor, Wisconsin. Newton said there was evidence of drowning but the woman’s final cause of death is pending toxicology testing, as there was also evidence of a possible overdose. The Antioch Police Department responded around 9:43 p.m. Saturday to Antioch Hotel and Suites, 350 West Route 173 in Antioch, for a well-being check. Antioch Police Department Patrol Commander Jared Brussaly said officers were requested to check on the woman. Officers arrived and made entry into the room where they found her submerged in the bathtub and “obviously deceased,” Brussaly said. The Antioch Fire Department was dispatched to the hotel around 10:41 p.m.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Antioch, IL
Nearby: Antioch, ILAn 18-year-old Ole Miss student whose grandfather owns Kunes Auto Group, with dealerships in Antioch and Woodstock, apologized for mimicking a monkey at Black students’ door in a viral video and said she and her family got death threats. Alaina Kunes, 18, a freshman at the University of Mississippi, apologized in a statement released Tuesday through her attorneys at Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona. A spokesperson for Kunes confirmed to TMJ4 News that she is the daughter of Scott Kunes, the former chief operating officer of Kunes Auto Group, and that she has withdrawn from the university. Scott Kunes left the COO role in February and has no ownership stake in the company, which is owned by his father — Alaina Kunes’ grandfather — Gregg Kunes, the law firm said.
Lake and McHenry County Scanner · Antioch, IL
Nearby: Antioch, ILA 62-year-old woman has died and been identified by the coroner after authorities say she started a fire while smoking in bed on oxygen, which a family member put out before starting CPR near Antioch. Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek identified the victim on Tuesday as Kristi Roberts, 62, of Antioch. Banek said a preliminary investigation by the coroner’s office indicates Roberts’ death is consistent with burns she suffered in the fire. The Antioch Fire Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 6:55 a.m. Thursday to the 26500 block of West Wilmot Road in unincorporated Antioch for a report of a small fire and an unresponsive woman. Lake County Sheriff’s Office Chief Christopher Covelli said the caller reported that Roberts, who lived at the home, was unconscious and not breathing. The caller was able to put out the fire by pouring coffee on it, Covelli said.
