Illinois, McHenry County | featured news

The McHenry County Coroner's Office is waiting on additional tests to determine an official cause of death for a Marlowe Middle School student who died unexpectedly Monday.

James "Jimmy" Kilanski was in the 7th grade, Marlowe Principal Tony Venetico said in a letter posted on the school's website.

"We are all grieving this tragic loss and offer our deepest condolences to the Kilanski family, his many friends, his classmates, the teachers and staff members that learned alongside him, and to all who knew Jimmy," Venetico s

CHICAGO (AP) — Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich held his first scheduled press event Wednesday since President Donald Trump commuted his sentence for political corruption, answering questions about his future plans and the crimes that landed him in prison.

The Democrat spoke outside his family home in Chicago. A large sign hanging on the home read, “Thanks Mr. President".

Northern Illinois University student Arlene Elias, of Woodstock, was one of five students chosen this year to receive the Forward, Together Forward Scholarship. 

The scholarships honor the five students lost at NIU on Feb. 14, 2008.

The McHenry County Board voted Tuesday to eliminate mileage reimbursements for board members to attend regularly scheduled meetings effective in 2022.

The resolution, as initially written, would have eliminated this benefit effective immediately.

A Marlowe Middle School student died unexpectedly Monday, Huntley School District 158 announced Tuesday.

James “Jimmy” Kilanski was in the seventh grade, Marlowe Principal Tony Venetico said in a letter posted on the school’s website.

“We are all grieving this tragic loss and offer our deepest condolences to the Kilanski family, his many friends, his classmates, the teachers and staff members that learned alongside him, and to all who knew Jimmy,” Venetico said.

The new More Brewing Co. location on 13980 Automall Drive in Huntley, which will open to the public on Feb. 29, eventually is expected to produce over 5,000 barrels of beer a year, a company representative said Tuesday.

More Brewing spokesperson Aaron Keefner said the microbrewery is operating under a brewpub license, which allows the occupant to have a full-service bar.

The license caps production capacity at 5,000 barrels a year but Keefner said the company knows it will not be able to hit that mark in the first year.

A McHenry County grand jury indicted these people on the following charges:

• Ike R. Bickauskas, 41, of the 2000 block of North Woodlawn Park Avenue, McHenry; aggravated battery, aggravated domestic battery and domestic battery.

• Conor J. Prettyman, 19, of the 200 block of Yorkshire Drive, Fox River Grove; possession of child pornography.

• Jaquicheana A.

SPRINGFIELD – One day before Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget address, House Republican lawmakers called for another “inclusive” and “bipartisan” effort at adopting a state budget without new taxes.

“Let’s go back in time to last spring. Through a bipartisan effort and agreements in both chambers, we were able to craft a balanced budget with no new taxes for fiscal year 2020,” House Republican Leader Jim Durkin said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump went on a clemency blitz Tuesday, commuting former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s 14-year prison sentence and pardoning former New York City police commissioner Bernie Kerik, among a long list of others.

Those who got a break from Trump include financier Michael Milken, the “junk bond king” who served two years in prison in the early 1990s after pleading guilty to violating U.S.

WASHINGTON – For Mike Bloomberg, the one-way conversation with Democratic voters is about to end.

By spending more than $400 million of his own money and largely bypassing his opponents by skipping the early primary states, Bloomberg has rocketed to double-digit support in enough national polls to qualify for Wednesday night’s Nevada debate.

But as Bloomberg’s support has risen, so has the criticism from his Democratic foes as well as the broader scrutiny of his past comments and record as New York City mayor.