All employees had evacuated the business and no injuries were reported. At this time, the fire is believed to be accidental and no equipment was damaged in the fire, according to a news release from the Oswego Fire Protection District.

The Oswego Fire Protection District was dispatched about 3:30 p.m. for a reported explosion at Groot Recycling & Waste Services located in the Arrowhead Industrial Park in unincorporated Plainfield, according to the release.

Firefighters arriving at the scene quickly put out a trash compactor fire in one of the large recycling units inside the building, according to the release. The fire had not spread.

Firefighters remained on the scene for just about an hour. Oswego Fire Protection District was assisted on the scene by Aurora, Naperville, Plainfield, Troy and Bristol Kendall fire departments.

District coverage was provided by Sugar Grove and Bolingbrook fire departments.

That represents an increase of 5,200 residents since the 2020 census. The village’s official housing count now stands at 17,329 units.

Plainfield will receive about $1.2 million in additional revenues every year until the 2030 decennial census is certified.

Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a census to determine the number of people living in the U.S.

The results show the village’s population has increased by 11.6% since the 2020 census. Plainfield had requested a special census be done because of the estimated 10% increase in its population since 2020, the year of the most recent U.S. census.

Since the 2020 census, Plainfield has added more than 500 new homes and more than 800 new apartments.

“I’ve seen our community grow from a small farm town of 3,000 to a diverse and vibrant community of over 49,000 people today,” Plainfield Mayor John Argoudelis said in a news release. “The journey has been quite remarkable.”

Of the 17,329 housing units in the village, 16,777 units, or 96.8%, are occupied, according to the special census. More information about the special census is available at https://www.census.gov.

The updated population count will increase state-shared revenues that support essential services such as public safety, street repairs and other municipal operations, village officials said.

Anthony “Tony” Ikis and Champ Evans were sworn in on June 8 by Kendall County Sheriff Dwight Baird.

Ikis and Evans will complete an internal office acclimation training phase and will then be paired with experienced field training officers, according to a news release from the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office.

Ikis attended Triton College and worked for the River Grove Police Department for 27 years before joining the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office.

Evans attended Benedictine University in Lisle, earning a master’s degree in organizational development and behavior and worked for the Bolingbrook Police Department for 28 years.

Prior to joining the Bolingbrook police, he worked for the Oswego Police Department for several years.

The district is raising fees for breakfast and lunch to address rising food and labor costs.

“Current pricing remains significantly below the USDA recommended benchmark of $4.16,” District 308 Finance Director Amanda Sitar said during the June 8 Oswego School Board meeting.

Sitar noted that breakfast prices have increased by only 10 cents since 2017 and lunch prices increased by just 10 cents in 2024.

For elementary school students, the cost of a school breakfast will increase to $1.75, up from $1.60. They will pay $3.50 for a student lunch, up from $3.25.

Junior high/high school students will see their student breakfast increase to $2 this fall, up from $1.85. In addition, they will see the cost of a student lunch increase to $3.90, up from $3.65.

“The proposed adjustment is necessary to maintain financial stability of the food service program and offset continuing increases of those food, labor and operating costs,” Sitar said.

Student registration and curriculum fees will stay the same in the new school year.

District 308 students will return to school on Aug. 20.

Right now, the district is owed more than $5 million in unpaid student fees. Schools are prohibited from withholding students’ grades, transcripts or diplomas because of an unpaid balance on the student’s school account.

“We’re looking at different options in being able to recoup that,” District 308 chief financial officer and chief school business official Raphael Obafemi told school board members.

“We are going to reach out to families and try to get them to set up a payment plan to start making payments on those. If we don’t get the kind of response that we need, then we have to look at other options,” Obafemi said.

District 308 Superintendent Andalib Khelghati said the district is looking at different technologies that could be used to recoup the fees.

“Families are very comfortable these days with new forms of technology,” he said. “We’re very committed to recouping all those funds and ensuring that families have a way to really stand by their investment in our schools.”

Obafemi said families who are eligible for not paying the fees don’t have to worry.

“They’ve gone through the income verification,” he said. “And the same thing applies to reduced fees.”

The district covers about 68 square miles, with students not only from Oswego, but also from Aurora, Joliet, Montgomery, Plainfield and Yorkville.

PrairieFest is Kendall County’s largest festival, attracting upwards of 75,000 people every year. Oswegoland Park District has been organizing PrairieFest since 1989.

The Park District could use more volunteers for this year’s festival, which will take place from June 18-21 at PrairieFest Park, 91 Plank Drive in Oswego.

“It truly takes a village of volunteers to help us put on PrairieFest,” said Isabella Mahoney, the district’s recreation supervisor for special events. “We generally have anywhere between 150-200 volunteers that help us make the weekend possible.”

Mahoney said the district is in need of more volunteers to help with parking during the afternoon on opening day along with volunteers to help with parking late at night all four days.

Parking volunteers must be older than 14, she said. To volunteer, go to https://www.prairiefest.com/volunteer.

The festival will kick off on June 18 with the band Radio Gaga, which performs all the hits of Queen and Lady Gaga.

The night will also feature the PrairieWinds Community Band, which is composed of local high school and adult community band musicians.

Country singer Chris Cagle will perform on June 19 as part of his tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of the release of his debut album “Play It Loud,” which featured the breakout hit “I Breathe In, I Breathe Out.” Opening for Cagle will be the band Whiskey Road.

American Authors will close out the night on June 20. The night will also feature popular Beatles tribute band American English and cover band Party Foul.

American Authors’ breakout hit “Best Day of My Life,” has more than a billion streams on Spotify, Hartman noted.

For the second year in a row, Latin band Conjunto Atardecer will take the stage on June 21, the last day of PrairieFest.

PrairieFest also will feature a carnival, the Division BMX stunt team, the PrairieFest Parade and other activities. The festival draws people from all over the region.

More information about PrairieFest is at prairiefest.com.

The campaign, aimed at increasing seat belt use and keeping roads safe during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, ran from May 15 to May 26.

The department also issued 16 distracted driving citations, made five traffic arrests and two warrant arrests and issued eight other citations.

“Thanks to the efforts of our officers, more drivers and passengers were reminded to buckle up, helping to prevent injuries and save lives,” department spokesperson Cathy Nevara said in a news release. “Every citation and safety check reinforces the message that seat belts work.”

The campaign’s success reflects law enforcement’s commitment to roadway safety and reinforces the message that buckling up saves lives.

The “Click It or Ticket” initiative is funded with federal highway safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation. For more information on safe driving practices, go to ItsNotaGameIllinois.com.

Fox Fiber, a new nonprofit entity, has officially launched the Kendall County Broadband Initiative, a community-owned network that will deliver high-speed fiber and wireless internet to approximately 15,000 homes, businesses, farms and public institutions.

The first phase of the project will pass about 4,700 addresses, bringing fiber connectivity to communities including Lisbon, Millbrook, Millington, Montgomery, Newark, Oswego, Plattville and Yorkville.

“This is the future of connectivity,” Kendall County Board member Zach Bachmann, the chair of the Connect Kendall County Commission, had said previously in talking about the project.

“If this model works, it can be adopted by other communities to have them get this type of service. Because what this project is doing is not just doing something that’s going to make a company as much money as possible. This is meeting our community at the index where its need is at. ... I could not be more proud of this and excited,” Bachmann said.

The launch includes the integration of NewarkNet, Inc. into Fox Fiber and the sale of about $31 million in tax-exempt bonds alongside a $15 million grant from the Illinois Office of Broadband to pay for the project.

The project will be built with no tax burden on residents and will be sustained through network revenue.

Last September, the Kendall County Board approved Denver-based technology firm Pivot-Tech Development to be the county’s partner for building the broadband system.

“This is Kendall County’s network – built by local people, overseen by a local board, and designed to serve this community for decades,“ Pivot-Tech Development CEO Jim Cannon said in a news release.

”We are not a distant corporation entering the market. We are building infrastructure that stays here, serves here and is accountable here," he said.

The grant will allow the district to replace aging extractors at three stations, including one machine that has been in service for more than 20 years. These specialized machines allow firefighters to thoroughly clean carcinogens and other hazardous contaminants from their protective gear following fire incidents.

Research has shown that repeated exposure to smoke, soot, and toxic chemicals significantly increases the risk of occupational cancer among firefighters.

“This grant directly supports the health and safety of our firefighters,” Oswego Fire Chief Joshua Flanders said in a news release. “Ensuring our personnel have reliable equipment to properly clean their protective gear after incidents is essential in reducing exposure to carcinogens and maintaining firefighter wellness.”

The Oswego Fire Protection District thanked the continued support of the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office and its commitment to improving firefighter safety throughout the state.

Formed by referendum in 1936, the Oswego Fire Protection District covers 52 square miles of the northeast portion of Kendall County and about four square miles of mostly unincorporated industrial parks in northwest Will County.

Along with Oswego, the district serves unincorporated Boulder Hill, a large portion of Montgomery’s south side, about 1 1/2 square miles of the Grande Park neighborhood in Plainfield and a small neighborhood in Yorkville.

The district currently has four fire stations, including one in Montgomery and one in Plainfield. It looks to build a fifth fire station to keep up with growth in the area.

In March 2024, the Oswego Village Board approved donating a parcel of land in the Wolfs Crossing corridor to the Oswego Fire Protection District for the station.

Located at the southwest corner of Wolfs Crossing and Devoe Drive, the parcel is about one acre in size.

At the May 27 Oswego Library Board meeting, trustees approved the purchase of a four-bedroom house at 55 N. Madison St. for $514,999. The 2,268 square-foot house was built in 1904.

Waubonsie Creek is located between the house and the library at 32 W. Jefferson St.

Plans still are in the works as far as what the Library District will do with the property.

“We’ve been planning kind of an outdoor classroom/small community amphitheater over there,” Oswego Library Director Krista Katzen said. “We’ve had that in the design stage for maybe the last five years. And the hangup has always been putting a bridge from the library across the creek. We’ve had engineers look at it and it would cost like $800,000 to do.”

As an alternative, she said the library district has been looking at using the existing bridge on Madison Street rather than having to build a bridge over the creek. Some adjustments may have to be made to the bridge, Katzen said.

“I think we’re going to be able to do something that will end up being cheaper than building a free-standing bridge would be,” she said. “Even when you add in the cost of the house, I think it’s going to be cheaper.”

The Library Board also might decide to reuse the house.

“The house itself is really nice,” Katzen said. “I think they’re going to try to find a way for us to use it, whether it’s for office space or public meeting space. We’re not really sure. It’s kind of going to depend on the cost.”

Converting the housing into a public facility will have additional costs such as installing sprinklers and cameras and making it ADA accessible, she said.

“So we really have to look at how much it’s going to cost to do that before we really decide what’s it going to be,” Katzen said.

The Library District does plan to store its new outreach vehicle in the garage at the house along with the materials in the outreach vehicle. The vehicle will travel to schools, homes and other destinations.

“All the books that go in the van can be stored in there as well,” Katzen said.

While Oswego Library District’s Montgomery campus has outdoor space, its campus in downtown Oswego doesn’t.

“We don’t have any outdoor space at the Oswego location,” she said. “And the indoor space, that room only holds 50 people. We have not been able to have any of our larger events in Oswego due to space constraints. This is kind of step one to actually making that whole planned outdoor space for the library.”

The district serves a population that has grown to more than 70,000 people in an area spanning more than 52 square miles. The library district serves portions of Kendall, Will and Kane counties.

“The average age of our buildings across the whole district right now is 29 years old,” District 308 Chief Communications Officer Theresa Komitas said.

Komitas spoke during a June 2 town hall meeting at Boulder Hill Elementary School about a proposal to put a $317 million bond referendum on the Nov. 3 general election ballot to address aging infrastructure needs throughout the district.

The last time voters approved a District 308 bond referendum was in 2006. The $450 million referendum funded school construction projects.

Seventeen of the district’s schools are rated poor on a facility condition index. As part of the proposed referendum, 79% of the funds would go toward critical infrastructure, including improvements to HVAC systems and roof replacement.

Flooring, plumbing, electrical and building exterior improvements also are being proposed.

As officials pointed out, the district quickly expanded from just six schools to 22 schools to meet the rapid growth in Oswego in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Seventeen new schools were built in just 12 years.

The district’s enrollment surged from about 4,000 students in 1992 to more than 17,000 students in 2013.

“The problem is that most of our buildings were built at the same time,” Komitas said to those attending the town hall meeting. “So 80% of our buildings were built within the time period of 1995 to 2010, which means that they’re all aging at the same time.”

The school district serves portions of Kendall, Will and Kane counties. The referendum would fund facility improvements at all of the district’s schools.

District officials said they have identified about $317 million in facility needs over the next 10 years across all the district’s schools.

In the proposed referendum, 12% of the funds would go toward safety and security improvements, with another 9% toward educational improvements.

Deputy superintendent Heather Kincaid talk about the district’s need and desire to keep “our students safe while they’re in school.”

The safety and security upgrades would include improvements to secure entry vestibules, fire protection systems, intercoms and exterior lighting and access controls.

Educational improvements would include:

Because the district is retiring existing long-term debt at the same time, homeowners would see a decrease in the debt service portion of their property taxes, even if the referendum is approved, officials said.

For a home with a fair market value of $300,000, residents would pay about $100 less per year starting in 2028, and an additional $56 less beginning in 2036, the district said.

More information about the proposed referendum is available at sd308.org/update308. The school board is set to decide in August whether to put the referendum question on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Motorists are advised to use Southbury Boulevard as an alternate route during the closure. The closure is weather dependent and may change if needed.

Work recently started on the construction of a roundabout at Wolfs Crossing and Douglas Road in Oswego as part of a continuing effort to improve safety and ease traffic congestion along the road.

Officials broke ground for the project during a ceremony on April 7.

At the Sept. 2 Oswego Village Board meeting, trustees approved a funding agreement for the project, which is estimated to cost about $15 million. The village is receiving $10,583,459 in federal funding for the project.

As Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman noted during the meeting, federal funding is paying for 71% of the project.

“That’s incredible,” he said. “Anytime we can get those kind of figures is a very welcome day.”

Local funding in the amount of $4,271,541 will pay for the rest of the project.

This will be the second roundabout on Wolfs Crossing. In 2023, the four-way intersection at Wolfs Crossing and Harvey Road was replaced with Oswego’s first roundabout.

Wolfs Crossing is a east-west corridor in Oswego that spans 4.5 miles, from U.S. Route 34 to Eola Road. The improvement project is divided into 10 segments.

The goal is to widen Wolfs Crossing from a two-lane rural road with no sidewalk to a five-lane urban cross section.

Noting the amount of traffic at Wolfs Crossing and Douglas Road, village trustee Rachelle Koenig is glad the intersection is getting improved.

“We are addressing one of the worst intersections on Wolfs Crossing right now,” she said.

The proposal would allow people to carry and consume alcohol during the Plainfield Hometown Irish Parade, Plainfield Cruise Nights and the Plainfield Central High School Homecoming Parade.

After talking about the proposal during the June 1 Plainfield Village Board meeting, they voted to table the matter until Monday’s Committee of the Whole workshop for further discussion.

Village trustee Brian Wojowski was opposed to the idea.

“These are family-friendly events,” he said. “I think this goes a bit too far...It’s too hard for the police to enforce it.”

Village trustee Tom Ruane thought the proposal should have been discussed first at a Committee of the Whole workshop rather than at a Village Board meeting.

“I have a lot more questions and a lot more concerns,” he said.

Ruane said he would be against allowing open drinking during a parade.

“Our parades are family oriented,” he said.

Other trustees thought it would be important to post signs showing the boundaries of the district where people would be able to carry and consume alcohol.

In response, village administrator Joshua Blakemore said staff could order signs and place them throughout the downtown to illustrate the boundaries of the district.

“The thought would be to make the signs temporary in nature so they can be put up and taken down with each event so as to avoid any confusion as to when open carry and consumption is allowed,” Blakemore said in a memo. “The signs can also include the fine for leaving the area with open alcohol.”

The Joliet City Council recently approved open drinking in its City Square in downtown Joliet.

Will County Judge Carmen Goodman made the ruling during a hearing on Friday in a juvenile courtroom at River Valley. The teenager’s next hearing is set for June 25.

Defense attorney Jeff Tomczak asked the judge to release the teen from River Valley saying the accused is in stable condition and is taking his prescribed medications. He said the teen could be placed on a GPS monitoring device and that his mother and father are available to watch him 24 hours a day.

“If he is stable, I would hate to see him locked up,” Tomczak said in addressing Goodman.

In rendering her decision to keep the teenager in custody, Goodman said she has to “weigh the seriousness of these allegations.”

On Thursday, the teen was taken to River Valley Juvenile Detention Center in Joliet on charges of attempted first-degree murder, attempted making of a terrorist threat, unlawful possession of a handgun and other weapon-related offenses, according to the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

The teen was a freshman at Plainfield Central High School, and he last attended school in December, according to Plainfield School District 202.

About 12:50 p.m. on May 22, deputies were sent to the 2400 block of Hel Mar Lane in Plainfield Township for a “male suicidal subject,” police said.

A family member had “pinned down” the teen and dialed 911 after learning the teen was “armed with a firearm,” police said.

“It was later learned that the juvenile was on his way to conduct a school shooting at nearby Grand Prairie Elementary School, when the family member intervened,” police said.

Deputies recovered a Glock handgun as well as a backpack containing multiple loaded magazines, knives, accelerant, gloves and other items, police said.

The teen was taken into police custody at a hospital and evaluated by medical professionals after “making suicidal and homicidal statements” to emergency medical personnel, police said.

During the hearing, Tomczak said the teen obtained the weapons from his cousin’s house.

“There are not any weapons in his house,” he said. “He had to go to someone else’s house.”

Shaw Local reporter Felix Sarver contributed to this story.

The village started the process to do a special census several years ago. Oswego is the largest municipality in Kendall County.

“Due to federal government shutdowns, the census office was unable to staff special census positions, which delayed the process,” Oswego finance director Andrea Lamberg said in a memo. “The village received word that the Census Bureau is now able to hire special census staff and the earliest a special census could be conducted is the spring of 2027.”

At Tuesday’s Oswego Village Board meeting, trustees are set to approve an agreement with the U.S. Census Bureau to conduct the special census. The special census is estimated to cost $977,448.

The last time the village had a special census done was in 2016. The 2020 decennial census the U.S. Census Bureau conducted showed Oswego with a population of 34,585.

Since that time, the village has seen significant growth. It is estimated the village has grown by 5,553 people, a 16% increase.

That would put the village’s population at 40,138. Lamberg said a payment of $977,448 must be given to the Census Bureau before any work on the special census is performed.

“That advanced payment will be adjusted to actual costs and additional billings or refunds will be made as appropriate,” she said.

Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman had previously said the additional revenues gained from the special census will help pay for projects like improving the intersection of Wolfs Crossing and Route 30 and bringing Lake Michigan water to Oswego.

“We’ve got all these big things that we need to get done and we need the funding to do it,” he said.

White Satin Bridal made the announcement on its Facebook page. The business is located at 24047 W. Lockport St., Unit 101, and is in the same building as HopScotch & Vine restaurant, which in May also announced it will not reopen.

No one was injured in the Jan. 28 fire and all occupants of the restaurant at 24047 W. Lockport St. and neighboring businesses were safely evacuated.

The restaurant owners blamed a fryer for starting the fire, which caused an estimated $100,000 in smoke and water damage to the restaurant along with nearby businesses.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share we are unable to reopen White Satin Bridal due to the fire and the resulting damage to our store,” the post states. “Thank you for 21 years filled with the most joyous moments of saying yes to the dress. We feel so incredibly lucky to have been a part of your dress shopping experience.”

Following the fire, the shop moved to a temporary location on Main Street.

“We will be completing all pickups through the end of June at our temporary location on Main Street,” White Satin Bridal states in the post. “If you have an existing order, a paid deposit, or a question about your appointment, please reach out to us directly so we can help you personally. If you have an appointment with one of our preferred seamstresses after June 30, she will be in touch to confirm the location of your appointment.”

About 5 p.m. Monday, large groups consisting of mostly juveniles began to gather in the downtown business district, mainly along the Washington Street corridor between Chicago and Van Buren avenues, according to a news release from the Naperville Police Department.

“The Naperville Police Department deployed several teams of officers throughout the downtown to deter criminal activity and to ensure the safety of all who chose to visit,” according to the release.

“As the night progressed, several juveniles and young adults chose to commit violations of state law and local ordinances. These unlawful acts were met with zero tolerance by the teams of officers and were quickly addressed with arrests and/or citations,” according to the release.

Officers arrested nine people and issued almost three dozen citations.

• A 17-year-old male from Plainfield was arrested for battery and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk.

• A 17-year-old male from Bolingbrook was arrested for battery, assault, illegal possession of marijuana and illegal possession of tobacco by a minor.

• A 17-year-old male from Romeoville was arrested for disobeying a police officer, interfering with a police officer and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk.

• A 17-year-old male from Aurora was arrested for obstructing identification and criminal trespass to state supported land.

• A 15-year-old male from Bloomington was arrested for obstructing identification and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk.

Four men were also arrested in connection with the event.

• Marshun J. Smith, 18, of Romeoville, was arrested for attempted aggravated assault of a police officer and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk.

• Tyler L. Sims, 18, of Romeoville, was arrested for battery, obstructing a police officer and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk.

• Amaree J. Bivens, 23, of Naperville, was arrested for four outstanding warrants along with obstructing a police officer and was issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk.

• Sudais Oyekanmi, 18, of Aurora, was arrested for obstructing identification and issued a citation for crossing a roadway outside of a crosswalk.

“We’ve been very clear on our stance. We want people to come to our city, patronize our businesses, and enjoy all the amenities Naperville has to offer. But if you break the law, there will be no warnings; there will be no second chances. We’ve tried that approach, and it was met with a lot of disrespect and lawlessness,” Police Chief Jason Arres said.

“Everyone should feel safe, valued and fully a part of our community life,” he said prior to reading a Pride Month proclamation at the June 1 Plainfield Village Board meeting.

Shortly after Argoudelis read the proclamation, a debate ensued about whether the village should continue to fly the Pride Flag at Village Hall.

“I feel, as a member of this board, a position of neutrality must be maintained,” village trustee Tom Ruane said. “And not having a flag policy kind of pushes that boundary of neutrality.”

Arlington Heights, for example, allows only the flags of the United States, the State of Illinois, the village of Palatine and POW/MIA to be flown at Village Hall and other village properties.

“A policy of neutrality ensures that all citizens can enter civic spaces without feeling that the institution itself is taking a side on cultural or political topics,” Ruane said.

He also said the village opens itself up to litigation. Ruane said he is going to push for the village to create a flag policy.

“I’d like to hear everyone’s thoughts on that, not just those on the board,” he said. “Then we can find out if that is something we really want to do or not.”

Argoudelis disagreed.

“This is not a legal issue,” he said. “We do not open ourselves up to litigation...We have flown all sorts of flags associated with proclamations. And yet it is only once a year, 12 months from last year, that all of a sudden we are concerned about this. The fact of the matter is, there’s been no public outcry.”

He said the village has flown the Pride Flag for six straight years.

“If that makes part of the population of Plainfield and the people that support equality and fairness in Plainfield feel good about the community they’re in, I don’t see any problem with it,” Argoudelis said. “This is not an endorsement of anything. This is making sure that everybody feels included.”

In response, Ruane said the government’s job is not to tell people “what’s right and what’s wrong.”

The library district received almost 200 submissions to its name the library van contest.

“Thank you to everyone who participated, and special congratulations to the two winners who submitted the winning name,” the library district said in a recent social media post. “We appreciate the enthusiasm and support the community has shown for our new mobile library vehicle.”

The vehicle, which the library district acquired for about $215,000, will travel to schools, homes and other destinations.

The need for such a vehicle has increased as the library district continues to grow.

“It’s basically like bringing a library to your neighborhood,” Oswego Public Library District Director Krista Katzen has said. “It will be really nice to go to schools and nursing homes and schedule stops in areas.”

Previous library district director Sarah Skilton had led the district’s effort to acquire an outreach vehicle. Skilton retired in September after being with the district since 1994 and serving as its director since 1999.

“She was a huge driving force,” Katzen said.

The district serves a population that has grown to more than 70,000 people in an area spanning more than 52 square miles.

It serves portions of Kendall, Will and Kane counties and has two campuses – one in downtown Oswego and another campus in Montgomery.

Last year, more than 707,000 items were checked out. The vehicle will help expand the efforts of library district outreach manager Bill Thurston.

“He is really limited on what he can bring, because it’s basically whatever fits in the trunk of his car,” Katzen said.

In addition to visits to schools and other places, people will be able to fill out a form on the district’s website to request a van visit.

“We’re thinking of hitting these locations that are further out and less easy to access our buildings,” Katzen said.

The vehicle also will serve people who are homebound, either temporarily or permanently.

“There’s going to be options like long-term home delivery, where if somebody knows they’re physically not able to come to the library,” Katzen said. “And then there’s going to be short-term options, like if you were just having a baby and know you can’t get out real easily for a couple of months.”

The van has a wheelchair lift that will help those with physical disabilities access the vehicle.

“You want it to be accessible if someone is in a wheelchair so they can also get on and look around just like anybody else,” she said.

More information about the district is available at its website, oswego.lib.il.us.

The five measures have already passed both the Illinois House and Senate and are sent to Gov. JB Pritzker.

• House Bill 45: Requires retailers to honor all advertised sales or coupons, even if customers cannot access an app or operate digital coupons.

• House Bill 228: Cracks down on junk fees and hidden costs by requiring businesses to disclose all mandatory fees and charges added on top of an advertised purchase price.

• House Bill 4044: Bans no-return policies that limit customers to store credit for unused, unopened items for most purchases.

• House Bill 4514: Allows residents to voice opposition to general rate increases by requiring public utility companies fully inform residents of their rights prior to a rate proposal.

• House Bill 4248: Prohibits retailers from using AI algorithms to set different prices for consumers based on their personal data.

“The rising cost of living has been at the forefront of everyone’s minds,” Hansen said in the release. “We’re in the midst of a nationwide affordability crisis and I’ve been hard at work with my colleagues in the House to provide relief whenever and wherever we can. Every day should not be this difficult. I look forward to seeing the positive impact of these bills once they are signed into law.”

The driver of one of the vehicles, Erling Varland, 79, of Aurora, died May 20 as a result of injuries suffered during the crash, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.

The cause and manner of death are pending further investigation by the Will County Coroner’s Office, according to the release. Two other individuals involved in the crash were taken to area hospitals with serious injuries.

The crash occurred about 4:50 p.m. May 19 at the intersection of Ridge and Bell roads in Seward Township.

Preliminary findings indicate all five vehicles were traveling south on Ridge Road when a vehicle slowed to make a left-hand turn onto Bell Road, which led to a chain-reaction rear-end crash, according to the release.

Sheriff’s office investigators responded to the scene to conduct a detailed crash investigation. The roadway remained closed for about four hours during the investigation.

The sheriff’s office was assisted by the Minooka Fire Protection District, the Troy Fire Protection District and the Channahon Fire Protection District.

That is only expected to get worse by 2050, when the road is expected to see 26,800 vehicles per day. There are about 38 accidents per year on Ridge Road in the about five-mile stretch from Caton Farm Road to Plainfield Road, the highway department said.

Shorewood-based Hutchison Engineering, Inc. has begun a study looking at ways to improve capacity and abate safety concerns in that stretch of Ridge Road between Caton Farm and Plainfield roads.

As part of the study, the first public information meeting was held on May 20 at Plainfield South High School, which is at the intersection of Ridge and Caton Farm roads.

Last year, the Kendall County Board approved a preliminary engineering agreement with Hutchison Engineering for the project.

Resident Elisa Terrazas, who lives in Deer Crossing subdivision along Ridge Road, voiced concerns about the road being widened.

“My backyard borders Ridge Road,” she said. “’So I’m very unhappy about the street widening because I don’t want it any closer to me.”

Terrazas moved to the area two years ago. In that time, she has seen more people speeding and more accidents on the road.

“It’s really very dangerous,” she said. “They need to put some stoplights from Caton Farm Road to 127th Street or something.”

Joseph Wick Jr. of Hutchison Engineering said the purpose of the meeting was to gather public input for the study.

“We’re just starting to look at the corridor and soliciting local input on issues and what problems may be occurring within the corridor and what they would like to see in the corridor and beginning that process to work towards a design,” he said. “There’s been a lot of growth around here and more to come.”

The next public meeting on the project is set for early/mid 2027.

Francis Klaas, county engineer for the Kendall County Highway Department, said the county wants to create awareness.

“We want to make people aware that we’re studying the corridor, that we need to increase capacity and safety,” he said. “We’ve had some issues with crashes.”

There are also plans to expand Ridge Road from Holt Road to Black Road. The project would increase that stretch of Ridge Road from two lanes to four lanes.

The Oswego Village Board on May 26 approved a $232,716 revolving loan and a $40,000 economic development incentive award for Billy Bricks of Oswego LLC. The loan is for 10 years at a 3% interest rate.

The monthly payment will be about $2,247 a month for 120 months.

“It’s a pretty significant undertaking to convert it to a fully functional restaurant,” Oswego Economic Development Director Kevin Leighty said during the meeting.

“The project budget is comprised of costs for the design and construction of the buildout, which includes architectural drawings, installation of a walk-in refrigeration unit, new HVAC and fire alarm systems and individual general contractor estimates for the carpentry, plumbing, electrical, flooring and concrete work,” Leighty said.

The improvements are expected to cost about $545,432. Previous tenants in the building, at 5 S. Madison St., include Jinxy’s Studio Boutique, Dusty Road Merchants, The Garden Faire and Keith’s Car Care.

Village trustees previously approved a $40,000 economic development incentive award for EJ Vision LLC, which owns the property.

“EJ Vision LLC has its own separate project budget which will involve the installation of a grease trap, installation of a new fire sprinkler and alarm monitoring system and various water and sewer service line upgrades to support the new building improvements,” Leighty said.

That project is expected to cost about $130,000.

Village trustee Jennifer Hughes asked how much it would cost to raze the building rather than pay for improvements to it.

“Between the cost for the landlord to do their portion of the project and then Billy Bricks’ contribution, we’re looking at a cost of about $675,000,” Leighty said. “The cost to demolish it and build a new building would be well over double that.”

Billy Bricks Pizza CEO Ric Gruber said he hopes the restaurant will be open by October.

The restaurant, which serves wood-fired pizza, will be located next door to Freddie’s Off the Chain restaurant and across Jefferson Street from the Oswego Public Library.

The restaurant will be open seven days a week.

The Oswego location will be the chain’s first southwest location. Billy Bricks Pizza has restaurants in several communities, including Naperville, Wheaton, Lombard, Oak Park and Highwood.

The restaurant also sells pasta dishes and other items. Along with inside seating, Billy Bricks will also feature an outdoor patio deck.

The building also will house Moo Joe’s ice cream store. Moo Joe’s sells super-premium ice cream made from a 14% butterfat mix, 35-40% overrun, cane sugar and small-farm Wisconsin milk.

“The right side of the building has a separate entrance for Moo Joe’s,” Gruber said. “So we’re actually building out two restaurants in one.”

“Over the past five years, more than $5.1 million in fees has not been collected,” district officials said in a post on its website and Facebook page. “As of this school year, $1.6 million in assessed fees remains uncollected. Last year, $1.5 million went unpaid.”

Schools are prohibited from withholding students’ grades, transcripts or diplomas because of an unpaid balance on the student’s school account, according to district officials.

The district offers a program for families that cannot afford the student fees.

“Applications for free or reduced fee status are available and families who qualify receive relief,” the district said. “That process exists precisely because the district recognizes that financial hardship is real and no student should be locked out of their education because of it.”

But the $1.6 million currently owed in unpaid fees this school year does not come from families who applied for hardship assistance, according to district officials.

“It represents families who have simply chosen not to pay,” officials said.

According to the district, District 308 charges fees to help offset the direct costs of student participation in academic courses, extracurricular activities, athletics and technology.

“Course fees, activity fees, sports fees, technology fees and registration fees each represent a share of the cost of running a district of this size and scope,” officials said.

The district covers about 68 square miles, with students not only in Oswego, but also Aurora, Joliet, Montgomery, Plainfield and Yorkville.

In March, the district announced that it will have to make across-the-board staffing cuts because it is losing $8 million in state funding.

The reason for the decrease in funding is because the district has been moved from Tier 1 to Tier 2 in the state’s evidence-based funding system.

Under the system, the funds flow first to the school districts that need them the most.

“While the district absorbs cuts in state funding, battles rising transportation and special education costs and makes difficult decisions about staffing and programs, a significant portion of the community has not paid for services their children are actively receiving,” district officials said.

A town hall meeting will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Boulder Hill Elementary School, 163 Boulder Hill Pass, Montgomery. The first town hall meeting was held May 18 at Thompson Junior High School in Oswego.

“Over 70% of our 22 school buildings were constructed between 2001 and 2008,” the district said on its website on May 8. “That means critical systems like heating and cooling, roofing, plumbing, and electrical are all reaching the end of their useful life at the same time. These are not cosmetic issues. They affect the comfort, safety, and functionality of the spaces where your children learn every day.”

The school district serves portions of Kendall, Will and Kane counties. The referendum would fund facility improvements at all of the district’s schools.

District officials said they have identified about $317 million in facility needs over the next 10 years across all the district’s schools.

“Of that, 77% is tied to core infrastructure, and the remainder covers important safety and security improvements such as secure entry vestibules, updated fire protection systems, intercoms, exterior lighting and access controls,” officials said.

Because the district is retiring existing long-term debt at the same time, homeowners would see a decrease in the debt service portion of their property taxes, even if the referendum is approved, officials said.

For a home with a fair market value of $300,000, they would play about $100 less per year starting in 2028, and an additional $56 less beginning in 2036.

Last December, District 308 board members approved a long-range plan for the district broken down into three phases: facility condition assessment, educational alignment and long-range facility planning.

District 308 officials said because of the population growth of the Oswego area in the early 2000s, many of the district’s schools were built around the same time and need updates to HVAC units, roofs and flooring.

They stressed the district has not decided whether to place the referendum on the November and is focused right now on making sure the community is informed along with hearing from the community. No decision has yet been made.

More information is available at sd308.org/update308. The School Board is set to decide in August whether to put the referendum question on the Nov. 3 ballot.

The campaign is aimed at increasing seat belt use and keeping roads safe during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

During the campaign, the department also issued 35 seat belt citations, two child car seat citations, one cell phone citation, one misdemeanor arrest, one uninsured motorist citation and three suspended or expired registration citations.

“Thanks to the efforts of our officers, more drivers and passengers were reminded to buckle up, helping to prevent injuries and save lives,” Plainfield Police Sgt. Dino Dabezic said in a news release. “Every citation and safety check reinforces the message that seat belts work.”

The campaign’s success reflects law enforcement’s commitment to roadway safety and reinforces the message that buckling up saves lives.

The “Click It or Ticket” initiative is funded with federal highway safety funds administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation. For more information on safe driving practices, visit ItsNotaGameIllinois.com.

Oak Ridge Cemetery is located just west of the Sandwich Fairgrounds and Edgebrook Golf Course, on the south side of Suydam Road. The event is free.

Chartered in 1870 under the name Union Cemetery, the site was renamed Oak Ridge in 1895. During the walk, members of the committee as well as volunteers will pose as some of Sandwich’s most well-known citizens and will give an oratorical accounting of their life and their work.

Some of the persons to be portrayed during the Cemetery Walk include Augustus Adams, founder of the Sandwich Manufacturing Company, which at one time was well-known for its quality agricultural implements that were sold worldwide, according to a news release from the Sandwich America 250 Committee.

Maps will be available on site showing where the performances will take place and the locations of the grave sites will be marked as well.

“The Legion is looking to rebuild and relocate,” Post Commander Kris Kearns said during the May 26 Oswego Committee of the Whole meeting. “We’ve been at the current facility for 79 years, but the building is over 100 years old and it’s really just not working out any more.”

It has expanded from the original two-story house to include a banquet hall and downstairs bar/dining area. The post is also home to the Ladies Auxiliary Unit and the Sons of the American Legion Squadron.

The post plans to stay in the village, Kearns said. It recently opened up an account for a new building fund.

“We’re going to start working on some fundraising,” Kearns said.

The post’s ultimate goal is to move into a new building that would have a banquet hall with a minimum capacity of 250 people, he said.

“That way we can keep some of the business that we’ve seen going outside of the village in the village,” Kearns said. “And within that, there would be a divider wall so we could also break it down into two rentable units that each would hold 125 people.”

Oswego American Legion Post #675 also is working to update its practices.

“In the next 30 to 60 days, we will start taking credit cards, which still blows my mind that up until this point, we’ve maintained being cash only,” Kearns said."

Kearns is also a lieutenant with the Oswego Fire Protection District. He is a 1989 Oswego High School graduate.

He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1989 to 1993 as was part of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

American Legion Post 675 is involved in many community activities, including helping put on cruise nights in downtown Oswego as well as holding a fish fry on Friday nights. The post also hosts bingo on Wednesday nights, which has proved to be very popular over the years.

The department will hold its second annual K9s ‘N Cops adoption event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the department’s headquarters, 3355 Woolley Road, Oswego.

At last year’s event, two dogs were adopted.

“We know for sure that two dogs went home that day with new owners,” said Oswego Police Department Community Engagement Specialist Cherese Spears, who is organizing the event again this year.

Other dogs may have been adopted later as a result of people meeting the dogs at the event, Spears said.

Kendall County Animal Control and Adoption Center, along with Rover Rescue, Rescued Rascals, Fur Angels Animal Sanctuary and Kat & Kritter’s Foundation, will participate in the event.

Several vendors also will participate, including The Pets’ Home in Oswego, River Heights Veterinary Hospital in Oswego, Barkville Buddies Dog Park & Social in Oswego, Lifesavers CPR, AED, & First Aid Training for Humans and Pets, Yorkville Animal Hospital and Scenthound dog grooming

DillaDawgs food truck also will be at the event.

The adoption event grew out of a video segment on the department’s Facebook page spotlighting rescue groups.

“We try to feature a dog that’s not getting a lot of attention,” Spears said. “Some of the dogs that the rescues will bring in are older dogs or dogs that just are not getting a lot of interest.”

Comfort dogs from the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office and the North Aurora Police Department also will be at the event.

“People will be able to see how they work,” Spears said.