Developer Mike Oliver “needs to convince me ... whatever the dollar amounts are ... to approve it. What I care about tonight is to understand the TIF and justifying the money for the TIF. He is asking us and the next generations to invest in Hidden Harbor,” Trustee Keith Von Allmen said.

A TIF district is a tax subsidy that allows the new, higher property taxes generated by redevelopment within the district to be channeled back into the property rather than distributed to property tax-collecting bodies like school districts for up to 23 years. Excess monies in the TIF can be used for public improvements, including demolition of existing structures. TIFs can also be renewed once for an additional 11 years, according to state law.

Oliver first brought the Hidden Harbor concept to the village a year ago. Proposed for Chapel Hill Road at the Fox River, the development calls for motor condos and drive-up boat storage with an expanded marina. A restaurant, riverwalk and a water feature would also be open to the public on the 22-acre site.

For the past several months, Oliver has been working with both the McHenry County Division of Transportation on access to the site and with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on the development’s seawall on the Fox River.

The seawall, he said, has violated state regulations for the past 36 years. Oliver has since come to an agreement with the IDNR to solve the issue and with McDOT on access to Chapel Hill.

Until those issues were worked through, it made no sense to come to the village with his TIF ask, he said.

“I wanted to do this a year ago, but I didn’t know what McDOT or IDNR was going to say,” Oliver said.

According to data provided by his consultants, Oliver believes the development would create $21.4 million in TIF increment money over a 23-year time span – and is asking for 100% of the TIF to go back into the project.

Some Village Board members expressed skepticism about that ask and whether Johnsburg would get enough public benefit to make it worthwhile.

According to a term sheet presented to the village before Tuesday’s meeting, those public benefits would include realigning Charnbrook Drive at Hidden Harbor’s main entrance, drainage improvements for Salem Avenue and repairing and patching Linden Avenue where the new sanitary sewer will go through.

Other touted public benefits would be a publicly accessible riverwalk and shared-use paths, shoreline stabilization, expansion of the harbor and the extension of the city’s sanitary sewer from the Village’s lift station to the northeast corner of the property.

The overall project cost is $43.2 million, according to Oliver’s documentation.

Tim Hartnett, the village engineer, reminded the board that if Oliver’s project does not create the increment, he does not get the money.

“It was a great idea for him to come tonight,” Hartnett added, to make sure the board agreed with the concept of TIF funding. But it is still very early in the process.

“This is the first couple of baby steps,” Hartnett said. “This is a long lead item to get done.”

As Oliver’s presentation was only listed as an update on the meeting agenda, no formal vote was taken. Village President Ed Hettermann asked for a consensus on whether Oliver should return with both the TIF and a redevelopment proposal that would need votes.

Oliver said he’d be ready to come back at the next meeting, set for April 21, with a breakout of the public benefit portions of the project and the estimated costs associated with them.

Now, 102 acres of the club at 820 N. John St. is being annexed into McHenry, at the owner’s request.

Formerly the McHenry Country Club, the golf course celebrated its 100th birthday in 2022. In early 2025, McHenry businessman Edward Hinz, as McHenry Golf Club Properties LLC, purchased the club for $1.98 million.

With its annexation into McHenry from unincorporated McHenry County, the golf club also received a conditional use permit to continue operating as a golf course.

There was some discussion among city leaders prior to the annexation vote over whether the conditional use permit vote or the annexation vote should come first.

“How do you grant a conditional use permit for property that is not in the city?” 2nd Ward Alderman Andy Glab asked.

The golf course management wanted to ensure it could continue to operated as it has been before it was annexed, McHenry Planner Cody Sheriff said.

The club “doesn’t want to annex unless it’s guaranteed they can continue the golf that has gone on there for years,” Sheriff said.

Glab was the sole vote against the conditional use permit, but joined with the Council – including Mayor Wayne Jett – to approved the annexation on a 8-0 vote.

With the annexation, the city assumes maintenance responsibility for an approximate 900-foot section of North Country Club Road. It will be placed “near the end of the city’s pavement management schedule,” according to the planning and zoning staff report.

“There is interest in it” from potential buyers, Martin said of the massive campus, adding that the way it’s being marketed, a buyer could purchase the corporate office building with one of the two warehouse facilities or all three together.

Brake Parts Inc. announced it was permanently closing its McHenry operations in early February, days after the owners of its parent company, First Brands, were indicted on fraud charges and months after its bankruptcy filing.

A total of 332 employees were informed they no longer had jobs, and another 57 were retained to wind down operations, according to a notice filed under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, Act with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

The last 12 remaining employees will be done on April 30, according to Martin. The city received an updated WARN Act notice recently with that information, and “the closing of the facility will be permanent,” according to Martin’s April 6 report to the McHenry City Council.

“Staff has been working with the broker and McHenry County Economic Development Corporation on the site, and there has been a lot of interest in the site, pending its full closure,” Martin said.

According to commercial brokerage website Colliers.com, interested parties can purchase – or lease – the corporate office building at 4400 Prime Parkway and 1380 Corporate Drive together, and 1100 Corporate Drive separately.

The office building has 41,703 square feet of space, and 1380 Corporate Drive is 246,297 square feet. The building at 1100 Corporate Drive has 376,110 square feet, according to the listing. Both warehouses have 28-foot ceilings.

The Corporate Drive buildings’ ceiling heights and loading docks with room for semi-trailer parking “are appealing” to companies in either warehouse, distribution or manufacturing, Martin said, calling it “a desirable piece of property.”

The Colliers listing also notes that the building is a designated foreign trade zone.

Firefighters were called about 1:30 p.m. Friday to the intersection of Nish and Barreville roads for a reported crash, according to a news release from Alex Vucha, district public information officer.

Crews arriving on the scene found a black sedan “well engulfed in flames,” according to Vucha’s release.

Both of the adult drivers – the only occupants in either vehicle – had exited their cars before firefighters arrived, according to the release. While firefighters put a hose line on the car, paramedics evaluated the drivers on scene.

The driver of the vehicle that caught fire declined medical attention, he said. The the driver of a red sedan was taken to a local hospital with moderate injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

Crews were on scene for about an hour and assisted with traffic control while the roadway was closed and the vehicles removed.

The Cary Fire Protection District assisted on scene for the fire and patient care, Vucha said.

The Prairie Grove Police Department is investigating the crash.

A $120,000 state grant the city received this week should help move that plan along, said Doug Martin, director of economic development.

McHenry was notified this week that it was awarded the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Regional Site Readiness-Planning Grant.

The grant will be used for the environmental, wetlands, geotechnical, archeological and other studies needed before any development could happen there, Martin said. When that work is done, developers may be more interested in moving to McHenry.

“The whole purpose is to make it as shovel-ready as possible to have a developed site as quickly as possible,” Martin said.

The McHenry City Council approved a deal with the landowner at its Nov. 17 meeting, in which McHenry would apply for the grant, and the landowner, Parkway Bank Trust Company, is responsible for the required $30,000 local match.

According to Martin’s report to the Council in November, McHenry had shown the property for “a potential relocation of a large manufacturing employer that would have brought approximately 700 jobs and $10 million in capital investment to the area.”

The company chose not to pursue the McHenry site because of the geotechnical and environmental concerns there, Martin said.

He worked with Mark Piekos, executive director of the McHenry County Economic Development Council, and the state to apply for a site readiness grant so that wouldn’t happen again.

With the grant approval, McHenry now serves as the fiscal agent, administering the grant, overseeing expenditure and handling reporting requirements.

Once a developer is found for the site, it will be annexed into McHenry, Martin said.

Now the arterial road’s businesses, restaurants and shopping centers are an economic driver for Kane and McHenry counties.

That, City Administrator Derik Morefield said, is what Route 23 between Interstate 90 and Marengo could look like in another 20 years.

“This is the next opportunity” for growth along the I-90 corridor, Morefield said. “It is pure, available open space.”

Marengo got one mile closer to that future this week. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity approved a $4.6 million grant to continue extending water and sewer infrastructure to the interchange at Interstate 90 and Route 23. It could be finished in late 2028, Morefield said.

“That interchange is super important to the tax base and future growth,” Morefield said.

The latest grant is expected to fund the last of the 3-mile project that gets city water and sewer to the open land along Route 23. Acreage along the road has already been annexed into Marengo, with plans for continued swaths added to the city over time.

This potential future all started when the Illinois Department of Transportation put a full interchange in. Opened in 2019, the I-90/Route 23 interchange is the only interstate access point in McHenry County.

That’s where Marengo comes in – first with $27 million in state grants and a $750,000 loan approved by the McHenry County Board to improve city water and sewer systems and beginning to extend lines toward the interstate. The first section got as far as the Unilock manufacturing building, Morefield said.

The second mile was funded by another $3.5 million state grant and got Marengo to Anthony Road.

The latest grant will fund the last section, about ¾ of a mile, and a new Marengo water tower near the interstate.

Without the state grants or development agreements in hand, Marengo would never have the money to put the lines in, Morefield said.

“We would have to figure out how to run 3 miles to get down to that interchange,” he said.

The state is betting on the idea that if the infrastructure is there, development will follow.

“It is an economic development tool to spur growth along the Route 23 corridor,” Morefield said.

That is what officials from the Regional Site Readiness Program – part of the state’s commerce and opportunity department – said in its news release announcing the grants.

“Economic development happens with thoughtful long-term planning and considerable investment in new roads, water, sewer and other infrastructure, creating shovel-ready sites for industry,” said Michael Dunn, Region 1 Planning Council executive director.

It also means that in another 20 years, Marengo could look like Huntley does now, Morefield said.

“The state saw the potential,” he said. “Marengo is the nearest municipality and [the City Council] had the foresight to annex to the intersection.”

The extension has not been without tension; it’s been a focal point of past Marengo mayoral races.

The project also could benefit the entire county, said Mark Piekos, executive director of McHenry County Economic Development Corporation.

“These investments give us [the] opportunity to build on McHenry County’s strong industrial base and compete for the kind of projects that create lasting jobs,” Piekos said in a news release.

Current residents should also benefit, according to a post on Wednesday on Marengo’s Facebook page.

“We aren’t just moving dirt for the sake of it. This is about the long-term health of our town,” the post said, pointing to tax relief with industries paying more of the bill, additional local jobs and improved infrastructure.

“We’re in the home stretch of a very long project, and for the first time, the finish line is actually in sight. Thank you for your patience with the construction crews. We are building a more stable, affordable future for Marengo,” the post said.

The Marengo Fire & Rescue Districts and others involved in his rescue were on hand Wednesday as Troy was returned to his barn on Anthony Road in unincorporated Marengo.

The horse, a Pony of the Americas breed, recovered from his ordeal at the Kendall Road Equine Hospital. His regular veterinarian, Nicky Wessel of Cutting Edge Equine Veterinary services, was one of the 40-plus people who were part of the rescue.

In front of gathered media, the 20-year-old pony emerged from a trailer early Wednesday afternoon and received an embrace from its owner.

Ashley Beaulieu, daughter of his owners, spoke to the media about the rescue and how he’s recovering.

Their barn hand, Trent Hinkle, was the first to find Troy standing in the flood waters, Beaulieu said.

“He tried to go into the water” but quickly realized he needed help, she said, and called 911.

Boone Creek runs through the property is usually 3 or 4 feet deep, Fire Chief John Kimmel said. But because of the recent rains, the water was an estimated 15 feet deep and there was no way to walk Troy out. Neither did they know exactly when he was swept out or how he ended up where he was.

But when firefighters arrived for the 8:30 a.m. call, they found the pony standing chest-high in floodwaters, 600 to 800 feet from the nearest bank, Fire Chief John Kimmel said.

Initially, the first team reached the horse by boat, carefully working in the fast-moving water. Additional personnel, including Wessel, waded into the waters to assist.

“They put me in a red Gumby suit” to keep warm, Wessel said, and took her to the horse on one of the boats. She brought some medications, hay and hot water with her to begin treatment.

Troy’s temperature should be about 100 or 101 degrees. It had dropped to 97 degrees, and the horse was suffering from significant hypothermia, she said.

On her way to the rescue, Wessel also reached out to the Wisconsin Large Animal Emergency Response Technical Response Team. That all-volunteer team arrived in the afternoon and helped bring the horse in, Kimmel said, as did swift-water rescuers from other fire districts.

Watching the ordeal was an emotional rollercoaster for her, Beaulieu said. Several times they feared the horse might give up. But she added he is a smart animal.

“He knew they were fighting for his life,” she said.

She could see he was scared but stayed calm throughout the rescue, she said.

The teams strapped Troy to one of the boats and floated him through the deepest water and back to a stable bank. Nearly two dozen personnel worked in the water and creek bank, moving Troy into the adjacent road, fire officials said.

It was after 7 p.m. before he was loaded into a trailer and taken to Kendall Road for continued care.

He was exhausted – too exhausted to stand – Wessel said, and had to be moved on a tarp out of the trailer at the equine hospital.

“Dude, it was cold,” in the floodwaters, Wessel said. She had to see if it would even be possible if Troy would survive if he’d swallowed flood waters, got water in his lungs, or gotten an infection in the muck and mud. None of that apparently happened.

He has some Appaloosa in him, she said. “They are hardy animals.”

He tried taking classes at Harper College in Palatine. But then a friend talked to him about enlisting in the Air Force.

Today, Sgt. Gudgeon is on his third six-year reenlistment with the U.S. military, working towards a planned retirement once he hits 20 years in.

“Harper was great, but the joke is I failed out of college and ended up here,” Gudgeon said. He also found himself back in class. His U.S. Air Force enlistment led to specializing in satellites, used across the military for the past 20 or 30 years to coordinate what was happening closer to the ground, he said.

Gudgeon, currently stationed in San Antonio, Texas, now is part of the Space Force. He’s been in Texas since late 2023, part of Space Delta 1 Detachment 3.

He is a drill sergeant – one of only two in the Space Force – preparing young recruits for what their lives will be in the newest branch of the military.

Gudgeon said he sometimes spends time in online comment sections, explaining what it is the Space Force does.

“You have to become an ambassador for what we are,” Gudgeon said of the effort he puts in to try to educate and dispel myths.

When the branch was created in the first administration of President Donald Trump in 2019, the idea was bringing all of the satellite and low-orbit operations handled by the separate branches under one, unified command.

By being under one house “it helps to secure the funding that we need to remain technically relevant,” Gudgeon said.

There were satellite systems “that were way outdated,” put into space in the early 1990s and even late 1980s, he said. The Space Force was able to get barriers removed and those systems updated, he said.

It also puts the U.S. on the same footing as other countries – primarily Russia and China – which also have created their own space forces, he said.

Moving from those technical roles to that of drill sergeant came at the suggestion of another superior.

“Essentially, my boss called me and asked if I was interested in going to a joint schoolhouse,” he said.

He graduated from the nine-week training course on April 4, 2025.

“Tech. Sgt. David Gudgeon and Sgt. Yuji Moore became the first #Guardians to graduate from the U.S. Army’s prestigious Drill Sergeant Academy,” according to a news release.

The Eagle Scout from McHenry’s Boy Scout Troop 131 also recently was named USO Guardian of the Year for 2026 – guardian being the name used for those enlisted in the Space Force.

“As a Space Force Military Training Instructor at JBSA-Lackland, Master Sgt. Gudgeon demonstrated exceptional composure and lifesaving skill during two separate medical emergencies,” according to a USO news release.

In one instance, Gudgeon performed the Heimlich maneuver on a recruit choking in the mess hall. In the other, he triaged two trainees who had passed out in brutal Texas heat.

His superior officers submitted his name for the reward.

“They keep telling me I am doing a good job,” Gudgeon said.

In the choking incident, another recruit alerted to what was going on.

“He was being a good teammate and called it out,” Gudgeon said. “I was able to go help him out.”

In the other incident, two recently arrived recruits had passed out from heat stress.

“It is so dang hot here,” Gudgeon said. He was able to get the two to cooling treatment quickly.

Recruits come from all over to the Texas base – from U.S. territories and all over the world.

“They have travelled upwards of 12 hours to get there, and get minimal sleep in the first 48 hours. Their bodies are in stress,” he said.

While drill instructors preach over and over again to hydrate, not all of them understand the importance, he said.

“In the first week, we see a lot of these issues” with the potential for heat stroke, Gudgeon said.

That is the average amount spent by moms attending the KidStuff Resale events put on by Moms of McHenry County, James said.

She, along with co-manager Jenni Perz, organizes the semiannual sale for all things child-related. Each spring and fall, up to 145 sellers register to sell, on consignment, items they no longer need – gently used clothing, shoes, strollers, car seats, toys, maternity clothes and everything in between.

“We have an average inventory of 25,000 items per sale,” James said, adding that sizes for boys and girls run from newborn to teenager.

The Spring 2026 sale is set for 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 18. The event is held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 1023 S. McHenry Ave., Crystal Lake. It’s been held there since their first year, in 1998.

Organizers are picky about what they will accept for the sale.

“If we wouldn’t buy it, we wouldn’t want to sell it,” James said.

No registration is required to attend and shop at the event. Sellers, however, register far in advance and are team members for the event, James said. Selling team members must agree to work at least a single two-hour shift between Thursday, the first day of setup, and the end of the event and cleanup on Saturday night.

For taking a shift, sellers receive a pass for the Friday night presale event.

James was pregnant with her first son at her first KidsStuff sale in 2015. She came back as a seller the next year.

Perz first shopped the sale in 2010.

“I shopped the resale and became a volunteer to help ... and to shop the presale to get first pick,” she said.

Perz took over as one of the event managers in 2017 and asked James to join her in 2022.

The event has changed a lot since she got involved, too, Perz said.

“Back in the day, it was all handwritten tags ... and calculators” to come up with the final amount owned, Perz said.

Now, they use the website myconsignmentmanager.com. There, sellers enter each item or grouping of items they will bring to the sale, and price them. The website creates a barcode for each item, and sellers then print tags and attach them to the corresponding items.

Now, the team members working the checkout tables can scan those bar codes and get a total.

The sellers get 70% of the sales back, with the remainder going towards Moms of McHenry County. There is a $1 per transaction fee also added to cover credit card and banking fees.

The entry fee is $1. This year, that entry fee goes directly to the D300 Food Pantry in Carpentersville.

The balance of the funds raised goes back to the club – either for its own events or to the nonprofits it supports.

The group supports a scholarship for moms going to McHenry County College, and donates to all of the food pantries in the county, James said.

Unsold items are either picked up by the sellers or donated to other organizations, including Riddick’s Ride, KIN/Second Bridge, Blessing Barn, The Green Read/The Green Spot and The Giving Closet of McHenry County.

The club meeting where they decide on where to donate is her favorite, Perz said. “We get to give away all of our money.”

For 2025, the club donated just shy of $8,000 to community nonprofits from its two sales.

The group does keep a little aside as seed money for the next event. The second sale of the year, held in August, focuses on fall, winter and back-to-school clothing.

In the meantime, the club offers moms – and often entire families – events to help them connect to their community and have fun.

“We do monthly bunco games, with prizes; outings for kids at a play place; a parents’ night out,” James said.

There is no fee to join the club – members must only agree to attend at least one event a year.

“You will get kicked out if you don’t come,” Perz said.

What club members get, other than access to the events, is connection to their community and other moms.

“As a new mom, I was looking for connections, people to talk to, having our kids have play dates and mom outings and talking to adults and not just baby talk,” Perz said. “It is having that connection with other moms who have already been through that.”

McHenry Mayor Wayne Jett announced on Facebook that Burlington – formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory – is moving into the former The RoomPlace building at 2221 N. Richmond Road.

The RoomPlace closed in late 2024 after the Chicago-based retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to industry magazine Furniture Today.

Buffalo Wild Wings, at 3343 Shoppers Drive, part of the The Shops at Fox River development, told city officials it would close as of Easter Sunday. It opened in March 2014.

One of the chicken wing chain’s locations in Morris also announced it’s closing.

McHenry’s economic development staff recently learned that Buffalo Wild Wings was closing, Director Doug Martin wrote in his update to the McHenry City Council for its Monday meeting.

“Approximately 22 employees are impacted. Staff will be bring packets of information ..., from the McHenry County Workforce Network, which can be distributed to the employees to help them navigate their way to future employment,” Martin wrote.

Downed wires and fire closed the roadway to motorists between Bull Valley Road and High Street from about 8:45 a.m. to 10:10 a.m. McHenry announced the closure via a Nixle alert and social media posts.

According to ComEd, fewer than 20 electric customers in the area were without power from the downed lines.

While ComEd is on the scene, traffic patterns are altered, and motorists should use caution when driving through the area, according to the updated post.

The earlier alert expected the road to be closed for about two hours, asked residents to “seek alternative routes and avoid the area while work is being done to fix the issue,” according to the message.

Between warmer winter temperatures and ongoing vandalism, however, his department may have to rethink those rinks, Hobson said.

Parks and Recreation has also started to regrade the area at Miller Point Park, where a portable ice rink is now set up during the winter season. Plans are to even out the area, add a sprinkler system and re-sod the area, Hobson said.

Originally, the Miller Point rink area was designed with the idea that the city would put down a liner and flood it to create a rink. Then, Mayor Wayne Jett used the RISE Up Foundation to fundraise for a portable, chilled ice rink that is not completely weather-dependent.

“We will re-sod over for a nice plush area for kids” to play, Hobson said.

Fox Ridge Park was was designed similarly, with ice rinks in mind. Low berms were built to accommodate the flooding of the area for an ice rink. The city lays down a liner to ensure the water stays in place, then floods the area to create the ice.

“We put up boards for two separate rinks” inside the berm, Hobson said.

The city was able to get ice on the rinks when temperatures dropped in December. But by Christmas, warmer weather came in.

“We had to close because of the warmer weather,” Hobson said.

Then came the vandalism.

“There are foam pads on the boards. They pulled off the foam pads,” he said. Sandbags used to hold up the boards were thrown onto the ice.

In his January report to the McHenry City Council, Hobson also noted that people were walking on the un-frozen liners in their ice skates.

“Signs for the rinks being closed were posted and the park was gated off. ... People continued to access the rinks, walking across the liner with skates and cutting holes into the liners,” Hobson wrote.

“The extensive damage will prevent the department from moving forward to reestablish the rinks this year, even when the weather shifts to more favorable ice conditions. The rinks will be completely removed to prevent further damage,” Hobson wrote in his report to the Council.

Those liners run about $2,000 each, Hobson said – liners that the department replaced for the 2024-25 skating season because of previous vandalism.

History – and weather reports – may also be showing that the potential for sustained, usable ice without a chiller system may no longer be feasible, Hobson said.

City officials do ask residents to keep an eye out on their neighborhood parks and report vandalism, Hobson said.

“But our best bet is security cameras” at the park, he said, like those at Miller Point Park. That is tougher to do at Fox Ridge because of its more-remote location, he added.

He hasn’t made the call yet on whether his department will put up those rinks next winter.

According to a news release from the Huntley Police Department, officers were called Friday evening to Sierra Glen Road for a request for assistance. Upon entering the home, police said they found Juan A. Dela Cruz Lopez, 21, hiding inside the residence.

Dela Cruz Lopez was taken into custody without incident, and a knife was recovered from his person, according to the release.

Their initial investigation determined that Dela Cruz Lopez entered the home through an open garage door and was waiting to confront the homeowner upon his return to the home with the intent to commit murder, according to the release. Police did not say what the relationship, if any, is between the resident and Dela Cruz Lopez.

This was an isolated incident, officials said in the release, with no indication of a wider threat to the community.

Dela Cruz Lopez was charged with felony counts of attempted murder and residential burglary and transported to the Kane County Jail pending a detention hearing, police said.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call the Huntley Police Department at 847-515-5311. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling the Huntley Police Tip Line at 847-515-5333.

The car and two motorcycles that were inside the trailer are a total loss, according to the Marengo Fire & Rescue District.

Firefighters were called about 4:50 p.m. to the 18700 block of Route 176 in unincorporated Marengo for a report of a vehicle on fire, according to a news release.

At the scene, firefighters found a pickup truck and a 24-foot enclosed trailer in heavy fire conditions. Crews worked to put out the blaze and prevent it from spreading further into the truck cab, according to the release.

The driver, an adult man, told fire officials he saw smoke from his rearview mirror and was able to pull over safely before exiting the truck. He was not injured, according to the release.

Route 176 was closed in both directions for about an hour while crews were on-scene.

The Marengo Fire & Rescue Districts received assistance from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and the Marengo Police Department.