At a DeKalb Ward 7 meeting on Wednesday, Demetrius Page of Midwest Family announced plans to launch a community lawn care service that would aid DeKalb County residents in need.

It all begins Aug. 22 with complimentary services running every Saturday and Sunday through the spring, summer and fall months, according to a news release. Services may include mowing and edging for both the front and back yards of any DeKalb County resident in need.

“Our goal is to ensure that all community members receive the support they deserve,” Page said in a news release.

Anyone in need of service is advised to contact DeKalb Alderman John Walker at john.walker@cityofdekalb.com.

At a rate of about 10.4 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), ComEd’s residential electricity supply rate provides the lowest residential electricity supply rate in DeKalb County, according to information provided by the Citizens Utility Board.

Many consumers in DeKalb County have turned to alternative energy retail suppliers over the years, hoping to find savings, according to a news release. While these suppliers often offer low introductory rates, they do not hold up. The Citizens Utility Board reports that consumers in Illinois have paid in excess of $2 billion in electricity supply charges since 2015.

DeKalb Township encourages residents who previously made the switch to an alternative energy supplier to examine their current utility bills, according to a news release. Any households assessed more than 10.399 cents per kWh have an opportunity to reduce their energy costs if they decide to return to ComEd, and in most cases, that can be done without penalty.

According to the township, a review of current utility bills could potentially result in significant annual savings for residents.

The township, in partnership with the DeKalb Public Library, has two upcoming events to help residents better understand their energy costs and available savings opportunities, featuring representatives from the Citizens Utility Board, according to a news release.

On June 10, the township and the library will host a Home Energy Presentation. The presentation is 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the library, 309 Oak St.

During the program, representatives from the Citizens Utility Board will discuss how to read and understand utility bills, how to identify excessive electricity supply charges, highlight free programs, incentives, and initiatives that may reduce energy costs, spotlight energy-efficiency opportunities for homeowners and renters, and identify solar energy options available to homeowners and renters.

On June 17, the township is hosting a utility bill clinic. The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the township office, 2323 S. Fourth St.

During the program, representatives from the Citizens Utility Board will meet individually with residents to review utility bills, identify excessive charges or billing errors, explore potential saving opportunities, and provide guidance on returning to ComEd from an alternative supplier.

The township requires residents to schedule an appointment to participate in the utility bill clinic by calling 815-758-8282.

For information, contact DeKalb Township at 815-758-8282.

The ceremony saw an audience of friends and family turnout on Monday for the occasion, according to a social media announcement from the township.

McLaughlin, who previously served as a township trustee, sought out the role of clerk when a vacancy arose in the office in April.

DeKalb Township expressed gratitude to former township Clerk Joan Watson-Protano for her work and McLaughlin for her ongoing service to residents, according to the township.

The recent appointment of McLaughlin as clerk opens up a vacancy on the township’s Board of Trustees.

DeKalb Township is looking to fill an unexpired position on the board set to expire in May 2029, according to the township. Those qualified for the job must be a legal voter and a current DeKalb Township resident for at least one year or more.

Qualified candidates are required to submit a letter of interest to DeKalb Township Supervisor Mary Hess by no later than Friday, June 12. They may be delivered in person or by mail to the DeKalb Township office, 2323 S. Fourth St., DeKalb, or by email at supervisor@dekalbtownship.org.

The DeKalb Fire Department responded to a report of a fire about 1:14 p.m. on Market Street, coming from a two-story home where a resident was unable to exit as fire broke out, according to a news release from the fire department.

When crews arrived, firefighters saw the fire in the kitchen area and smoke coming out of the windows of the home. The fire didn’t spread to any nearby structures, according to the release.

Firefighters had the flames under control within 15 minutes, ventilating the building for smoke and heat and extinguishing the fire, according to the news release.

No firefighters were injured.

Authorities said paramedics took the resident to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital for treatment.

Another resident of the home and a police officer were evaluated on the scene for smoke inhalation, but refused further treatment, according to a news release.

Authorities said the fire was determined to be accidental, having started from an unattended cooking appliance in the kitchen. The fire caused an estimated $35,000 in damage to the home.

The displaced residents are receiving assistance from the American Red Cross and the Family Service Agency of DeKalb County. Crews from Cortland, ComEd and Nicor also responded.

Department officials issued a warning for residents to be mindful of fire hazards in the kitchen.

“The DeKalb Fire Department reminds residents to practice fire safety,” according to the release. “Fires in the kitchen are the leading cause of home fires.”

From 2022 to 2024, 48% of home fires involved the kitchen and cooking equipment, according to the department.

The inaugural Juneteenth Community Festival will transform the city’s downtown for one day only, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. June 19 at Van Buer Plaza, near North Second and Locust streets. Admission is free.

Demetrius Page, who is organizing the festival, said the festival carries a special significance.

“It’s about unity,” Page said. “It’s about bringing everyone together. It’s about learning everyone’s culture. That’s why it’s important for all cultures to come together on that day. I feel like [there’s] division nationally because some cultures, they do their own celebration. But Juneteenth is about unity.”

The new event is separate from another DeKalb Juneteenth event happening a day later. New Hope Missionary Baptist Church’s 6th annual Juneteenth Community Celebration returns from noon to 4 p.m. at Lions Park, 700 W. Taylor St., DeKalb.

The origins of the festival aim to recognize a milestone achieved in 2021, when the state of Illinois first started recognizing Juneteenth as an official state holiday. That observance, June 19, 1865, mirrored a federally recognized holiday commemorating when the last of the enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed, which came two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.

Page said he feels younger generations have lost sight of what freedom is, something their ancestors fought for.

“We have to continue fighting for what is right, and whatever’s not right, you’re going to fight for what needs to be right and don’t ever give up, just keep fighting,” he said. “Our young people need to wake up. That’s the biggest thing. The young people need to wake up and understand that you have rights. You have to understand where you come from, why roots is here, why things has happened and you need to understand that it’s about us. We’re fighting for us.”

Page said the festival is all about love.

“Juneteenth is about bringing people together,” Page said. “That’s why I said I wanted to have it downtown. It’s the center of DeKalb, which is downtown, where everybody feels welcome to walk wherever they want to walk. ... I wanted to have it in the center of downtown, so people can feel like they are a part of something.”

If people go, Page said they will find live music, a DJ, dancing, food, kids’ activities, a vendor area and more.

Jeannie Holiday, who is known as the queen of R&B and soul, is among the performing acts expected to grace the stage with her band. The lineup also includes performances by several local artists.

From the Jerk cuisine of Belly Up and the Mexican fare of Tacostumbras, to DeKalb Fresh Market, festivalgoers will have their pick of options if they’re hungry. All three are expected to serve up good eats at the inaugural Juneteenth Community Festival.

Also, during the event, there will be poetry readings and motivational speakers.

“I want everyone to learn the history because this is the reason why it’s been established for everyone to learn the history of Juneteenth,” Page said.

Page said he’s excited for everyone to experience the festival and what it has to offer the community.

“I just want to give DeKalb a taste,” he said. “I know, for sure, they’re going to love it.”

For information or to get involved in volunteering, sponsoring, or registering as a vendor, visit juneteenth-fest.com.

It’s all in the name, after all, says owner Emmanuel Gonzalez.

The restaurant, 131 E. Lincoln Highway, has seen its share of improvements since it opened to the public in early May.

At Provecho, patrons are greeted by a counter along with two sections of indoor dining with plenty of seating. At about 2,000 square feet, the space is distinguished, in part, by a commercial glass garage door, creating the illusion of semi-outdoor dining in the restaurant.

“I try to keep it open because this is the only way that I think you can get another experience in the restaurant,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez described the overall look of the restaurant he set out to achieve as “vintage industrial.”

Gonzalez, who is Venezuelan, said he misses his native Venezuela.

He and his immediate family moved to the U.S. in 2015.

But it wasn’t all rosy for Gonzalez growing up in Venezuela. Gonzalez said he’s since been excited by the promise of all the newfound opportunities available to him.

“It’s really hard to get a degree over there, start something and grow up ... in my country,” he said.

Gonzalez, who is a protected asylee in the U.S., said he has had some concerns about President Donald Trump and his administration’s recent military operations directed at Venezuela.

In January, the U.S. launched a military attack to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife in a series of interventions aimed at securing oil investments to revitalize the Venezuelan energy sector, The Associated Press reported.

“I still worry about it for the situation of my family who is still there,” Gonzalez said.

But Gonzalez said he is focused on bringing a taste of Venezuela to DeKalb.

On its menu, Provecho boasts some of the traditional favorites in homemade Venezuelan food, from empanadas and tequenos, to arepas and patacon.

And there’s more to come. They’re just getting started on menu offerings.

Gonzalez said patrons tend to have positive things to say about their experiences at Provecho.

This is not Gonzalez’s first foray into business.

Gonzalez started at home, preparing dishes and doing deliveries to customers. It progressed to him working events and larger festivals, mainly in Chicago.

Gonzalez said he is learning how to better source the market for all the ingredients and flavors he needs to cook.

“That is the hard part,” Gonzalez said. “It’s not the same thing talking about flavors. You have to look around [at] every option, similar options to get the taste.”

Provecho is available for dine-in, takeout, and more recently, delivery services through DoorDash.

The restaurant is open from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

He died May 16 at 55.

Alando opened his first restaurant, Big O’s Barbecue, along Pappas Drive in DeKalb, in July 2025.

He worked alongside his wife, Valerie, for years. More recently, she handled the front-end customer service operations for the restaurant and pitched in with cooking and preparing sides and sauces when needed. Alando worked in the kitchen preparing orders.

Previously, the Farmers ran and operated a municipal cleaning service.

A Friday, May 22, Facebook post about Alando’s death credited him as a “great” man who ”poured into everyone, young and old."

Valerie said things took a turn fast with Alando’s passing.

“We didn’t even know he was sick because he was still getting around, doing everything he was supposed to,” Valerie said.

Alando’s daughter, Shaka, shared that sentiment.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, to the very last breath,” Shaka said.

Alando and Valerie got married in August 1991. They would have six children together.

Valerie said she feels like she’s lost her person.

“Me and Alando was always together,” she said. “We were best friends.”

Shaka recalls how Alando always had a love for cars and tinkering with things.

“He was really good with his hands,” Shaka said. “I love art. So, a lot of things that’s around the house, it was him. He fixed everything. It’s hard for a man to match up to my dad. [He] was a jack of all trades.”

Valerie recalls the lengths to which Alando went to rise above his circumstances.

At age 16, he suffered a leg injury, which she said prompted him to undergo his first major surgery.

“It left him disabled,” Valerie said. “You couldn’t tell it, though.”

But Valerie said Alando’s always been determined. It’s something that Alando’s carried with him everywhere.

In March 2023, when the Farmers first moved to DeKalb, Alando got the idea to start his own cooking business.

What started as a truck operation turned into a walk-up storefront along Pappas Drive with some help from the City of DeKalb.

Valerie said she knows how hard Alando has worked to realize his dreams.

“He’s always had a passion [for] cooking,” Valerie said. “His grandma taught him to cook.”

In July 2025, the Farmers set up their grill to help feed those in need and the homeless, and gave away 250 book bags with school supplies to area students.

It’s clear that Alando had evolved, Valerie said.

“He was in the streets of the south side of Chicago, hanging out and doing his thing,” Alando said.

Valerie pointed to how Alando decided to profess his belief in Jesus Christ in 2000.

Valerie said she’s proud of the man Alando was.

“Alando has really been ministering to a lot of people in the three years he’s been here,” she said.

Shaka said she hopes Alando is remembered by the community as a “force” of nature he was.

“He was a force that God blessed us with,” she said. “He set that example.”

Alando’s son, Tyran, said he thinks his father would be proud to see how the family is holding up in his absence.

In a recent Facebook post, Big O’s Barbecue announced plans to continue running and operating the restaurant, but under the ownership of Valerie moving forward.

“I think he’d be proud to see where we go and to be proud to see us carry on a legacy and the one he’s started,” Tyran said. “He’d be proud to see us stick together, continue to be together, and remain men and women of integrity.”

When asked what, if anything, they may have learned from Alando about what it will take to run the restaurant, Tyran said it’s all about being willing and ready to do the best you can in service to customers.

“You [can] always be willing to serve because that was my father,” Tyran said.

Alando was preceded in death by his mother, Rubystein Farmer, and his grandparents, Threatha and Augusta Jim Farmer.

He is survived by his father, Martin Lias, and leaves behind a wife, six children, and 14 grandchildren.

This story was updated at 1:32 p.m. May 31, 2026, to correct an earlier version which misidentified the name of Alando’s grandparents.

The property at 530 Charter St. used to house a daycare facility and has since undergone renovations to retrofit the space for programming by young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In March 2024, the district first entered into a lease agreement on the property with an option to purchase after two years. It stipulated that the district would make regular lease payments in the amount of $3,850 per month.

The contract also included an option to close on the sale sooner, provided that the purchase price is calculated using a formula derived from $315,000 minus 25% of lease payments and 100% of the security deposit.

According to the district, a closing date is anticipated on June 1.

At a recent board meeting, the Township voted in support of McLaughlin’s appointment as clerk, according to a social media announcement by the Township.

The board’s decision comes in the wake of a vacancy created in April when current Township Clerk Joan Protano announced her plans to resign and continue serving in her role only through the end of May.

In June, Laughlin will be officially sworn in as clerk.

Her appointment as clerk will prompt a subsequent vacancy on the Township Board of Trustees. The Township intends to explore filling the available trustee seat soon, according to the announcement.

Those interested should keep an eye out for application materials expected to be shared by the Township in the coming days.

Instead, city staff directed City Council to consider authorizing the award of a construction services contract with Curran Contracting Company for storm sewer and drainage improvements in the West Dresser Road area.

City Manager Bill Nicklas said the transit center site is in need of some work, as it is very wet.

“We got to dry it out before we can begin any construction on the center, and it has delayed kickoff for that, unfortunately,” Nicklas said.

The project had gone out to bid, officials said.

Nicklas said it got a lot of interest and got a lot of bids.

In a pair of unanimous decisions, the City Council voted to back the amended request in the amount of $336,891, awarding the contract to Curran Contracting Company.

A groundbreaking on the city’s transit center had been set for the spring, but never materialized, according to the city’s Fiscal 2026 budget.

The park board held an organizational meeting on May 21, an annual undertaking, for the election of new officers.

The park district conducts such meetings every May.

The board decided to retain David Castro as board president in a 4-0 vote.

Other appointments were unanimously made to name Brian Tobin as vice president, Tia Anderson as Treasurer, and Michelle Foster as Secretary.

Also at the meeting, the park board unanimously decided to appoint district staffers Paul Zepezauer and Jenny Schneider as Freedom of Information Act Officers, Zepezauer and Schneider as Open Meetings Act Officers, Zepezauer and Schneider as Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinators, and Schneider and Jennifer Crouch as Safety Coordinators.

It was a gift to the high school inspired by a campaign started in the fall of 2025 to raise money from all 10 classes spanning the 70s for the project, according to project leaders. They saw more than $5,000 raised in total.

The bench has since been created, installed, and put in place outside the high school for all to cherish.

The bench features a copy of the high school’s logo that was used in the ’70s on the plaque attached to it, according to project leaders.

An excess of $1,500 had been raised beyond what was needed for the costs of the memorial bench, according to project leaders. They said they voted to donate those funds to the DeKalb High School Alumni Scholarship Fund.

During her reign, Gonzalez Giraldo plans to engage in volunteer work and community outreach.

“Honestly, it means everything to me,” Gonzalez Giraldo said of the title.

Growing up, Alaysia Gonzalez Giraldo never imagined she had what it takes to compete for the title of prom queen, let alone Mrs. Illinois.

She said she was very shy throughout her time in school and mainly kept to herself.

This is no longer the case, however.

“I definitely learned to come out of my shell,” Gonzalez Giraldo said.

But this is not her first go-around at competing, either.

At age 12, Gonzalez Giraldo competed and was the state runner-up in the national pageant for the National American Miss pageant.

Gonzalez Giraldo, who works as a certified end-of-life doula and bereavement coordinator, said she plans to use her platform for good.

“I have already started initiatives on trying to uplift others, empower others who are going through tough transitions, but now that I have a platform, I’m going to use it to its best ability.”

Gonzalez Giraldo said she also looks forward to competing for the Mrs. United national crown in the fall.

“That’s a big thing,” she said.

In leading up to the competition, Gonzalez Giraldo said there’s a lot to take into account.

“It’s not your traditional pageant,” she said. “It’s based off of the work that you get out and do for the community. And what I have been doing to prepare for that is getting out in our community volunteering, trying to make a community impact.”

During her reign, Gonzalez Giraldo has been building on her service experience by serving as one of the local organizers behind the new Juneteenth Community Festival. She’s also hosted free financial literacy workshops on the basics of budgeting and workshops for mothers who are struggling with their identity after becoming a mother and the grief that comes with it.

“I feel like that title, it’s more of a deeper meaning for me because I did run for National American Miss when I was younger, but again, due to finances, we weren’t able to go through with it. Ao to me, it means empowerment,” she said. “It means unity. It means community.”

Gonzalez Giraldo said to claim the title of Miss United America would hit home on a personal level for her more than people may realize.

“It is also helping me break out of my comfort zone to get out there and get involved in the community, where before I was very introverted, and now it’s forcing me to work on myself and build my confidence and self-esteem,” she said.

The DeKalb City Council on Tuesday voted in support of a request for a special use permit submitted by petitioner John Pappas to make it happen.

Mayor Cohen Barnes welcomed Pappas’ developments in the city.

“As always, Mr. Pappas,” Barnes said. “Thanks for continuing investment in our community.”

The former Advance Auto Parts store at 2151 Sycamore Road, closed in early 2025 and has since seen improvements, subdividing the building into three separate tenant spaces of 2,017 square feet of space, city documents show.

At the south end of the building is an unidentified chicken restaurant with a drive-thru planned. There will also be a small patio for patrons.

Under the approved plan, the drive-thru would accommodate five to six cars at a given time, with stacking.

There will be space for parking. The lot currently accommodates 16 vehicles, but with the addition of the drive-thru, it would serve 12, city documents show.

The middle tenant space is vacant at this time.

At the north end of the building, project leaders have Tropical Smoothie Cafe lined up as a tenant.

According to the company’s website, it is not only known for smoothies, but also for its flatbreads, wraps, quesadillas, tropical bowls and more.