Kane County Board

Kane County Board members piece together a plan for the 2024 budget over the next two months.

About 200 neighbors in Elgin Township signed a petition expressing concerns and urging a rejection of a project that would bring trucking and commercial printing businesses to the area.

Kane County Democrats have muscled through changes in who can receive taxpayer dollars for county construction work. The new rules -- long fought against by Kane County Republicans -- will require apprenticeship training for all workers on county construction projects.

Kane County officials are simultaneously moving toward an $8 million upgrade in voting equipment and a possible change that could strip the county clerk of the authority to oversee elections.

KaneComm Director Michelle Guthrie told a Kane County Board committee Thursday that her emergency operators saw a “dramatic increase” of 2,000 phone calls this June compared to June 2022.

LGBTQ+ Kane County residents received support and recognition from their county board for the first time in 186 years Tuesday as representatives approved a proclamation supporting Pride Month. The vote was not unanimous.

Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham said Thursday a group of residents suspicious of fraud and fearful of liberal influences in local elections are “indoctrinated” and “sociopaths.”

Residents told County Board members that Route 47, where the LaFarge mine operates near Elburn, is a speedway for trucks that often blare their horns and hit the gas rather than stop for red lights.

Kane County’s Forest Preserves will grow another 95 acres with the purchase of land adjacent to the Dick Young Forest Preserve along Seavey Road in the southwest portion of Batavia.

The Kane County Board will vote on a proposal that could open the door to 24/7 mining operations at any or all of the 12 quarries in the area. Each facility would need to apply for a special permit to work beyond the 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. limits on hours of operation on the books now.

State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser had opened an investigation into the election after Kane County Clerk Jack Cunningham’s election website experienced a roller coaster posting of vote totals.

The police dog was killed in an exchange of gunfire on May 24 in a police-involved shooting on Randall Road.

The vice chair of the Kane County Board wants an independent investigation into the events leading up to a $46,000 separation agreement between Treasurer Chris Lauzen and a longtime employee of the office.

Former Kane County Circuit Clerk Thomas Hartwell has died by an apparent suicide, Sheriff Ron Hain said Thursday.

The plan would change the county code that restricts mining operations to the hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. If the change were approved, mining operations could apply for permission to operate around the clock.