Voters this week in McHenry County determined who will make the important decisions regarding their communities, schools, townships, fire departments, parks and libraries. See the results here.

This spring, McHenry County voters get to decide who will make the important decisions regarding their communities, schools, townships, fire departments, parks and libraries.

Nicholas Johnson on a top priority for the district: Teacher retention: Ensuring that teachers stay in the district

Should students be able to use AI in schoolwork? Benjamin Quint: Students should be able to use AI in drafts for their final assignment, but should not be evident in the final draft.

Take a look back at some of the biggest news stories of 2024 in the McHenry County area.

A former Richmond-Burton High School student accused of threatening via social media to “shoot up” the school has been found unfit to stand trial.

Trent Ullrich, 14, of the Richmond area, overdosed in January, authorities said. His parents have been charged in connection, and now another man is accused of drug-induced homicide.

A Richmond teen accused of driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana when his Ford truck crashed and rolled over near a house in December turned himself in at the McHenry County jail early Thursday.

Husband, wife, father, mother, Illinois State Police master sergeant and McHenry County Sheriff’s deputy. Robert and Khalia Satkiewicz have worn several titles during their 22-year marriage. With each title is a common thread: caring and wanting to help.

Two minors have been taken into custody and face child pornography charges of A!-created nudes depicting Richmond-Burton High School students.

A former student, now 19, has been charged with making an online threat against Richmond-Burton High School that prompted alert to parents.

Nearly 1,000 acres of current farmland is set to become part of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge, which straddles Illinois and Wisconsin and aims to protect wildlife corridors.

Stevie Hyder, 15, is one of the students at Richmond-Burton High School whose images were manipulated to appear naked. She said if more people speak out, "the cops will be forced to do something about this.”

Richmond-Burton High School alerted parents late Monday to "sensitive images" created and circulated on a computer. Authorities are now investigating.

Trent Ullrich, a 14-year-old who died of an overdose, had fentanyl and xylazine in his system, the McHenry County Coroner said.

Richmond-Burton High School officials said in an email to parents a social media threat was investigated and addressed.

Kristine Porreca, a Richmond-Burton High School mom, brought her therapy dog Archie to the school on Monday, helping students grieve the loss of a classmate last week.

A Richmond-area boy died Wednesday after he was found unresponsive; authorities say a woman has been charged in connection to that investigation.

Disparities in absenteeism appear in most McHenry County school districts when the data are broken down by race and in comparing students with disabilities.

Ryan Carlson, who has resigned from his teaching job, was cleared a second time of criminal charges involving an interaction with a student.

A lawsuit filed Aug. 7 against Richmond-Burton High School District 157, a woman claims she was not rehired as COVID-19 restrictions changed as she was pregnant.

A McHenry County judge Monday agreed with defense attorneys in finding a Richmond-Burton High School teacher and cross-country coach was not guilty of a crime when he touched a student’s shirt as he commented on her “groutfit.”

Katie Murphy has been working to bring new, nationally recognized biomedical pathway classes to Richmond-Burton High School.

Nearly four dozen of the local races in McHenry County will be competitive on Tuesday, as voters head to the polls to decide who will lead their school boards, municipalities, libraries and parks.

Richmond-Burton High School District 157 Board President Tracey Highley resigned from the board this week, citing a move out of the district.

Question: Why are you running for office? Answer: I believe the proper education of our kids is the most important thing a community does to create a better future. Read Jennifer Read's full election questionnaire here.

Almost 20% of McHenry County is without power as of early Thursday morning

With McHenry County under an ice storm warning from 6 a.m. Wednesday through Thursday morning, a number of area schools have been cancelled.

McHenry County residents deal with another round of snow on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, after a winter storm moved through McHenry County creating hazardous driving conditions.

All McHenry County schools not already on winter break have closed or will dismiss early on Thursday due to the impending snow.

More than a hundred candidates across 19 school districts have filed to run for school board in the past week across McHenry County, meaning a dozen districts can expect to see competitive races heading into April.

Search this chart to see what designation all McHenry County and Community School District 300 schools received

A Richmond-Burton High School teacher has been charged with misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct this week after police allege he touched a student’s buttocks in September, court records show.

Leadership Greater McHenry County announced its Youth Class of 2023, which pairs students from every high school in the county with a community member or Leadership Greater McHenry County alum.

Suzanne Johnson is sometimes at Richmond-Burton High School as early as three in the morning in order to prep and bake fresh pastries for what has become a very popular pop-up bakery.

Harvard District 50 officials canceled their first days back from winter break this week, opting to keep classrooms shut Thursday and Friday due to COVID-19 cases among staff, the superintendent said.

Without some type of influx of transportation staff or another schedule rearrangement allowing fewer drivers to transport more children, McHenry County education officials fear an unmanageable transportation conundrum will arise this winter as more drivers need days off for illness and other reasons.

Most districts have vaccinated at least 75% of their staff members, they reported Monday after Pritzker’s deadline for staff vaccinations took effect

Some McHenry County schools saw vaccination rates rise since the mandate to get shots or face weekly tests was put into effect last month by Gov. JB Pritzker, while others are still gathering data and have found teaching staff are more likely to already be inoculated than workers outside classroom settings.

“With home schooling, socialization looks a lot more normal right now than it does at schools,” said one Crystal Lake Elementary School District 47 mom who decided to home-school this year

The first day of school is quickly approaching for McHenry County students, but with federal and state guidance less than a week old, many McHenry County school districts said they’re still finalizing some details.

Superintendent points to fully vaccinated staff, relaxed state guidance but says community still has ‘a long way to go before COVID-19 is no longer a daily concern’

National Weather Service reports 4 inches of snow in McHenry, 3.5 inches in Richmond

Cases opened by county Regional Office of Education already more than doubled so far this year compared to 2018-19 academic year

School districts in McHenry County and throughout the Chicago suburbs are facing a shortage of substitute bus drivers and teachers, both problems that existed before COVID-19 struck Illinois

Citing “too many unknowns” about the upcoming school year, Richmond-Burton Community High School District 157 and Nippersink School District 2 will conduct their first quarters remotely, Superintendent Tom Lind said in a letter Thursday.

The attorney representing Richmond-Burton High School’s dean of students hopes to avoid a trial on the District 157 employee’s felony aggravated driving under the influence charge.

Richmond-Burton High School’s former athletic director and football coach, Patrick Elder, could go before a jury in December on a felony charge of driving under the influence.

Richmond-Burton Community High School District 157 will meet Wednesday night to consider Pat Elder’s contract.

Richmond-Burton Community High School athletic director Patrick Elder now faces a felony drunken driving charge based on prior convictions.