Mercyhealth health care system agreed to pay over $1 million to employees and offered to reinstate employees after the company terminated workers for refusing to comply with its COVID-19 vaccine policy for religious reasons.

McHenry County Mental Health Board's Community Connections Summit is planned for Sept. 12 at McHenry County College, with a focus on how to rise and thrive together to transform challenges into opportunities.

A man accused in McHenry County of abducting his own child after a visit with DCFS pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice Monday in a case that spurred a statewide missing-child alert.

Most of the McHenry County Board members whose seats are up next year are planning to run for reelection.

Property transfers with addresses and prices for the week of May 27-June 4.

Six dogs that were unaccounted for after a devastating house fire Friday near Woodstock are believed to have died in the fire, officials say.

A home was declared a total loss and six dogs were missing after a fire Friday morning near Woodstock.

Hearthstone Communities, a senior living facility and nursing home in Woodstock, is closing.

Thirteen Illinois state drivers license locations in the suburban Chicago area will begin offering walk-in Saturday service starting Aug. 9.

People heading into Chicago from the Woodstock Metra station soon will be able to stay in a warming center while waiting for the train.

McHenry County is starting its budget process from an unenviable place, where expenses are expected to outpace revenue, even if the county takes the maximum property tax increase it can.

Marcy Piekos, the longtime executive director of Leadership Greater McHenry County, is stepping down from her role next year.

The Community Foundation for McHenry County has announced the distribution of more than $700,000 in grant and scholarship funding as part of its annual competitive grant cycle.

The McHenry County Department of Health said Monday that bat encounters in the county are on the rise.

Melissa Cooney grew up in Woodstock and learned at an early age from her parents and grandparents the importance of civic life. Cooney is one of the Northwest Herald's 2025 Women of Distinction honorees.

The McHenry County Fair celebrates its final day for 2025 Sunday in Woodstock.

Twenty-one students ranging from third to eighth grade are participating in Huntley's farmers market Saturday, Aug. 2, selling what they make, including dog toys, candles, soap and fidgets. Other markets have youth programs too.

The Huntley Farmers Market is bringing kids in to sell their homemade goods. Other local farmers markets, including Woodstock's and The Dole's in Crystal Lake, also offer kids as young as 5 the chance to participate.

Three Illinois lawmakers on Thursday called for reform for the Department of Children and Family Services after the death of a young person in foster care was not reported to lawmakers.

A man was convicted of residential burglary for stealing vehicles, a weapon and appliances from a Marengo-area home, though his lawyer contended he had nothing to do with it.

The McHenry County Fair opened Tuesday and got right down to business with animal judging, a K9 demo, pickle eating contest, 4H Meat Goat show and Miss McHenry County pageant.

People enjoy the first day of the McHenry County Fair on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. The fair runs through Sunday at the fairgrounds in Woodstock.

A power outage forced Woodstock's City Hall to shut down Tuesday.

State Rep. Steve Reick, R-Woodstock, is running for a sixth term in the Illinois House.

Woodstock North’s Parker Halihan was not immediately sold on the pitch to play quarterback. But the former wingback grew into the position, and last year led the Thunder to the most wins in program history. Now he's one of 19 starters back for first-year coach Jeremiah Homuth.

Hospitals in Chicago, the suburbs, and beyond made U.S. News & World Report’s list of best hospitals. They include four in Chicago, seven in greater Cook County, four in DuPage, three in Lake, one in Will and the hospitals in McHenry County

Woodstock Community Unit School District 200 has bought a pair of used, gas-powered buses, just months after the school board approved the purchase of a trio of electric buses that later fell through.

In a little over two months since she was sworn in as Hebron’s chief of police for the second time, Juanita Gumble has hired four full time officers and four part-timers to the embattled department that had none for six months prior.

Treatments of migraine headaches have advanced in recent years and many approaches are available, writes Dr. Tahir Mahmood, a Mercyhealth Woodstock physician.

Honey and Louie are comfort and therapy dogs at the McHenry County courthouse. Now they've officially been sworn in for service.

Honey and Louie are therapy and dogs in the McHenry County courthouse in Woodstock and were recently sworn in by Chief Judge Michael Feetterer. They work in probation and court services and aim to comfort children and others who have to be at the courthouse.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office will partner with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to place a deputy in the Woodstock DCFS office for three years.

Amid threats to federal funding for libraries, McHenry County libraries were awarded nearly $383,000 in annual state grants provided by the Illinois Secretary of State’s office to fund books, staffing and capital upgrades.

A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty to punching and kicking a woman during an altercation in a Woodstock home and was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison.

The Festival presents local national, and international musicians who perform in a variety of styles.

The music event returns to Bunker Hill Farms July 26 for a night of music to benefit several local nonprofit organizations.

It's time to mark calendars for upcoming seasons of entertainment coming to theaters near you.

The Woodstock Fire/Rescue District recently recognized five of its members who graduated from McHenry County College’s paramedic program.

A higher sales tax for Woodstock was approved by the City Council. Find out how much shoppers will pay when that kicks in.

Hundreds of miles and four days later, almost 100 bicyclists found ways to grieve, support each other and remember police officers killed while on duty in Illinois in 2024. Cycle Across Illinois benefiting the Illinois chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors concludes Sunday.

Woodstock is having a public hearing July 15 on whether the city should increase its sales tax.

An appeals court ruled in favor of state champion Marian Central wrestler Jimmy Mastny and his coach Jordan Blanton, affirming that Mastny was not improperly recruited when he moved from Ogle County to attend Marian Central.

The IHSA and state champ Marian Central wrestler Jimmy Mastny have responded to an appeals court ruling in their long-running eligibility feud.

McHenry County Sheriff Robb Tadelman is seeking reelection next year.

The man accused of trying to enter the McHenry County courthouse in Woodstock Monday afternoon with a semiautomatic pistol has been charged.

The person believed responsible for the hit-and-run that killed a Crystal Lake-area teen was found dead in a Woodstock home.

Not long after launching a landlord engagement program, Home of the Sparrow was named the McHenry County Community Development Partner of the Year.

Authorities said someone attempted to enter the McHenry County courthouse in Woodstock with a weapon and then fled the scene.

Nicholas Laureys, the 15-year-old who was killed in a hit-and-run last week near Crystal Lake, was remembered as an outgoing and polite. His family has started a gofundme fundraiser.

A Woodstock home was damaged Saturday when a fire broke out on a back deck.