
D-200 building trades projects on hold, need state approval to resume
Houses will be built – eventually – on two lots in the possession of Woodstock School District 200, but not within the time limit required by law. Building trades students […]

Houses will be built – eventually – on two lots in the possession of Woodstock School District 200, but not within the time limit required by law. Building trades students […]

For the first time since 2017, voters will have a choice in the election of members to the Board of Education in Woodstock School District 200. Three of the board’s […]

Groundhog Day and its movie-inspired festival provide ample opportunity for economic growth in Woodstock, local officials and businesses agree. “This being the 30th anniversary of the film helped,” Real Woodstock […]

The Blue Streaks welcomed five new members into the Woodstock High School Hall of Fame last weekend in front of a home crowd at the boys basketball game. The diverse […]

One electronic system will control access to several city government buildings, and an interior surveillance system could be linked to it. The City Council last week approved a contract for […]

Staff Report news@thewoodstockindependent.com Police removed a person from a house on Laurel Avenue Thursday afternoon, ending a frantic few hours that involved city and county police, a SWAT team, and – apparently – a robot. According to a news release from the Woodstock Police Department, the person was taken “to a medicalfacility for mental health assistance.” Although police had been told a firearm might be inside the house, the news release said, no injuries were reported and there was no danger to the public. City police were sent shortly after 1 p.m. to the home near Laurel and Kimball avenues “in reference to amental health well-being check.” Because of the possibility of a firearm at the home, police secured the area around the property, including Ryders Woods, and made contact with someone inside. The on-scene supervisor asked for the assistance of the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team for “additional expertise and assets.” The release said a joint county-city police negotiations team made telephonecontact with the person briefly before the contact was lost. What appeared to be a robot from the sheriff’s Multi-Jurisdictional SWAT Team was used to determine theperson’s “status and location” inside the home, which led sheriff’s deputies and city officers toenter the home and find the person. The incident ended around 4 p.m. Police did notify nearby residents and the School District 200administration to warn them of the police activity. No criminal charges were being considered, the release said.

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s second-term legislative agenda will kick off in earnest next week as he proposes his fifth annual state budget […]

“I just wish Harold was still with us, to realize the impact he’s made on Woodstock,” said Bob Hudgins, locations manager for the movie “Groundhog Day,” filmed mostly in Woodstock […]

While much of the rest of the world might have seemed oblivious to the meaning of Feb. 2 and the 1993 movie that gave the national observance special meaning for […]

Mayor Mike Turner is in Springfield this week to lobby the Legislature for infrastructure funds that he says would drive economic development in and around Woodstock. Turner and City Manager […]
Larry Lough is editor of The Independent and reports local news.
Janet Dovidio has been a freelance correspondent for The Independent for eight years.
Susan W. Murray wrote for The Independent, covering various beats, from 2005 to 2008.
Tricia Carzoli is a freelance writer and photographer that on community news.