Imagine sitting in a local taproom, enjoying a glass of cold craft beer, when in through the door comes a group of helmeted officers with police rifles and protective shields. Several customers of MobCraft Beer in the Old Courthouse Center don’t have to imagine. They experienced it. The frightening scene was the result of what […]
By Brigid McCormack I arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Sept. 14, 2022, exactly a week after Queen Elizabeth died. The previous year, I had moved away from Woodstock, my home of 22 years, to teach English in two elementary schools in Orléans, France. Growing pains from a year of culture shock, traveling, language learning, and […]
Lennar housing proposal wrong for Woodstock Woodstock Mayor Mike Turner and City Council members will soon vote on the Riverwoods 320-unit high-density housing development on 135 acres in southeast Woodstock near Lucas Road and Northwestern Hospital at the headwaters of the Kishwaukee River. The development proposal includes 244 single family homes and 76 duplex units. […]
Voters in Woodstock don’t have a lot of reasons to go to the polls in the primary election March 19. That’s a good reason to apply (if you haven’t already) for a vote-by-mail ballot. But you had better hurry. The deadline is Wednesday this week. So if your application isn’t already in the mail, you […]
By Cheryl Wormley As I write, it’s March 8 – day 7 of a 12-day trip to Brazil. My traveling companions are my husband, Jim; my sister Nann; and 23 Midwestern landowners and farmers. We are a congenial group, eager to see agriculture in Brazil with our own eyes. But before heading out into the […]
Suggestion about city’s ‘clunky’ branding motto “Classically Different, From Every Angle.” The Independent’s Feb. 28 editorial takes on Woodstock’s new motto, calling it “clunky.” I agree. To me, the motto is word salad, a jumble of verbiage tossed up and landing in a heap of drivel. The misuse of “classically” is particularly abominable, leaving me […]
Just call Woodstock “The City That Plans.” You can see proof via the Comprehensive Plan link on the city’s homepage, woodstockil.gov. Open that link and prepare to be impressed – and overwhelmed. The draft document itself is 101 pages, with numerous supporting maps and information found throughout the table of contents. Click “Other Plans and […]
You ought to think about writing a letter to the editor. Everybody should. There is so much in Woodstock to write about. When people call the editor to complain about something, or ask that The Independent investigate an issue they feel strongly about, my response often is, “You should write a letter to the editor.” […]
Mental health problem bigger than you think Primary elections are notoriously known for low voter turnout. However – whether you vote red or blue, the primary election on March 19 has a referendum measure that impacts all McHenry County residents. A 2020 study conducted by Northwestern Medicine reported over 12 percent of McHenry County residents […]
Comments on social media have not been especially kind to the new “branding” tools rolled out recently by the city of Woodstock. As Deputy Mayor Darrin Flynn said at last week’s City Council meeting, “It’s been met with many different opinions.” That’s not surprising. Social media make it easy to broadcast an opinion, and everybody […]
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.
