If you’re a regular reader of this column, you know that my subjects range from the deeply personal and serious (e.g., suicide, gun control) to the more light-hearted (e.g., quotation quizzes, my love for “The Muppet Show”) to informational (e.g., a ride-along interview with a Woodstock police officer). Today, I seek to educate and motivate. […]
Carlos Acosta has now been sentenced, having been found guilty of child endangerment in the death of AJ Freund in 2019. There are some who’ve criticized the sentence, as well as the fact that he came to trial at all, saying that it was DCFS itself that bore responsibility for the tragedy. What happened to […]
“In January 2024, the unemployment rate was 3.7 percent for the third month in a row. The rate has been within the range of 3.4 percent and 3.8 percent since February 2022.” – Bureau of Labor Statistics website “Work gives you meaning and purpose, and life is empty without it.” – Stephen Hawking “Ultimately your […]
Finding and affording labor are among the top challenges Illinois farmers, suppliers and processors tell me they face in 2024. From locating qualified truck drivers to haul grain, to sourcing enough hands to pick vegetables or manage livestock, the shortage of links in the transportation and agricultural supply chains continues to undermine food access and […]
By Terry Willcockson … simply wouldn’t be Woodstock. A recent thread on a local Facebook site asked viewers which community their family should move to – Woodstock or McHenry. While a few folks preferred McHenry, the majority of responses quickly came back in favor of Woodstock. What was even more gratifying was the volunteered reason […]
By Joan Layton Dear Woodstock. I read the front page article [The Independent, Jan. 10] titled “We want to do what is right” about the process and options under consideration for the potential changes to the town’s beloved square. It stated, “Woodstock’s Park in the Square could be the most well-known of all of Woodstock’s […]
“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson On the third Wednesday of each month, The Woodstock Independent issues a “total market” edition, giving non-subscribers the chance to see what they’re missing by not getting the paper every week. This monthly column, which […]
By Leslie Kvistad I write to voice my opposition to the Lennar-Riverwoods 320-unit high-density proposed development. I would be opposed to this ill-advised development even if I didn’t live in the immediate area. The Natural Inventory Report by McHenry County Soil and Water lays out more environmental concerns than I can possibly include here, and […]
“United we stand. Divided we fall.” – Winston Churchill, among others Welcome to the final days of December 2023. For many of us, it’s a time when we look ahead to 2024 with optimism, trepidation, or both. After all, it’ll be a year to cheer on Olympic hopefuls competing in Paris (optimism), but it’ll also […]
By Jan Bosman I believed for a long time that miracles were other-worldly happenings: the virgin birth, the parting of the Red Sea, a baby for a couple beyond child-bearing age. Strangely, or maybe not so, these were Bible stories, ones that I was exposed to during my faith journey; and I questioned some or […]
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.
