Local News

BATAVIA – Firestone Auto Repair and Tire Shop on Randall Road in Batavia was able to reopen for business Monday after a fire late Saturday night caused an estimated $17,000 in damage to the business.

GENEVA –  Dressed from head to toe in a traditional Swedish outfit, Jill Crooker is more than happy to show off her heritage.

BATAVIA - Carolyn Burnham and others tasked with organizing downtown Batavia's early summer festival, the Batavia Green Walk, knew the risks of throwing a party outside.

MAPLE PARK – When a car accident left Eric Bettag physically disabled six years ago, it didn’t seem like any good could come of the situation.

BATAVIA – With more than 70 vendors, the 2013 Batavia Green Walk will be bigger than ever.

BATAVIA – The Batavia Park District has redesigned its website, www.bataviaparks.org. The new site will go live over the weekend and will include many enhanced features designed for easier navigation and accessibility.

GENEVA – The Herrington Inn and Spa, 15 S. River Lane, Geneva, celebrates 20 years this year.

BATAVIA – H.C. Storm Elementary School parent Ellen Knautz has started a petition urging that Batavia School District 101 reconsider changes proposed for H.C. Storm Elementary School, including using the art and music rooms as regular classroom space.

SOUTH ELGIN – Bill Ginther of South Elgin has spent the past 10 years helping to raise his three children while sharing custody with his ex-wife.

Home foreclosure activity again declined in the region in May, continuing a trend of brightening market conditions in Kane County and elsewhere.

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – A St. Charles woman who was accused of stealing $21,900 from the client of a bank she managed pleaded guilty Friday, avoiding a possible prison term.

BATAVIA – The move of a 50-foot-wide, circular electromagnet from New York to Fermilab, which had been set to begin Sunday, has been delayed a week because of inclement weather.

SUGAR GROVE – EB, the kitten that hitchhiked nearly 300 miles to Sugar Grove by clinging to a semi-truck's air cleaner late last month, has been adopted from Kane County Animal Control.

Gordon Bowe doesn’t become personal friends with all of his passengers.

For my first “In Focus” assignment as an intern with the Kane County Chronicle, I decided to walk down the riverfront at Pottawatomie Park in St. Charles to see what was going on. I came across Gonzalo Rodriguez of Melrose Park as he was removing a fishing hook from the mouth of a catfish along the Fox River.