Author: Fox Valley Magazine

Gerald McClendon brings his electric R&B to The Venue in Aurora Friday evening at 8pm. One of the most reminiscent and versatile soul, R&B, singers/songwriters/performers in the recording industry, Gerald McClendon has graced the stage to sellout crowds to practically all the major entertainment venues throughout the Midwest area. In addition, his unique performance has allowed him to captivate audiences internationally in locations in Asia and Australia. If you love R&B Soul music, you’ll truly fall in love with Gerald and his extraordinary style of performing R&B standards such as classic soul music and sounds of Motown, Stax and Atlantic…

The Aurora Police Department is on the scene of a person shot in the 1000 block of Dearborn Avenue. One person has been transported to the hospital. There is no further information currently on the victim’s status. Numerous blocks in the area of the Front Street and Trask Street are shut down as officers investigate the incident. The APD requests anyone with any information or video from home surveillance systems to call APD Investigations at (630) 256-5500 or e-mail tips@aurora.il.us. This story is developing…

Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of 40-year-old Hugo Contreras of Carpentersville who has been convicted in absentia of multiple counts of criminal child sexual assault. For an approximately 6-year period between 2012 and 2018, Contreras sexually assaulted two victims multiple times. Both victims were younger than 13 years old when the assaults began. The older of the victims disclosed the abuse to her school counselor, who contacted authorities. When Carpentersville police went to Contreras’ home to arrest him, Contreras fought with the officers and resisted their attempts to take him into custody, causing minor injuries to the…

On Tuesday evening, Kane County Sheriff’s Deputies Steven Turcios and Ryan Reichardt witnessed a scene that no emergency responders would envy. A car on fire with it’s occupant still in it. Turcios and Reichardt were responding to a report of a vehicle that had left the roadway in the area of the 6N900 block of Dunham Rd in unincorporated St Charles Township, had overturned, and was on fire. When the deputies reached the scene, they saw that the report was accurate. A Chevy pick-up truck was on fire with its driver still inside. The deputies reacted and were able to…

A 50-year-old woman jumped for her life from a third-story window early this morning to escape a three-alarm fire in Aurora. After falling 20 feet, the woman suffered significant injuries and was transported along with six other victims to an area hospital. At approximately 12:23 a.m., the Aurora Fire Department was dispatched to 15 N. Broadway for a structure fire. While en route, Aurora Central Dispatch advised that people were trapped in the rear of the building. The response was upgraded to a 2nd alarm. Upon arrival, fire crews found a 3-story building housing a business on the 1st floor…

(Capitol News Illinois photo by Grace Kinnicutt) By GRACE KINNICUTTCapitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – A group of Illinois senators were joined by officials from the Illinois Retail Merchants Association and state attorney general’s office at a news conference Tuesday to outline an effort to combat organized retail crime. House Bill 1091, a collaboration between IRMA and attorney general’s office, defines organized retail crime in law and adds requirements to the information third-party selling marketplaces would be required to collect from their sellers. Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton, D-Western Springs, said the bill defines organized retail crime as when a person steals merchandise,…

On the evening of February 26, 2020, at approximately 10:40 p.m., Joel Munoz-Valdez approached Luis Lopez outside a home on the 800 block of Brentwood in West Chicago. During an altercation between the two men, Munoz-Valdez took a knife out of his pocket and stabbed Lopez several times in the back and left leg. Shortly thereafter, Lopez died from his injuries. DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced today that Munoz-Valdez, 26, has been sentenced to twenty-two years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after entering a plea of guilty this morning to one count of First-Degree Murder in the…

Aurora Downtown has announced the lineup for First Fridays on April 1. Celebrating its 10th season of bringing art, music, and more to dozens of downtown storefronts, First Fridays welcomes everyone to explore the growing arts and culture scene. On May 6, Aurora Downtown will celebrate with the return of its popular Food Truck Festival on Benton Street. Visitors can tag #firstfridaysaurora and @downtownaurora on Instagram to enter giveaways. Nearly two dozen venues will be open next Friday with the following offerings: If These Walls Could Talk Custom Framing & Gallery, 32 S. Stolp Ave., will present “A Group Effort,”…

A report published yesterday by Chicago’s WTTW indicates that some major donors to Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin’s mayoral campaigns and related PACs have received millions of dollars in city contracts during his tenure. The report identifies Aurora-based Scientel Solutions, a telecommunications company that bills itself as a “technology integrator,” and has contracted with municipal governments to specialize “in networking, drone defense, security and smart city solutions.” According to the report, campaign filings indicate that Scientel, its CEO and its employees have donated a total of at least $67,000 to Irvin’s campaigns during his tenure as mayor. During that period, Scientel…

The Naperville Police Department recently completed a round of tobacco/alternative nicotine product compliance checks , and found a nearly 96% compliance rate. for Naperville retailers. The checks were performed at 72 Naperville businesses to determine if local tobacco/alternative nicotine product retailers are complying with the minimum-age tobacco laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco/alternative nicotine products to persons under the age of 21. Sixty-nine establishments passed the compliance check. The three establishments that failed were issued City Ordinance citations for selling tobacco/alternative nicotine product to a person under the age of 21 years old. Those three establishment were Jewel/Osco, 1227…