Author: Fox Valley Magazine

In October 2001, Joshua Minniti entered the home of a neighbor, 57-year-old Irma Braun, sexually assaulted her and bludgeoned her to death. Minniti was a 15-year-old juvenile at the time. In 2004, Kane County Judge Patricia P. Golden convicted Minniti of the felony offenses of first-degree murder, home invasion and two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. In addition, Judge Golden found that Minniti was eligible for a life sentence based on the brutal and heinous nature of his crime. Judge Golden sentenced Minniti to 79 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). In March 2020 the Illinois Appellate…

The award-winning Balmoral Restaurant in Campton Hills just oozes with old world Scottish charm. It’s the perfect place to stop by for an evening cocktail on a cold winter’s night. If you can’t be warmed by one of Head Barman Earl Letiecq’s unique concoctions, take advantage of Balmoral’s unmatched variety of Scotch – roughly 100 varieties from all 5 Scotch-making regions. We spent a pleasant afternoon with Earl recently and wanted to share the experience. Enjoy! (On mobile, swipe left.) Want Scotch? They’ve got Scotch. The Balmoral Restaurant is located at 40W099 IL-64 in Campton Hills. Just listen for the…

Last Tuesday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that the city would require proof of vaccination to enter restaurants or bars in the city. On Thursday, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle followed suit. “Earlier this year, we had hoped that we were on a path to finally put the pandemic behind us,” Preckwinkle said Thursday. “But unfortunately, with the dual threat presented by the delta and omicron variants, and with cases, hospitalizations and deaths rising to new heights across Cook County, we must once again reassess and realign our strategies with what the science is telling us.” It is worth…

City Equals Most Shooting Incidents On Record. The pre-dawn hours of Christmas morning were marred by two gunshot incidents approximately 90 minutes apart. At 5:01 a.m., Elgin police responded to the 400 block of Raymond Street for a report of shots fired. At 6:28 a.m., officers responded to the 800 block of Adams Street for another such report. In both instances, preliminary investigations identified evidence that shots had been fired, but that no injuries or property damage had resulted from the incidents. According to the EPD’s Transparency Dashboard, these shooting incidents comprised the 63rd and 64th during 2021, matching the…

The Kane County State’s Attorney’s office has been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice for its new pre-arrest diversion program. The grant will allow the office to expand pre-arrest diversion to additional Kane County police agencies. The program, launched in October, is currently operating through the Elgin Police Department and the Kane County Sheriff’s Office. “I am thrilled and thankful for this award from the Justice Department. It will allow us to hire the necessary staff and provide the necessary training needed for this program to be successful across Kane County,” said Martha Paschke, who…

A shoot-out between two suspected shooters and one companion at the Oak Brook Mall Thursday left 4 victims and 1 suspect injured, and two suspects in custody. At approximately 5:44 pm, two suspected shooters and one companion were involved in a confrontation, leading to an exchange of gunfire on the second floor in the Nordstrom wing, near Ann Taylor, at Oakbrook Center. An unconfirmed number of shots were fired, injuring four people and 1 of the shooters. An Oak Brook Officer working an extra detail at Nordstrom heard the shots and responded immediately to the scene. With the assistance of…

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the emergency use of PAXLOVID™ tablets and ritonavir tablets) for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 88 lbs) with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death. The treatment is specifically designed to block the activity of an enzyme that the coronavirus needs to replicate. “Today’s authorization of PAXLOVID represents another tremendous example of how science will help…

Census estimates show Illinois lost more than 113,000 in one year. By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau suggest Illinois is continuing to lose population. The latest estimates, released Tuesday, pegged the state’s population at 12,671,469 as of July 1, 2021, down by 113,776, or 0.9 percent, from the official 2020 census. Several factors contributed to the change, but the single largest was domestic outmigration. According to the data, 122,460 people moved from Illinois to other states during the period from April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021, while only 5,766 people moved into…

A St. Charles man is in custody after leading Batavia police on a hi-speed chase down West Wilson Avenue Tuesday evening before crashing into two vehicles at the Randall Road intersection. Just before 10pm Tuesday, Batavia Police were dispatched to the area of N. Prairie Street and Maves Drive for a reckless driving complaint. Witnesses reported that a red vehicle had been driving at a high rate of speed in the neighborhood and had nearly struck several other vehicles. While responding to the call an officer observed the described vehicle westbound on the 100 block of W. Wilson Street driving…

Aurora wins Kane County Water Association Taste Test Contest. A panel of judges from the Kane County Water Association scored last week water samples from eight municipalities in the county . . . and Aurora came out on top. For the eighth time, the City of Aurora earned first place in the annual Kane County Water Association’s Water Taste Test Contest, where water was judged on taste, odor, and color. Aurora proved to have the best water among Carpentersville, Geneva, Montgomery, North Aurora, Saint Charles, Sugar Grove, and West Dundee. “None of this is possible without the daily effort of…