Author: Fox Valley Magazine

Two Aurora men have been arrested for carjacking after being pulled over by Aurora police for a traffic violation. Last Sunday at approximately 1:53 p.m., the APD responded to a report of a vehicular hijacking in the 1600 block of Maple Park Lane on the city’s southeast side. When officers arrived on scene, they found that the victim had their vehicle stolen by two individuals. Later that day, officers pulled over a vehicle after witnessing a traffic violation. During the traffic stop, officers were able to ascertain the occupants of the vehicle were involved in the vehicular hijacking. After further…

In a scathing letter to the College Board, the institution that creates and tests for Advanced Placement courses for American high schools that typically qualify for college credits, Illinois governor JB Pritzker threw down the gauntlet to Florida governor Ron DeSantis, and to the College Board itself, demanding that “black queer studies” and other controversial subjects remain in the AP AFfrican American history curriculum. Pritzker’s letter follows Florida’s rejection of the AP curriculum initially tendered by the College Board on the grounds that several subjects, including “black queer history” and “intersectionality” were attempts at indoctrinating students with left-wing, “woke” ideologies,…

On Saturday, January 28, The Venue in Aurora presents Chicago’s own Melody Angel in concert. She’s a truth-teller and guitar shredder. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, this self-taught guitarist has an electrifying live show, recently showcased on the main stage at the 2022 Chicago Blues Festival. At age 15, Angel’s mom brought home a guitar from a pawnshop, and Angel never put it down. It’s still her main guitar to this day. Angel’s unique mix of blues, and rock n’ roll may remind you of one of her biggest influences, Jimi Hendrix, while still having a…

Kane County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Interdiction Detectives seized criminally possessed guns, drugs, and alleged drug money on I-88 in Aurora Township Tuesday afternoon. At 1:45pm, detectives observed a Ford Edge that was traveling at 80 MPH in a 70 MPH zone on I-88. Detectives stopped the vehicle and while speaking with the driver they smelled the strong odor of cannabis coming from inside the vehicle. Detectives conducted a probable cause search of the car and located three large vacuum sealed bags of suspected cannabis, two Glock 19 handguns, and $13,522 in cash commingled with the drugs. The driver, a 31-year-old…

A 21-year-old Chicago man who allegedly faked having a gun and robbed a Naperville Portillo’s in July 2022 has been arrested and charged with Aggravated Battery, a Class 1 Felony. On July 20, 2022, at approximately 11:36 p.m., the accused approached two female employees of Portillo’s in Naperville on foot as they were working in the drive-through lane of the restaurant. It is alleged that the accused kept one hand in his pocket implying that he had a firearm. He then demanded money from the victims, ripped the company fanny packs containing approximately $680 from the victims and at one…

The son of legendary folk singer-songwriter Jim Croce, A.J. Croce’s 30-year touring and recording career has produced ten studio albums that have been released via both major and independent labels, and have charted 20 Top 20 singles and all ten albums on the radio including on Top 40, Americana, and Blues. A.J. taught himself the piano during a 6-year period in his youth (age 4-10) when he was blind in both eyes due to serious physical abuse from his mother’s then-boyfriend. (This began two years of the death of A.J.’s father Jim.) A.J. began performing in his teens, playing with…

Once upon a time…it all started with a wish. And sometimes, wishes do come true, because up next in Paramount Theatre’s 2022-23 Broadway Series is Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s brilliant reimagining of the Grimm Brothers fairy tales, February 1-March 19, 2023. Venture into the woods with the Baker and his wife on a mystical journey to collect a red cape, a strand of yellow hair, a golden shoe and a white cow to break the spell cast by the Witch. Encounter Little Red Ridinghood searching for bread to feed her grandmother. Join Jack on his adventure…

A 25-year-old Elgin man is in custody in relation to an alleged stalking incident involving middle-school girls last week. On Wednesday at approximately 5:11pm, a female student from Abbott Middle School reported that a male Hispanic in his 20’s with short hair and some facial hair had been making inappropriate statements to female students walking home from the school. The subject was observed following the female students in his vehicle. After investigating the incident, the suspect was arrested and charged by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office with two counts of Stalking, a Class 4 felony. He appeared in Kane…

By PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinois (Fox Valley Magazine contributed to this report.) Just days after Governor JB Pritzker signed a sweeping new ban on the sale of so-called “assault weapons” in Illinois, opponents have filed a flurry of lawsuits in both state and federal courts contesting the law’s constitutionality. On Wednesday, the Illinois State Rifle Association joined forces with other gun rights advocates in filing a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s new ban on the sale and manufacture of semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity magazines. It’s the latest legal challenge to the law, which went into effect upon Gov. JB Pritzker’s…

A 20-year-old male prisoner awaiting bond call in the Elgin Police Department jail was found dead in his cell early Sunday morning. The cause of death has not yet been established. On Friday evening at approximately 8:38 p.m., a 20-year-old male was taken into custody after a traffic stop that resulted in weapons and illegal drugs being seized. The male was subsequently charged by the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office with multiple weapon and drug-related offenses and was being held in the Elgin Police Department jail awaiting bond call. According to the Elgin Police Department, no force was used during…