Author: Fox Valley Magazine

The Naperville Jaycees announced USA Special Olympics Gold Medal champions Ryan Gronowski, Lou Pisani and Peter Silagi as their Parade Marshals for the 2022 Labor Day Parade on Monday, September 5, 2022. The Naperville athletes competed in a Flag Football tournament with teammates from around Illinois selected in Fall 2021. Gronowski, Pisani and Silagi have been playing Special Olympics Flag Football with DVSA (DuPage Valley Special Athletes) since 2014. DVSA has won two state championships since Flag Football became an official Special Olympics sport in Illinois in 2018. 2022 was the inaugural year for an Illinois Flag Football team to participate…

On Friday, August 5, First Fridays will feature sidewalk sales and the return of Aurora Downtown’s annual Stolp Block Party.  Stolp Avenue will be closed off for the block party between Downer Place and Galena Boulevard as live art and food trucks take over the street. Live music will be performed at Millennium Plaza gazebo featuring School of Rock Geneva at 6 p.m. and A Sure Thang at 8 p.m. Grumpy Gaucho, Holy Pierogi, Home Run Hot Dogs and Lemonade, Strawberries BBQ, Snow Cone Sisters, My Funnel Cake, and Culinary Gangster will be parked along Stolp Avenue. Tapville Social will…

The victims of Sunday’s tragic car crash have now been released by the Illinois State Police: DRIVERS: Unit 1 – Jennifer Fernandez, 22-year-old female of Carpentersville, IL – DeceasedUnit 2 – Thomas Dobosz, 32-year-old male of Rolling Meadows, IL – Serious Injuries PASSENGERS: Unit 2 – Lauren Dobosz, 31-year-old female of Rolling Meadows, IL – DeceasedUnit 2 – 13-year-old female of Rolling Meadows, IL – DeceasedUnit 2 – 13-year-old female of Rolling Meadows, IL – DeceasedUnit 2 – 7-year-old male of Rolling Meadows, IL – DeceasedUnit 2 – 6-year-old male of Rolling Meadows, IL – DeceasedUnit 2 – 5-year-old female…

Update: A Elgin father who kidnapped his children Sunday morning has been arrested and charged with one count of Home Invasion (Class X felony), one count of Domestic Battery (Class A misdemeanor), and one count of Interfering with the reporting of Domestic Violence (Class A misdemeanor). The accused appeared in Kane County bond call this morning where the Judge set his bond at $75,000 (10% to apply). A 28-year-old Elgin man broke into a house in the 500 block of East Chicago St early this morning and kidnapped his children at gunpoint. Police located the children and took the suspect…

St. Charles resident and musician/actor Donnie Wahlberg surprised his fans this week with the announcement of the death of his beloved dog, Lumpy. The star of CBS’ “Blue Bloods” and member of boy-band New Kids on the Block made the announcement in an Instagram post accompanied by a mournful video featuring the pet. Speaking to his “Blockheads” (fans of NKOTB), Wahlberg wrote “I know how much Lumpy meant to so many of you. He had become a special member of our Blockhead family. He was also a very special and beloved member of my family. His loss was a devastating…

An uncontrolled Chinese rocket re-entered the earth’s atmosphere at east of the Philippines at approximately 12:45 Central and debris landed just off the coast of the Philippines island of Palawan. Because the trajectory information regarding the rocket, which was used to launch a Chinese satellite into orbit, had been kept secret by the communist government of China, the potential re-entry point into the atmosphere was difficult to assess. Earlier projections this morning had a potential re-entry just south and west of Chicago. Here is a video of the remains of the rocket falling to earth just offshore of the small…

According to various reports, the unknown winner of the massive $1.28 billion jackpot in the Mega Millions lottery purchased his or her tickets in a suburban Speedway gas station. According to megamillions.com, there was one jackpot-winning ticket in the draw Friday night, and it was bought at a Speedway gas station and convenience store in Des Plaines. The winning numbers were: 13-36-45-57-67, Mega Ball: 14. “We are thrilled to have witnessed one of the biggest jackpot wins in Mega Millions history,” Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald, currently serving as Lead Director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement on…

According to a report from Space.com, a large Chinese rocket body will likely crash back to Earth today, but nobody knows exactly when or where. The 25-ton (22.5 metric tons) core stage of a Long March 5B rocket will reenter Earth’s atmosphere at 11:15 p.m. EDT (1805 GMT), plus or minus 1 hour, according to the latest forecast by researchers at The Aerospace Corporation. The booster has spent less than a week in orbit; it lofted Wentian, the second module for China’s Tiangong space station, on July 24. According to The Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Orbital Reentry and Debris Studies, most…

A 19-year-old fugitive wanted in the murder of his own brother was captured Tuesday by U.S. Marshal Service’s Great Lake Fugitive Task force and charged with first-degree murder. Yesterday, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser and Aurora Chief of Police Keith Cross announced the charges in the murder of the accused’s 21-year-old brother in Aurora. Authorities allege that, during the early morning of July 25, 2022, the brothers were arguing when the accused pointed a handgun at his brother and fired a single shot, striking him. The office of Kane County Coroner Rob Russell determined the cause of death…

Between January 2017 and February 2020, Luis Alberto Najera Ayala, 48, sexually assaulted a child under 12 years of age multiple times. He will now likely spend the rest of his life in jail. Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser announced today that Judge Alice C. Tracy has sentenced Ayala to 45 years of imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Ayala knew the victim, who was younger than 12 years old. The victim heard a presentation at school about personal body safety and told her mother about the assaults. In May, a jury found Ayala guilty of six…