Author: Fox Valley Magazine

A 27-year-old Aurora man has been sentenced to 44 years in prison in the 2022 stabbing death of a 17-year-old girl. Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser announced today that Jose J. Gonzalez has agreed to a sentence of 44 years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea to the offense of first-degree murder. The Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office is not naming the victim out of respect for her family. Judge William Engerman accepted the plea. According to prosecutors, Gonzalez, the victim and the victim’s older sister shared a residence along with four others in the 900…

One man is dead and another hospitalized in stable condition after a shooting incident on Aurora’s east side Tuesday evening. At approximately 6:45pm Tuesday, Aurora police officers arrived in the 700 block of Kane Street in Aurora and found two men, a 24-year-old and 32-year-old, both of Aurora, suffering from gunshot wounds. Officers immediately rendered aid and performed life-saving measures, after which both men were transported to local hospitals. The 24-year-old was listed in stable condition, while the 32-year-old was pronounced dead a short time later. Officers searched the immediate area for the offender, but the offender was not located.…

Day 2 of the Norris Cultural Arts Fourth Annual Baker’s Dozen Holiday Festival features Lee Murdock. Recorded in concert, November 18, 2023, at the Baker Community Center. Lee Murdock sings songs of the Great Lakes. The Norris was honored to present Lee’s annual Christmas Ship Concert this year. We hope you’ll enjoy this song from his performance. Each day leading up to Christmas, Norris will post a different artist perfoming a Christmas-related piece leading up to “The Essential Christmas Carol,” a unique retelling of Dickens’ holiday classic by Norris’ Michael Sherry. Episodes are posted daily at 7pm at https://norrisculturalarts.com/bakers-dozen-festival. The…

The body of Brissa Romero, the 17-year-old Carpentersville woman who has been missing since December 4, has been located in a retention pond in Vernon Hills, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office. Divers pulled the body from the water just before 12:30pm Tuesday. Preliminary autopsy results show there were no significant injuries, and Romero’s death was consistent with drowning, the coroner’s office said. In a press release, Vernon Hills and Carpentersville police said the body was recovered by divers early Tuesday afternoon in the same Vernon Hills retention pond where her vehicle, a 2008 Nissan Rogue, had been recovered…

The popular Pete Ellman Big Band will perform a celebration of Christmas at The Venue in Aurora Friday, December 15 at 8pm. Tickets are $20-$25 and are available here. Doors open at 7pm. The Pete Ellman Big Band was formed in 2009 after Pete retired from the Illinois Air National Guard after 20 years of service. Since then, the band has played regularly in the Chicagoland Western suburbs at locations such as Mullen’s in Lisle and Fitzgerald’s in Oak Park. They regularly invite student jazz ensembles to join them and will provide guest clinicians. This is a way to get…

To kick off it’s Fourth Annual Baker’s Dozen Holiday Festival, The Norris Cultural Arts Center presents Day 1, December 12: Tatum Langley with Ben Pavlik. Versatile, vivacious Tatum Langley lights up the stage with a charming arrangement of the Irving Berlin classic, “White Christmas,” with guitarist Ben Pavlik. Each day leading up to Christmas, Norris will post a different artist perfoming a Christmas-related piece leading up to “The Essential Christmas Carol,” a unique retelling of Dickens’ holiday classic by Norris’ Michael Sherry. Episodes are posted daily at 7pm at https://norrisculturalarts.com/bakers-dozen-festival. The Justa Coupla Guys podcast recently spoke with Sherry and…

PETER HANCOCKCapitol News Illinois Firearm owners in Illinois will have to wait at least another month before knowing exactly what items they must register with the Illinois State Police under the state’s assault weapons ban, even as the deadline for submitting those registrations is less than three weeks away. The General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, or JCAR – a bipartisan group that has oversight authority of state agency rulemaking – declined again Tuesday to take action on a proposed set of final rules, saying instead it will consider the matter again at its next meeting Jan. 16 in…

An Aurora man is listed in good condition after having been shot in the early morning hours Saturday. Shortly before 1:00am Saturday, Aurora police responded to a report of shots fired outside a business in the 700 block of North Lake Street. While the officers were confirming the shooting event, a 29-year-old Aurora man arrived at a local hospital with gunshot injuries. The man’s injuries were not life-threatening and he was listed in good condition. Detectives from the Aurora Police Department’s Investigations Bureau are continuing their investigation into the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call Aurora Police’s Investigations…

Bison have been a familiar feature at Elgin’s Lords Park Zoo since the beginning of the 20th century. Yesterday, the zoo lost one of its two remaining bison inhabitants when 24-year-old Becky was humanely euthanized. Becky arrived at the Lords Park Zoo in February 2013 with one of the zoo’s other bison, Drew. Laura, the park’s third bison, joined Drew and Becky in November 2016. Drew, also 24 years old, died from natural causes in September. The normal life expectancy for bison in captivity is 25 to 30 years. On Sunday, staff discovered that Becky was unable to get up by herself…