Local News

McHENRY – It has been nearly three years since Kojak’s owners, Andy and Ted Zatos, launched a brunch brand of restaurants.

MARENGO – It’s a dog’s life, especially if you live near Marengo.

CRYSTAL LAKE – On Angels’ Wings has opened a second thrift store to join its original location in Crystal Lake.

With officials from the governor’s and attorney general’s office in attendance, Navistar announced Wednesday that it would keep its operations in Illinois by moving its corporate headquarters to Lisle.

It might be nearly three years since the recession officially took hold on the U.S. labor market, but the latest employment survey from Manpower shows that the job market still is not getting much better.

LAKE IN THE HILLS – Home care provider Synergy HomeCare last week opened a new office at 1301 Pyott Road, Suite 104, in Lake in the Hills.

CRYSTAL LAKE – Reaching its 50th anniversary is not an end for Knaack, despite reports to the contrary.

By STEPHANIE N. LEHMAN

MARENGO – SwedishAmerican Health System has opened a medical clinic in the Marengo Professional Buildinga at 204 Prairie St.

Corn harvest could start as soon as this week, according to the latest crop report released late Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

CRYSTAL LAKE – Crystal Lake Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge President Gary Rosenberg spent his Monday in Detroit, one of the 400 Chrysler dealers to hear the automaker’s plans for launching Fiat dealerships in the U.S. this winter.

CRYSTAL LAKE – The third annual Bioneers Conference and free Green Living Expo is seeking exhibitors for its Nov. 6 event. Green organizations and businesses who are interested in exhibiting at the conference must register by Sept. 30 to be listed on the Bioneers and Lou Marchi Total Recycling Institute websites.

CRYSTAL LAKE – Davito’s Pizza is all about family.

Since launching its U-verse cable service in McHenry County in 2008, AT&T has pushed the boundaries of interactive experience for customers.

SOUTH BARRINGTON – Boys clothing retailer Red 21 is scheduled to open a new store at the Arboretum of South Barrington on Thursday, mall officials announced Monday.

Home sales in McHenry County have been on the rise, climbing 19 percent in the first seven months from the same time a year ago.

WOODSTOCK – Want to push your market to the top in your state? You have until midnight on Aug. 31 to lend more support to the Woodstock Farmers Market, ranked 14th in the state as of Aug. 27.

ALGONQUIN – The past three years, Jason Bailey made an hour-long commute from his home in Algonquin to his law practice on the northwest side of Chicago.

CRYSTAL LAKE – McHenry County College will begin offering aviation-related classes in the fall as part of the Continuing Education Department’s curriculum.

With the last of the first-time homebuyer tax credit worked through the housing industry, July became the biggest anomaly for McHenry County in nearly a year.

CRYSTAL LAKE – Chemtool Inc. has moved most of its operation to Winnebago County. But it has no immediate plans to shut down its former headquarters near Ridgefield.

McHenry County’s unemployment rate fell to 9.6 percent in July, the Illinois Department of Employment Security reported Thursday.

HARVARD – Mercy Health System will host a golf scramble Sept. 30 to benefit the Harvard Hospital Foundation.

CHICAGO – Gary Rabine, chief executive officer of the Rabine Group in Richmond, will be on a panel at the Crain’s University Strategies for Middle-Market Companies program Oct. 5.

CRYSTAL LAKE – Some entrepreneurs open a business to be their own boss, to make their hobby a trade, or to help fund their life or their family’s life.

WOODSTOCK – The next all-member membership meeting of the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Industry will be at 7:30 a.m. Sept. 7 in the community meeting room at Golden Eagle Community Bank, 975 Country Club Road.

HARVARD – Brothers Joel and John Stauss have been running a landscaping company, Creekside Landscape Development Inc., for more than 10 years. But during one of their downtimes last winter, they began brainstorming other things to do with their time.

McHENRY – Stateline SHRM will host a roundtable discussion on “Battling a Reactionary Workforce: Creative Solutions” from 7:45 to 9:45 a.m. Sept. 9.

CRYSTAL LAKE – Take Care Health Systems, a division of Walgreens, is offering back-to-school physicals at its Take Care Clinics nationwide.

MARENGO – Tim and Nancy Gebauer, founders of the first Furniture Medic franchise in McHenry County, have sold the business to Terry Trim of Cary.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that there aren’t as many toy stores around as there once were.

CRYSTAL LAKE – The Turtle Wax Car Wash in Crystal Lake is among nine Illinois properties up for sale as Turtle Wax moves to divest the company from its car wash division.

HARVARD – Harvard Savings Bank will conduct a rare coin appraisal event from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the bank’s main office, 58 N. Ayer St. in Harvard.

McHENRY – Kathryn Trocki knows that finding the perfect dress is just the start of planning the perfect wedding.

When Crystal Lake resident Jason Trannel found himself out of a job with Motorola at the end of January, he began working on his next position.

ELGIN – Building contractors doing business in Kane County will be trained in the latest energy-efficient construction techniques through a partnership between Elgin Community College, Kane County and the U.S. Department of Energy.

CRYSTAL LAKE – Hearthstone Communities will host its 11th annual Hearthstone Senior Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 18, at McHenry County College.

CRYSTAL LAKE – No matter what challenges people face, being there to help them is what matters most to Rick Atwater and Moe Ross.

McHENRY – When Affinia Group was formed in 2004 with the purchase of Dana Corp.’s under-vehicle group, 900 employees filled five McHenry facilities under the company’s guidance.

LAKE IN THE HILLS – Agree Realty Corp. said in a news release that it bought the Lake in the Hills property currently leased to CVS/Caremark.

WOODSTOCK – More than 150 businesspeople and community leaders turned out Friday morning at Woodstock North High School to hear legislative views on the state of the economy.

CRYSTAL LAKE – When Conscious Cup Coffee Roasters coffeehouse opened four years ago, the goals for the business were modest.

Second-quarter home sales in McHenry County rose 30 percent from a year earlier, while Kane County saw sales soar 64.8 percent from the second quarter of 2009, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

ALGONQUIN – When Ruby Tuesday closed in Algonquin, the restaurant’s owner cited oversaturation in the market as a primary reason for leaving.

MILWAUKEE – For the first time, General Mitchell International Airport served more than 900,000 passengers in a month, airport officials announced.

LAKE IN THE HILLS – When Daniel Susong closed Michael’s Bistro in McHenry about two years ago, he began looking for the next thing in his restaurant career.

CHAMPAIGN (AP) — Leaders in Mattoon have decided to drop out of the FutureGen clean-coal project after learning proposed changes would scrap plans to build a new power plant in the town.