The health department announced two confirmed human cases of West Nile virus in McHenry County, the first since 2024, with three additional probable human cases under investigation.

The McHenry County Department of Health (MCDH) said Thursday that they identified the first two human cases of neuroinvasive West Nile virus in McHenry County since 2024.

Both people are in their 70s with symptom onset in early to mid-August.

The health department has also identified three additional probable human cases of West Nile virus in the county.

No common link has been identified between the cases.

The MCDH said they have identified 13 mosquito batches that have tested positive for the virus in McHenry County in 2026.

An additional 24 human cases of West Niles virus have been reported in Illinois in 2026, including one death, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

The virus can be transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected Culex species mosquito approximately two to 14 days later.

The MCDH said illness from West Nile virus is usually mild and includes fever, vomiting, headache and body aches but serious illnesses, such as encephalitis and meningitis and death, are possible.

Those 60 years of age or older or who have serious underlying health conditions are at higher risk for developing severe symptoms.

Health officials recommend residents use insect repellents approved by the EPA.

People should wear protective clothing such as light-colored, long-sleeved shirts, long pants and socks when outdoors.

Outdoor activities should be limited during the evening and early morning when Culex mosquitoes are most active.

The MCDH said mosquitoes typically breed in stagnant water like abandoned swimming pools, bird baths, buckets, clogged gutters and rimless tires.

Regularly emptying standing water and ensuring doors and windows have tight-fitting screens can help reduce mosquito exposure.

West Nile virus surveillance is conducted from May to October.

Potential mosquito breeding sites may be reported to the MCDH’s Environmental Health Division at 815-334-4585.

A 21-year-old Illinois Army National Guard soldier, who is from the Algonquin area, died in a fiery crash while on his way home from an assignment, as state officials say he was a “dedicated and patriotic man.”

The Illinois Army National Guard announced Wednesday that it was mourning the death of 21-year-old Aiden Mrotek, who was a Specialist with the National Guard.

Mrotek was returning to his home in Carpentersville after assisting with the Illinois Army National Guard’s community outreach efforts in Kewanee.

The Bureau County Sheriff’s Office reported that Mrotek’s vehicle struck a bridge guardrail west of Route 40 on 2000 North Avenue near Manlius around 8:48 p.m. Sunday.

The vehicle caught fire and first responders had to search the area before finding Mrotek deceased at the scene, the sheriff’s office said.

“He was a dedicated and patriotic man who, at the tender age of 21, had already deployed overseas in support of U.S. military counter-terrorism operations,” said Brigadier General Lenny Williams, the Assistant Adjutant General and Commander of the Illinois Army National Guard.

“He epitomized what it means to be a National Guard Soldier, answering the call in our nation’s defense while also being part of the community in which he served,” Williams said.

Mrotek joined the Illinois Army National Guard’s 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry Regiment, based in Kewanee in May 2023 and deployed to Djibouti, Africa, from September 2024 to September 2025 where he supported U.S. military counter-terrorism operations.

His awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with M Device, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.

Officials say Mrotek was still on orders at the time of his death even though he had concluded his duties in Kewanee.

The Illinois Army National Guard says it regularly supports community events to inform the public about the National Guard’s missions and capabilities and to help recruiting efforts.

A MealTrain fundraiser set up for Mrotek’s family said the man’s mother, Tammy Lopeparo, is facing an “unimaginable loss” while also having to care for her two daughters who live with her.

A professional biography for Lopeparo said she purchased her first home in Lake in the Hills in 1999 and has remained in the area since, with her children attending Algonquin-based District 300 schools.

Mrotek attended Harry D. Jacobs High School in Algonquin. The Algonquin Argonauts said Mrotek played for the non-profit youth football program.

Lopeparo was also previously a cheer director for the Algonquin Argonauts.

“With incredibly heavy hearts, we are sharing the heartbreaking news of the sudden passing of Aiden Mrotek, a former Argos player and the beloved son of our past Cheer Director, Tammy Lopeparo,” the organization said.

“Aiden was tragically involved in a fatal car accident while traveling home from his Army National Guard unit. There are no words that can truly capture the devastation of losing someone so young, with an entire life still ahead of them,” they said.

The Algonquin Argonauts said his death is made even more heartbreaking due to the fact that he is the fourth former Argos player to have died this year.

“Four young lives. Four families whose worlds have been forever changed. Four times we have had to grieve the loss of young people who were once a part of our fields, our teams, our friendships, and our Argos family,” the organization said.

A gunman has been charged with murdering a 50-year-old father — shooting him in the head — unprovoked in Waukegan after approaching him and asking if he was a Latin King gang member, which he was not, prosecutors said.

Santiago N. Gutierrez-Munoz, 19, of Waukegan, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, a Class M felony.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffery Facklam said officers with the Waukegan Police Department were alert to gunshots fired around 10:58 p.m. on August 31 in the area of Lincoln Avenue and 9th Street in Waukegan.

Officers located a victim, later identified as Alfonso Alvarez, 50, of Waukegan, who had been shot twice in the head and twice in the torso.

Officers attempted to perform lifesaving measures until the Waukegan Fire Department arrived, at which point Alvarez was pronounced dead.

13 shell casings were observed in the street around where the victim was located, Facklam said.

Officers began canvassing the area for surveillance footage and were able to locate footage of the shooting, as well as before and after the homicide.

Facklam said two male subjects were seen in the area. One was a larger man in tan pants and a dark sweatshirt and the other was a smaller man with dark pants.

Surveillance footage showed Alvarez exiting an alley and being approached by the two subjects.

A brief exchange occurred before the offender in the tan pants, who prosecutors said was Gutierrez-Munoz, pulled out a firearm and shot Alvarez multiple times. The two suspects then fled.

Facklam said the footage of the shooting included audio of the brief exchange where one of the subjects can be heard asking Alvarez if he was a “King,” likely referring to the Latin Kings gang.

The victim, who has no known gang affiliation, was heard responding, “Yeah,” before rapid gunfire was heard and muzzle flashes were seen, Facklam said.

The video showed Alvarez falling to the ground. Detectives determined the handgun used was converted into a machine gun through the use of an autosear, or “switch,” device, Facklam said.

Further investigation by investigators showed the two suspects arrived in the area in a blue Nissan Versa, which is registered to Gutierrez-Munoz.

They parked the vehicle in the area of 8th Street and Prescott Street. The two subjects were seen exiting the vehicle and walking from the parked car to Lincoln Avenue and 8th Street where they appeared to use their cell phones to take pictures, Facklam said.

The two kept walking southbound on Lincoln Avenue, passing 9th Street, before turning around and walking northbound on Lincoln Avenue while passing 9th Street again and approaching the victim.

Video from the nearby alley that they ran down after the shooting showed the offender in the tan pants wearing Crocs-style shoes, Facklam said.

Officers obtained a search warrant for Gutierrez-Munoz’s vehicle and began conducting surveillance on the car.

Facklam said a detective observed Gutierrez-Munoz carrying tan colored clothing into his house.

Officers later conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle while Gutierrez-Munoz was driving.

They noted that Gutierrez-Munoz’s stature was similar to the shooter seen on the surveillance video, Facklam said. Gutierrez-Munoz was wearing Crocs that appeared to have blood on them.

The Crocs were seized and sent to the crime laboratory. The substance on the shoes was determined to be Alvarez’s blood, Facklam said.

Police also searched Gutierrez-Munoz’s cell phone and it appeared that the phone was brand new with hardly any data on it.

“The defendant was walking down the street while armed with a handgun that had been converted into a fully automatic firearm. The defendant confronted an innocent stranger and shot him for no reason,” Facklam said.

“Additionally, the defendant was not legally allowed to possess a handgun, much less one that had been converted to shoot as a fully automatic. Though the defendant is 19 years old and has no criminal history, there is no way for this Court could possibly predict if he would follow any conditions of release that could possibly mitigate the incredible threat this Defendant’s release would pose to the community were he to be released,” the prosecutor said.

Facklam argued that there is no set of pre-trial release conditions that could monitor Gutierrez-Munoz 24/7 or ensure the community’s safety. “The defendant committed an extreme act of violence on a random stranger he encountered late at night and should be detained.”

Gutierrez-Munoz was transported to Lake County Courthouse on Wednesday morning after being arrested on a warrant charging him with murder.

A public defender for Gutierrez-Munoz said he reviewed some of the surveillance video but that he could not tell who was who or who was shooting due to a glare.

The defense attorney said his client denies the blood on the Crocs was from the victim and that Gutierrez-Munoz has no gang affiliation and also has an alibi for the evening of the murder.

Lake County Judge James Newman granted a petition to detain Gutierrez-Munoz pending trial, which was filed by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, after calling the murder an unprovoked shooting.

The judge repeatedly said during the detention hearing on Thursday afternoon that the case was “extremely troubling to this court.”

“Random, inexplicable act,” Newman said, adding that it occurred after “such a simple exchange.”

The judge said he certainly believes Gutierrez-Munoz poses a threat to the community and called his alleged actions “absolute callous disregard for the safety of the community.”

An obituary for Alvarez said he was born in Durango, Mexico, and is survived by his children, his mom, siblings, extended family and countless friends.

A visitation is scheduled from 3-6 p.m. Saturday at The Memorial Chapel of Waukegan.

Gutierrez-Munoz remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on October 6 for a preliminary hearing.

The wholesale distributor Essendant, which has operated for over 100 years, says it is laying off over 500 employees at its Lincolnshire headquarters and expects to shut down.

Essendant Co. informed the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, along with Lincolnshire Mayor Elizabeth Brandt and Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart, about the layoffs last month.

Marcela Sztainberg, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Essendant Co., said in a letter to the state and local officials, obtained by Lake and McHenry County Scanner this week, that the company intends to cut 510 jobs tied to its corporate headquarters at 200 Tri State International in Lincolnshire.

In a second Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notice filed on the same day, Sztainberg told the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Carol Stream Mayor Frank Saverino and DuPage County Board Chair Deborah Conroy that the company also intended to cut 134 employees at its distribution center at 230 Lies Road East in Carol Stream.

Essendant is a national wholesale distributor of workplace supplies that began in 1922 when it was founded in Chicago as the Utility Supply Company.

The company operated for decades as United Stationers before rebranding as Essendant in 2015. It sold office products and furniture, janitorial and sanitation supplies, breakroom items and technology products to independent resellers.

An affiliate of the private equity firm Sycamore Partners acquired Essendant in January 2019 in a deal involving Staples, another Sycamore-owned company, and the Federal Trade Commission imposed conditions on the transaction because Staples competed with the independent dealers Essendant supplied.

Essendant began winding down its longtime office products business and independent dealer channel last year to focus on janitorial, foodservice and technology products, a shift the company called its “new way forward.”

The combined layoffs affect a total of 644 employees at Essendant’s two Illinois locations.

Sztainberg told officials in the WARN Act notices that the company had been exploring strategic alternatives, including potential sales of certain assets and operations and securing additional capital to avoid liquidation.

The company does not know whether those efforts will succeed and “currently expects that it will cease its operations and close its business,” the notice reads.

Sztainberg said 200 employees work on site at the Lincolnshire headquarters and another 310 work remotely while reporting to that office.

All 510 are expected to be terminated on or within 14 days after October 3, meaning some cuts could extend into mid-October.

The terminations are expected to be permanent and employees will not have bumping rights for other positions, according to the notice.

None of the affected workers are represented by a labor union.

All of them had already been notified by hand delivery or mail as of August 3, the company said.

Essendant filed similar notices around the same time for facilities in Texas, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania and Arizona.

The notices cover nearly 1,300 jobs across six states, with Illinois accounting for more than half of the total.

The Illinois Department of Labor has since opened an investigation into the layoffs.

A suspect allegedly sexually abused a woman sleeping in a parking garage in downtown Waukegan, until two people came to her aid, before the suspect then called 911, claiming the woman committed a crime.

The Waukegan Police Department responded on August 16 to a parking garage at 111 North County Street in Waukegan, which is near the Lake County Courthouse.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Savannah Halcomb said a woman reported to officers she was sleeping when she awoke to someone touching her breasts and grabbing her buttocks.

She tried to kick the suspect, later identified as Roel Garcia-Salgado, 27, of Aurora, who had put his hand over her mouth during the attack, Halcomb said.

The victim was eventually able to get away from Garcia-Salgado.

Halcomb said Garcia-Salgado called 911 and officers responded and took him into custody after investigating.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Dino Katris said the victim is a 21-year-old woman, who is homeless and knows Garcia-Salgado only because he had been following her and recording her on his phone.

She had previously caught him committing a lewd act on himself while staring at her.

Katris said that Garcia-Salgado covered the woman’s mouth during the August 16 incident to silence her screams.

Her screams for help were answered by her boyfriend and another individual who confronted Garcia-Salgado before he ran off and called police.

“The defendant thought he could victimize the victim again by calling police and lying about her publicly urinating,” Katris said, adding that witnesses saw Garcia-Salgado and scared him off.

Garcia-Salgado is charged with two counts of criminal sexual abuse, unlawful restraint and aggravated battery in a public place.

The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Garcia-Salgado pending trial, arguing he poses a danger to the community. They also filed petitions to revoke his pre-trial release in his other pending cases.

“The defendant is dangerous. This defendant was surveilling this victim, waiting for the right time to sexually abuse her,” the prosecutor said after calling the incident an “unprovoked sexual attack.”

Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim said Garcia-Salgado has a history of criminal offenses and violating conditions of pre-trial release.

The judge granted the petition to detain and the petitions to revoke pre-trial release during a detention hearing.

The sexual abuse case is Garcia-Salgado’s fourth active and pending court case in Lake County.

Court records show those cases involve charges of disorderly conduct, obstructing identification, criminal trespass and battery.

Garcia-Salgado, who denied the allegations and said he was not in the parking garage, remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on September 17.

Firefighters had to extricate three people and transport two of them to the hospital after a multiple-vehicle crash caused heavy damage along Route 45 near Gurnee, fire officials said.

The Gurnee Fire Department, Gurnee Police Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 6:39 p.m. on September 3 to the area of Route 45 and Rollins Road in unincorporated Lake Villa for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.

A 911 caller reported a three-vehicle crash and one vehicle was T-boned in the collision, according to fire department radio traffic.

Gurnee Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Gramer said fire crews arrived and found a crash involving a pickup truck, an SUV and a sedan.

The sedan sustained the most damage of the three vehicles. The SUV and truck sustained moderate damage.

The heavily damaged sedan was damaged on all sides after being spun around in the crash, Gramer said.

Three adults were still inside the sedan and firefighters extricated them quickly.

Gramer said paramedics transported two occupants from the sedan to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and the third occupant declined transport.

The drivers of the two other cars, one a teenager and the other an adult, were the sole occupants of their vehicles and both declined transport to the hospital.

The crash occurred on the north side of the intersection and westbound Rollins Road was temporarily shut down, Gramer said.

It is unclear whether police issued any citations. Tow trucks removed the damaged vehicles from the scene.

The incident occurred near another crash that occurred just days earlier on August 30 on Rollins Road west of Route 45 in unincorporated Lake Villa.

Grayslake Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Weidman said that crash happened approximately a quarter-mile west of the intersection and involved a car that drove off the roadway and struck a utility pole.

The vehicle came to rest in the south side ditch after it was traveling eastbound on Rollins Road in the curve area.

Firefighters arrived and found three people had been in the heavily damaged vehicle, Weidman said. They assisted one of the victims who was still inside the car.

Weidman said a juvenile passenger and an adult passenger of the car were transported by ambulance to the hospital. The driver was uninjured.

A man, who wished to remain anonymous, told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that he saw the vehicle driving 140 mph down Rollins Road in the rain moments before the crash.

He said he pulled over and helped the male passenger, who was trapped in the car and had the more serious injuries out of the three occupants.

“My wife asked why they were driving so recklessly, he [driver] said he had to get her [passenger] to the mall before they closed. Mall closes at 6 on Sunday. It was about 5:55 when he went into the ditch,” he said.

Weidman said his department responded to numerous crashes in the same location on Rollins Road and transported lots of injured victims to the hospital as a result. He encourages motorists to slow down.

The coroner has released the identity of a 50-year-old father from Waukegan who died after he was shot multiple times on the south side of Waukegan last week.

The Waukegan Police Department received a report of gunshots fired around 11 p.m. on August 31 in the area of Lincoln Avenue and 9th Street in Waukegan.

Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Michael Mandro said officers arrived and found an injured victim.

The adult male appeared to be suffering from gunshot wounds.

He was identified on Wednesday as Alfonso Alvarez, 50, of Waukegan, according to Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton.

The Waukegan Fire Department responded to the scene and attempted to provide medical assistance, Mandro said.

Alvarez was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The Lake County Coroner’s Office was notified and responded to take possession of Alvarez for an autopsy.

Newton said the autopsy confirmed Alvarez suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

Alvarez’s identity was not immediately confirmed as authorities had conflicting information they had to verify.

An obituary for Alvarez said he was born in Durango, Mexico, and is survived by his children, his mom, siblings, extended family and countless friends.

A visitation is scheduled from 3-6 p.m. Saturday at The Memorial Chapel of Waukegan.

No arrests have been announced in the homicide. The incident remains under investigation by the Waukegan Police Department.

The suspected homicide — if confirmed by the coroner’s office — would be Waukegan’s second homicide of the year. It is believed to be the ninth homicide of the year in Lake County, according to county data.

In February, 58-year-old Ricardo Delafuente, of Waukegan, was fatally shot by police after reportedly arming himself with a machete and threatening officers in the 1000 block of Leith Avenue in Waukegan.

Officials are warning residents in McHenry County about a scammer who is targeting people who submit zoning or permit requests with seemingly legitimate emails requesting payment.

McHenry County issued a warning to residents on Thursday regarding a scam involving fraudulent emails pretending to originate from the McHenry County Planning and Development Department.

A scammer is sending fake emails targeting people who have submitted zoning or permit requests.

They include real case details scraped from the county’s online streaming of meetings to make the messages look legitimate, county officials said.

The fraudulent emails, sent from a “planning-dept-mchenrycountyil.gov@mail.com” address, inform constituents that their permit was approved.

The email encourages them to open an attached invoice and email them back for wire transfer instructions.

Anyone who receives such an email ending in @mail.com is asked to delete it immediately and flag it as spam, county officials said.

In addition to the possibility of sending money to a scammer, residents are also warned that clicking a link or opening an attachment in a scam email could expose their computer or their network to malware, viruses or ransomware.

All official McHenry County government business uses addresses from its official mchenrycountyil.gov domain. “We never use an email address that has anything more than or different than @mchenrycountyil.gov at the end of the address,” the county said in a statement.

The Planning & Development Department will never request an applicant to make a wire transfer.

Anyone in the process of obtaining, updating or paying for a permit with McHenry County is reminded that the process is entirely done through the online portal at www.mchenrycountyil.gov/departments/planning-development.

Anyone who has further questions or concerns about the legitimacy of an email they receive from the Planning and Development Department can verify it by calling 815-334-4560 or emailing plandev@mchenrycountyil.gov.

A judge sentenced a man to 46 years in prison for murdering his own brother by punching and kicking him so many times that he stopped breathing on Christmas Day in Gurnee after he became “embarrassed” by his brother.

Kevin N. Biron-Bomis, 54, of Gurnee, was charged in December 2022 with one count of first-degree murder in the death of Brandon Biron-Bomis, 47, of Glencoe.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Stephen Scheller said officers responded around 2 a.m. on December 25, 2022, to Kevin Biron-Bomis’ home, which is in the 1000 block of Boulevard View in Gurnee.

Kevin Biron-Bomis told officers he thought he had killed his brother.

Paramedics transported Brandon Biron-Bomis to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan where he was pronounced dead.

Kevin Biron-Bomis initially claimed self-defense by telling the police he had gotten into a fight with his brother, who came at him, leading him to sit on top of his brother until he was not breathing.

Officers noted that the suspect had no visible or significant physical injuries when they encountered him.

Officers took Kevin Biron-Bomis into custody and transported him to the Gurnee Police Department where he was interviewed by detectives and gave inconsistent statements, prosecutors said.

Kevin Biron-Bomis said he was with his brother earlier in the day and the two went to several bars in Waukegan for drinks, Scheller said during a bond hearing.

Bar employees eventually told Kevin Biron-Bomis that his brother was acting up and he needed to leave the bar.

Kevin Biron-Bomis, who was a regular at the bar, became embarrassed by his brother’s actions, Scheller said.

The two of them left the bar, began arguing and proceeded to go to Kevin Biron-Bomis’ house.

Kevin Biron-Bomis said that his brother tried to punch him and he sat on his brother’s chest and punched him so many times that he stopped breathing, Scheller said.

Kevin Biron-Bomis said he then stood up and kicked his brother before calling 911.

While in custody, Kevin Biron-Bomis gave detectives a second statement, Scheller said.

He said that the two had been verbally arguing after arriving at the residence.

Once they were inside the foyer area, Kevin Biron-Bomis shook his brother’s hand and told him, “It was not a big deal,” Scheller said.

He then allegedly punched his brother, who fell to the ground.

Brandon Biron-Bomis got back up and Kevin Biron-Bomis punched his brother again before getting on top of him and “pummeling” him until he died, Scheller said.

Prosecutors said Kevin Biron-Bomis is a registered violent offender due to a previous criminal conviction for strangling a 7-year-old child in Lake County in 2017.

He also has a felony conviction for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in Lake County.

Then-Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak ordered Kevin Biron-Bomis held on a $5 million bond following his arrest and he has remained held in the Lake County Jail.

A jury trial began in late June and lasted four days, with prosecutors calling more than a dozen witnesses, including law enforcement officers, medical personnel and eyewitnesses.

Prosecutors played a surveillance video from the Waukegan bar where the suspect was seen shoving the victim to the ground and behaving aggressively towards others at the bar.

The video also showed the victim visibly impaired by alcohol, struggling to walk in a straight line.

Medical personnel determined that Brandon Biron-Bomis sustained multiple traumatic injuries to his face and head at the Gurnee home.

The defense for Kevin Biron-Bomis called three witnesses, including the defendant.

The state’s attorney’s office said Biron-Bomis’ testimony at trial was inconsistent with prior versions of events he first gave to investigators and inconsistent with the evidence prosecutors presented.

The jury convicted Kevin Biron-Bomis of first-degree murder on June 25 after both sides rested their case.

“I want to commend both law enforcement and the trial team in making sure that this offender was held accountable. The offender was the only one present when this crime occurred. Without an excellent investigation by the Gurnee Police Department, the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, and the Coroner’s Office, a jury might have believed the Defendant’s testimony,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said after trial.

“Instead, the jury listened carefully to the evidence as presented by our three experienced prosecutors and reached the correct conclusions. We continue to express condolences to those who loved Brandon, and we will always support them,” Rinehart said.

Lake County Judge Patricia Fix sentenced Biron-Bomis to 46 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections during a sentencing hearing on Friday. He faced up to 60 years.

A victim impact statement from the victim’s wife said that Kevin Biron-Bomis was a “callous monster” and that the murder was “personal, intimate, and at an indescribable level of violence.”

“For years, I watched this narcissist walk into this courtroom with a cane due to his ‘back pain,’ but he had no pain when he was sitting on my husband’s chest and pummeling him to death,” she said.

Biron-Bomis will receive 1,350 days of credit for time served in the county jail awaiting trial and sentencing. The sentence will be served at 100% in accordance with truth-in-sentencing guidelines.

A family says they are grateful for the community’s donations, which allowed a Lake Forest police officer to return to Chicago on Tuesday on a medical flight after being critically injured on vacation in Nicaragua.

The family of Lake Forest Police Officer Filip Czarnecki told Lake and McHenry County Scanner in a statement that they were “deeply grateful” to announce that Czarnecki was coming home Tuesday evening.

The medical evacuation flight took off from Managua, Nicaragua, around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday and landed at Chicago Midway International Airport around 7 p.m.

“What felt overwhelming and uncertain just hours ago is finally real. Thank you to the countless people who stepped up, made donations, shared Fil’s story, prayed, reached out, and carried us through such an unimaginable time. We will never find the words to thank everyone who made this possible,” the family said.

A GoFundMe account has raised almost $190,000 as of Wednesday by over 1,200 donors.

“The generosity of Fil’s community and strangers alike helped secure his medical evacuation, bring him back to the people who love him, and allow him to receive the medical care he desperately needs,” the statement said.

His family called the flight home “a major victory and an incredible step forward” but said the road ahead is unknown and Czarnecki’s recovery is only beginning. “… but today we are choosing to celebrate this moment.”

“We are holding on to today’s win while looking ahead to everything still to come. He is coming home, and we could not have done it without all of you. Please know that Fil’s medical care is our priority,” they said.

Czarnecki was on vacation visiting family in Nicaragua when he suffered a “tragic fall” onto his head that caused a severe traumatic brain injury, according to Lake Forest resident Paul Daizovi, who is a friend and co-worker of Czarnecki’s wife.

Czarnecki was in critical condition in the intensive care unit of a hospital in León, Nicaragua, on a ventilator and in a coma. He was later transferred to a better-equipped hospital in Managua.

Daizovi said late last week that Czarnecki needed urgent help in getting access to better medical care.

The specialized international air ambulance transport to the United States, which he took Tuesday, was his best chance at recovery, Daizovi said.

Czarnecki is now able to receive care from neurological doctors, better scans and a more progressive and aggressive treatment in Chicago that is needed to help heal his traumatic brain injury and mitigate long-term neurological damage.

“His wife, sister, and mother are graciously asking for help to care for Fil and get him the best medical help possible during this crisis,” Daizovi said in the GoFundMe that he organized for the family.

Czarnecki’s wife, Nikki Dezonno, said that her family is facing an “unimaginable and heartbreaking situation” after Czarnecki suffered the severe Grade 3 traumatic brain injury.

“Our greatest hope is to bring him safely back to the United States so he can continue receiving the medical care, treatment, and rehabilitation he will need,” Dezonno said Sunday.

She said the cost of transporting him home and the care that will follow is significant and her family is “incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love, prayers, generosity, and support already shown to our family.”

Daizovi said emergency medical evacuations out of Central America are rarely covered by standard insurance and often require a large upfront payment.

“At the same time, Filip’s family is facing mounting out-of-pocket medical bills and international travel costs while staying close and fighting for the care he needs now,” he said.

The funds raised by the community are helping cover the specialized fixed-wing air ambulance transport to the United States, international hospital expenses, ongoing medical care and travel and lodging for family.

“Filip has spent his life stepping up for others in their hardest moments. Now he and his family need the community to step up for him,” Daizovi said.

Daizovi said that Czarnecki is showing positive signs of recovery, including continued movement, and the family is in the process of arranging the medical air ambulance to transport him to Chicago.

Czarnecki was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after arriving at Midway.

The Lake Forest Police Department told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that they were informed last Thursday of the “tragic accident” involving its officer on vacation.

The department said it was in contact with the U.S. Department of State and Congressman Brad Schneider’s office to provide Czarnecki and his family with “every resource we can.”

Lake Forest Police Chief Burke said Czarnecki is a four-year officer assigned to the night shift.

“He’s a great police officer and an important member of our Department. There’s been an outpouring of support from his coworkers and members of the Lake Forest community. Please keep Filip and his family in your thoughts,” Burke said.

Czarnecki was recognized by the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM) in 2025 as part of recognition for his DUI enforcement efforts.

A police manhunt consisting of canines and drones led to the apprehension of a drunk driver who ran into a forest preserve in Round Lake after slamming into a stopped car, sending a father and his young children to the hospital.

The Round Lake Police Department and Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District responded around 6:14 p.m. Friday to the area of Route 120 and Cedar Lake Road in Round Lake for a vehicle crash with injuries.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell said numerous 911 calls were received reporting a three-vehicle crash.

First responders found three totaled vehicles were undrivable and multiple witnesses pointed towards the Nippersink Forest Preserve.

They said that the driver of the Chevrolet, who caused the crash, fled on foot and was a male Hispanic wearing a gray tank top, McConnell said.

Officers initially ran into the field but did not see the suspect so they waited for additional police resources to locate the driver.

Multiple agencies responded and brought drones and canines to assist in the search in the Nippersink Forest Preserve.

McConnell said Mundelein Police Department Canine Ranger eventually located Franky Flores, 43, of Waukegan, hiding underwater underneath a bridge surrounded by brush approximately an hour and a half after the crash.

Flores had red, bloodshot, watery eyes and a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath, McConnell said.

Officers reported that he was obviously intoxicated based on their training and experience.

Flores was transported to the hospital and cleared. He refused to perform any standardized field sobriety testing or submit to any chemical testing.

McConnell said Flores told police he only remembered seeing a white explosion and that he did not remember anything else after the crash.

Flores had the keys to the Chevrolet when he was taken into custody and the vehicle is also registered to him.

Officers saw multiple containers of open alcohol, including Bud Light, a vodka shooter and a Pina Colada boxed drink.

McConnell said officers spoke with the driver of the Hyundai, who was transported to the hospital by ambulance along with his five-year-old son and his two-year-old daughter to treat their injuries.

He reported that he was stopped at the red light with his two children in his car when he observed a car coming up behind him at an extremely high rate of speed.

He attempted to maneuver onto the shoulder to avoid being hit but the car slammed into the back of his car and struck a third car before continuing across the street, McConnell said.

The injured adult male driver suffered whiplash injuries, bruises all over, a cut on his right ear, swelling on his ear and pain to his legs.

The five-year-old boy struck his head and was being evaluated for a concussion. He also had previous stitches ripped open, causing bleeding, and bruising on his thighs, McConnell said.

The two-year-old girl was determined not to be injured. The driver of the third vehicle was a woman who was uninjured.

Flores was the sole occupant of the Chevrolet and one witness said the suspect buried a large bottle of alcohol in the dirt by his car before he fled into the forest preserve. Officers recovered the large bottle of tequila in the dirt, McConnell said.

Another bystander told police that he had been driving behind the Chevrolet prior to the crash and stated it had been driving recklessly for miles.

McConnell said officers were also able to recover dash camera footage of the crash from another car waiting at the intersection, which showed the Chevrolet coming over the crest of a small hill traveling at an extremely high rate of speed eastbound on Route 120 and slamming directly into the back of the family’s car and also hitting the woman’s car.

The Chevrolet then continued across Route 120 and struck a tree before Flores attempted to reverse but got stuck in the ditch.

“The footage shows this Defendant continuing straight on and not making any correction or attempt to swerve so as to not strike the cars, it also did not appear to show this Defendant even attempt to slow down or stop to avoid the crash,” McConnell said.

“This Defendant’s actions in this specific case were incredibly concerning in how he was driving causing such an extreme crash and then fleeing and hiding under water, while still being noticeably intoxicated an hour and a half after the crash, and then claiming that he does not remember what happened,” McConnell said.

Flores has prior driving under the influence cases and is also a convicted felon, with convictions for a shooting, domestic battery, possessing firearms and more.

Flores was transported to the Lake County Courthouse for a First Appearance Court hearing over the weekend.

He is charged with failure to report a crash involving injury, leaving the scene of a crash involving injury, driving under influence of alcohol, failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, improper transportation of alcohol and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain him pending trial and it was granted by Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim during a detention hearing on Tuesday.

Flores remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on September 14 for a status of preliminary hearing.

A 22-year-old man was seriously injured after being ejected during a golf cart rollover crash in Johnsburg Sunday evening, with the driver being arrested for driving while intoxicated and trying to cover up the scene.

The Johnsburg Police Department and McHenry Township Fire Protection District responded around 9:48 p.m. Sunday to the area of Cedar Creek Drive and Shiloh Drive for a report of an injured person.

Johnsburg Police Department Commander Rob Salazar said a 911 caller claimed that his friend had fallen from the back of a golf cart near the intersection.

Officers arrived and found an injured passenger and began investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The 22-year-old male passenger suffered serious injuries and was transported to the hospital for treatment, Salazar said.

Officers developed information indicating that the circumstances surrounding the incident differed from those initially reported to police.

Salazar said it was determined that Joseph W. Calhoun, 26, of Johnsburg, was the driver of the golf cart.

Andrew M. Wallace, 22, of Johnsburg, was a passenger along with the second passenger, who had been injured.

Salazar said Calhoun and Wallace both altered the crash scene in an attempt to cover up what happened.

Officers determined the seriously injured victim, who was sitting in the rear, did not fall out of the golf cart but instead was ejected from it when the golf cart rolled over.

A criminal complaint filed in McHenry County Circuit Court alleges Calhoun and Wallace both placed the vehicle back onto its four wheels after it rolled onto the driver’s side.

The complaint said Calhoun and Wallace also gave police false information regarding how the crash occurred and how the victim was injured.

Calhoun was under the influence of alcohol at the time, Salazar said.

Calhoun was charged with aggravated driving under the influence involving a crash resulting in bodily harm, a Class 4 felony, and obstructing justice, a Class 4 felony.

Wallace was charged with obstructing justice, a Class 4 felony, and was later released from custody.

The incident remains under investigation and additional information is not being released on the victim, Salazar said.

Calhoun was transported to the McHenry County Jail and the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain him pending trial.

McHenry County Judge Christopher Harmon denied the request and allowed Calhoun to be released from custody.

Calhoun is scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday and Wallace is scheduled to appear in court again on September 15.

The coroner has released the identity of a father of three and grandfather of five, described as a “larger-than-life” figure, who died after being hit by a Metra train in Lake Forest Friday morning.

The Lake Forest Police Department and Lake Forest Fire Department responded around 12:20 a.m. Friday to the area of Waukegan Road and Old Mill Road in Lake Forest for a pedestrian struck by a train.

Emergency crews arrived and found an unresponsive victim who was pronounced dead.

Lake County Chief Deputy Coroner Steve Newton identified him on Tuesday as Daniel Gaughan, 63, of Lake Forest.

All trains were halted as the Metra Police Department responded to conduct an investigation.

Metra spokesperson Martha Hill said the incident involved outbound Metra Train #2157 on the Milwaukee District North line.

Gaughan was pronounced dead at the scene, Hill said.

No injuries were reported on the train, which was terminated at the scene and passengers were accommodated on Train #2159.

Police radio traffic indicated approximately 25 people were on the train.

Hill said the train involved was released around 3 a.m. and the circumstances of the incident remain under investigation.

The Lake County Coroner’s Office was notified and responded to the scene to take possession of Gaughan for an autopsy.

The man was struck by the train near the crossing, Newton said.

Gaughan was a father of three sons and grandfather to five, who were the “light of his life, and he treasured every moment spent with them,” according to an obituary.

Gaughan attended Notre Dame College Prep in Niles where he was honored on its Wall of Fame as “one of the finest athletes” at the school before attending the University of Iowa where he continued his basketball career, his obituary said.

Gaughan retired early in life after a successful career on the trading floors of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

He dedicated himself to coaching basketball and football at the School of St. Mary. “Through athletics, he imparted lasting life lessons on hard work, dedication, and character to countless young people. Coaching his three sons, Kevin, Kyle, and Quinn, and watching them grow was among the greatest joys of his life,” his obituary said.

The obituary said Gaughan was a “larger-than-life figure whose sharp humor and warmth filled every room he entered.”

“He possessed a rare and extraordinary gift: he made everyone feel seen, valued, and genuinely important. It was often said that virtually everyone who knew Dan believed they were his best friend, and in his own way, he made sure they felt like it,” his family said in his obituary.

In addition to his children and grandchildren, Gaughan also leaves behind a wife, his parents and a brother. A visitation is set for Friday morning at the Church of St. Mary in Lake Forest followed by a burial mass.

The train crash is the second to occur at the same location in two weeks.

A man in his 50s was transported to the hospital with critical injuries after his vehicle was involved in a collision with a freight train on August 21.

He was reported to be unconscious and barely breathing at the scene. No one else was injured but the man’s vehicle sustained heavy damage.

The collision involved a Kansas City Southern freight train, which was traveling from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Bensenville, Illinois.

A half-dozen masked suspects robbed a gas station in Green Oaks where they stole cash from the register and video gaming machines while threatening the clerk early Wednesday morning.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded around 3:35 a.m. Wednesday to Gas N Wash, 14010 West Rockland Road in Green Oaks, for a report of an armed robbery.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office Chief Christopher Covelli said the clerk reported that five offenders were using sledgehammers and crowbars to break into gaming machines inside the gas station.

The suspects were all wearing masks and gloves and a sixth suspect remained outside in a black SUV.

Covelli said the offenders quickly broke into several gaming machines and a cash register drawer before fleeing the scene.

The SUV was last seen fleeing at a high rate of speed southbound on Interstate 294.

A private security guard hired by the gaming company was present at the business throughout the incident, Covelli said.

A witness said the suspects jumped over the counter, threatened the clerk and threw a glass bottle at him as they began removing the cash register.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division responded to the scene and detectives are conducting further investigation.

The Chicago Police Department recovered proceeds from the robbery on the south side of Chicago, Covelli said. Sheriff’s detectives were responding there to meet with Chicago police.

Extensive damage was reported to the store but a loss estimate was not immediately known.

Sheriff’s detectives and other police agency detectives throughout the Chicagoland region have developed a task force to investigate gaming machine burglaries that are occurring throughout the region.

Covelli said detectives are sharing intelligence and working collaboratively to identify the offenders and hold them accountable.

The incident was the second such case to occur at Gas N Wash in Green Oaks in less than a month.

The sheriff’s office responded on August 18 to a commercial burglary in progress at the gas station convenience store where surveillance video captured more than 10 offenders inside the business.

They were armed with hammers and sledgehammers and were breaking into gaming machines.

Several tools and other items were left behind inside the business and in the parking lot, Covelli said. Gas N Wash is open 24 hours a day.

“We believe this group is suspected of being involved in dozens of gaming machine burglaries throughout the Chicagoland area,” he said last month.

A juvenile and four adults were transported to the hospital after two separate crashes, one involving a hit-and-run rollover and the other involving a speeding car, just minutes apart in the Grayslake and Gurnee area.

The Illinois State Police, Gurnee Fire Department and Libertyville Fire Department responded around 5:45 p.m. on August 30 to westbound Interstate 94 at the 11-mile marker in Gurnee for a vehicle crash with possible entrapment.

Fire crews arrived and found a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 94 near Route 120.

Gurnee Fire Department Battalion Chief Tim Steffens said one car was rolled over on its side approximately 10 feet in the ditch with moderate damage.

Another vehicle was parked further down along the interstate and was unoccupied. The driver of that vehicle fled the scene, Steffens said.

Three adult victims from the rolled-over car were transported to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with non-life-threatening injuries. A fourth person in the car declined transport.

Steffens said no extrication was needed in the rolled-over vehicle as bystanders assisted the occupants out of the car before the fire department arrived.

One lane was shut down temporarily while crews operated the scene. State troopers later arrested the hit-and-run driver and charged him with DUI.

The Gurnee Fire Department and the Grayslake Fire Department responded around 5:51 p.m. — just five minutes after the Interstate 94 crash — to another crash with injuries on Rollins Road west of Route 45 in unincorporated Lake Villa.

Grayslake Fire Department Battalion Chief Jim Weidman said the crash happened approximately a quarter-mile west of the intersection and involved a car that drove off the roadway and struck a utility pole.

The vehicle came to rest in the south side ditch after it was traveling eastbound on Rollins Road in the curve area.

Firefighters arrived and found three people had been in the heavily damaged vehicle, Weidman said. They assisted one of the victims who was still inside the car.

Weidman said a juvenile passenger and an adult passenger of the car were transported by ambulance to the hospital. The driver was uninjured.

A man, who wished to remain anonymous, told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that he saw the vehicle driving 140 mph down Rollins Road in the rain moments before the crash.

He said he pulled over and helped the male passenger, who was trapped in the car and had the more serious injuries out of the three occupants.

“My wife asked why they were driving so recklessly, he [driver] said he had to get her [passenger] to the mall before they closed. Mall closes at 6 on Sunday. It was about 5:55 when he went into the ditch,” he said.

Weidman said his department responded to numerous crashes in the same location on Rollins Road and transported lots of injured victims to the hospital as a result. He encourages motorists to slow down.

Two lanes of eastbound Rollins Road were shut down temporarily, Weidman said. ComEd responded to the scene to repair the split pole.

A Chicago man and photographer is accused of meeting a child through his employment at a party and later traveling to McHenry County where prosecutors say he sexually abused the juvenile in a park.

Milton Espino-Mejia, 25, of Chicago, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a Class 2 felony, and traveling to meet a minor, a Class 3 felony.

Prosecutors said in court that Espino-Mejia met a juvenile through his employment as a photographer after attending a party where he was working.

Espino-Mejia allegedly traveled from Chicago to meet and pick up the child on Friday, prosecutors said.

The two traveled to a public park in Harvard where Espino-Mejia allegedly sexually abused the minor, prosecutors said.

Officers from the Harvard Police Department encountered Espino-Mejia and the child at the park.

Police officials said officers were conducting a park check at 300 Lawrence Road when they saw his silver Acura parked in the parking lot and approached to investigate.

The vehicle activated its headlights and began to leave the lot before it was stopped by officers for vehicle violations.

Prosecutors said Espino-Mejia admitted to officers during the investigation that he had engaged in sexual conduct with the minor.

Further details on the case were unknown as the court case documents were completely sealed from the public in an unusual move, which was approved by a judge.

“Adults who gain access to minors through their employment have an absolute responsibility to respect the boundaries the law establishes to protect children,” McHenry County State’s Attorney Randi Freese said.

“When those boundaries are allegedly exploited for sexual purposes, our office will act aggressively to protect minors and hold offenders accountable. We commend the responding officers from the Harvard Police Department for their vigilance and intervention in this case,” Freese said.

Espino-Mejia appeared in Initial Appearance Court on Saturday and the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain him pending trial, arguing he poses a danger to the community.

McHenry County Judge Mark Facchini granted the petition to detain and remanded Espino-Mejia to the McHenry County Jail.

Espino-Mejia is scheduled to appear in court again on October 6 for a preliminary hearing.

The coroner has released the identity of a Waukegan man who was rescued from Lake Michigan while swimming at Illinois Beach State Park near Zion and died of drowning Sunday afternoon.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Beach Park Fire Department responded around 4:35 p.m. Sunday to Illinois Beach State Park, 1 Lake Front Drive in unincorporated Zion, for a possible drowning.

Beach Park Fire Department Lt. Andrew Morelli said initial reports indicated a male was floating in Lake Michigan.

Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek on Tuesday identified the male as Asdrubal Guifarro Munoz, 45, of Waukegan.

Sheriff’s deputies first on scene were flagged down by witnesses and learned Guifarro Munoz had been rescued from the water near the rocks by bystanders, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Chief Christopher Covelli.

Deputies assisted in bringing the man to shore and immediately began CPR.

Guifarro Munoz was unresponsive, not breathing and cold to the touch, Covelli said.

The Zion Fire Rescue Department, Winthrop Harbor Fire Department and Beach Park Fire Department arrived shortly after and took over lifesaving efforts.

Guifarro Munoz was transported to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan where he was pronounced dead in the emergency room, Banek said.

An autopsy was conducted on Guifarro Munoz on Tuesday.

The autopsy examination results indicate that Guifarro Munoz’s death is consistent with drowning but a medical or neurological event possibly led to the drowning, Banek said.

Additional testing will be completed by the Lake County Coroner’s Office.

Covelli said preliminary information indicates Guifarro Munoz had been seen jumping into the lake from the rocks for several minutes.

Witnesses observed him floating farther from shore at some point afterward.

Bystanders pulled Guifarro Munoz from the water and brought him toward shore as sheriff’s deputies arrived, Covelli said.

Morelli said two bystanders performed the rescue of the man.

A large fire department response was downgraded after it was confirmed he was already out of the water.

The man was believed to be over 100 feet from shore, possibly on the other side of the rock breakwater, Morelli said, adding that paramedics continued CPR all the way to the hospital.

Morelli said people swimming in Lake Michigan should be aware of currents and not swim alone.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources responded to the scene and assumed responsibility for the investigation.

A woman allegedly recruited three men who forced their way into her roommate’s bedroom in Waukegan, tied his legs together with an extension cord, beat him and pressed a gun to his head after confronting him at Waukegan City Hall.

Gilberto Castaneda-Ortiz, 38, of Waukegan; Jose A. Negrete-Zuniga, 39, of Joliet; and Maria D. Vara-Lopez, 37, of Waukegan, were each charged with home invasion causing injury, armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated robbery indicating armed and robbery.

Negrete-Zuniga is additionally charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle and possession of methamphetamine.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Patrick Windmoeller said the victim and Vara-Lopez were roommates at a home in the 700 block of Indiana Street in Waukegan.

The victim paid rent for a space in the basement and had been living there for five to six months.

The two had been having issues over their living arrangements and police were called on July 31 after an argument between them occurred, Windmoeller said. Officers left and the victim said he was not going to move out.

Vara-Lopez and her uncle served the victim on August 3 with a notice stating that he had to move out by August 10, Windmoeller said. The victim again said he was not planning to leave.

The victim then drove to Waukegan City Hall with his juvenile son in his 2008 Mercedes-Benz and arrived around 12:45 p.m. that same day.

He filed an ordinance complaint against Vara-Lopez alleging unsafe living conditions while recording a video of himself filing the paperwork and sending it to her, Windmoeller said.

Negrete-Zuniga, Castaneda-Ortiz and a third man, who has not been charged, arrived at city hall in a work van just before 1 p.m., Windmoeller said.

Investigators later learned the three were there to pick up a Chevrolet Silverado that had been seized by the Waukegan Police Department on August 1 when the vehicle was pulled over and towed because the driver’s license was revoked. Negrete-Zuniga was in the passenger seat.

Surveillance video showed the three men approaching the victim a minute later as he walked out of the building and Negrete-Zuniga threatened him, Windmoeller said.

The victim ran back inside and told a receptionist he was being threatened and harassed, Windmoeller said.

Officers later spoke with the receptionist, who confirmed the victim told her he had been threatened and said she saw the three men outside talking to him.

The victim did not leave city hall until 1:12 p.m. and video showed Negrete-Zuniga standing behind a pillar and looking toward him as he left, Windmoeller said. The three men remained at city hall until 1:54 p.m.

The victim returned home around 2 p.m. and stayed in his room until around 5 p.m., at which time Vara-Lopez knocked on his door and told him she needed to give him something, Windmoeller said.

The victim opened the door and Vara-Lopez was standing there with Negrete-Zuniga, Castaneda-Ortiz and the third man, Windmoeller said.

The four pushed him into his bedroom, causing him to fall onto his bed.

The third man, who has been identified by police, grabbed an extension cord from inside the room and wrapped it around the victim’s knees, tying his legs together, Windmoeller said.

Windmoeller said Negrete-Zuniga got on top of the victim and began striking him in the face, head and arm while the other two men held him down. Vara-Lopez allegedly clawed at the victim’s face during the attack.

Negrete-Zuniga asked Castaneda-Ortiz to retrieve his gun and Castaneda-Ortiz left the room, got the firearm and handed it to him, Windmoeller said.

Windmoeller said Negrete-Zuniga pressed the gun against the victim’s head and threatened to kill him and his family if he did not leave the house.

The victim had emptied his pockets when he came into the home and during the attack the group took his car keys, wallet and cellphone. The victim said he saw Vara-Lopez holding his wallet while he was being beaten.

Surveillance video from a nearby camera pointed at the house showed three men leaving at 5:18 p.m., Windmoeller said.

The victim appeared outside walking his bicycle two minutes later and rode off southbound toward his son’s home, with Vara-Lopez seen exiting the front door.

Dispatchers received a 911 call 20 minutes later from the victim’s son, who reported that his father had come to his home after being battered and robbed and asked him to call police because his phone had been stolen, Windmoeller said.

The victim was taken to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan for treatment before officers arrived.

Officers who spoke with the victim at the hospital observed red marks across his knees consistent with where he said the extension cord had been placed, along with red marks under his right eye, red marks on his upper arm where he said Negrete-Zuniga struck him, red marks on his torso and ribs and scratches on his forehead and below his right eye.

Surveillance video showed Castaneda-Ortiz walking up to the home around 6 p.m. and removing the license plates from the victim’s Mercedes-Benz, Windmoeller said.

Negrete-Zuniga then approached Castaneda-Ortiz and the two walked down the driveway toward the back door of the home.

Officers went to the Indiana Street home that evening but no one answered the door, Windmoeller said.

The victim asked police to help him retrieve some of his belongings around 11 p.m. and Vara-Lopez answered the door, Windmoeller said.

She confirmed the victim lived there but when officers asked whether anything had happened with him earlier in the day, she reportedly became defensive and tried to close the door on the officers.

Vara-Lopez was detained and the victim showed officers the dark blue and black extension cord in the home that had been used to tie his knees together, Windmoeller said.

A roommate told officers that Vara-Lopez had been acting strange that day and told the people inside the house to hide when police arrived, Windmoeller said.

Vara-Lopez initially agreed to speak with officers at the police station and told them she and the victim had been friends for about three years, Windmoeller said. She said Castaneda-Ortiz previously lived at the residence for a few months.

Vara-Lopez made comments to officers during booking that she could not fathom how they would believe a drug addict over her, Windmoeller said.

The victim was shown a photo lineup on August 6 and identified Negrete-Zuniga as the third suspect who had not yet been identified.

Windmoeller said the victim initially pointed to another person before he had seen all of the photographs but after reviewing all of them, he selected Negrete-Zuniga and said he was 100% confident in the identification.

An officer spotted the victim’s stolen Mercedes-Benz driving on Yorkhouse Road toward Lewis Avenue in Waukegan early in the morning on August 7 and followed it until it pulled into a driveway in the 37600 block of Lions Woods Court.

The officer called for backup and the vehicle began backing out of the driveway and drove down the street with its lights off, Windmoeller said.

Officers conducted a traffic stop and identified Negrete-Zuniga as the driver and sole occupant.

Negrete-Zuniga claimed he had borrowed the vehicle from the victim, Windmoeller said. A bag containing multiple cellphones was recovered from the car.

Detectives interviewed Negrete-Zuniga and his account shifted repeatedly, Windmoeller said.

Negrete-Zuniga first claimed the victim let him borrow the Mercedes-Benz to fix a suspension issue on August 3 or August 4 but he could not remember the date, Windmoeller said.

He said he reached out to the victim by phone but did not leave a voicemail or send a text message. He later insisted the two had only a verbal agreement after being confronted with a lack of recent calls or texts.

Negrete-Zuniga then said he had spent August 3 being driven around town looking for work in the Chevrolet, which Windmoeller said was impossible because the vehicle had been seized on August 1 and was not released until August 4.

Negrete-Zuniga later acknowledged going to the victim’s house to borrow the Mercedes-Benz around 5:30 or 6 p.m., which was close to the time of the 911 call, and said he saw the victim and Vara-Lopez arguing and left in the victim’s vehicle because he did not want to be involved, Windmoeller said.

Negrete-Zuniga then said he recalled going to Waukegan City Hall earlier that day to recover the seized Chevrolet and admitted seeing the victim there, Windmoeller said.

He claimed that was when the victim asked him to fix the Mercedes-Benz.

Negrete-Zuniga eventually admitted that Vara-Lopez wanted the three men’s help removing the victim from the home and that the victim’s trip to Waukegan City Hall to file a complaint against her was the reason for the home invasion, Windmoeller said.

He said Vara-Lopez offered to pay the other men for their help and initially insisted the group only verbally told the victim to leave, Windmoeller said.

Negrete-Zuniga then said Vara-Lopez battered the victim before describing it as more of a mutual fight, Windmoeller said.

He denied making physical contact with the victim before admitting that he pulled the victim away from Vara-Lopez and held him while she struck him at least twice.

“Maria Vara-Lopez, who was involved in a dispute with the Victim, descended to the tactics of street toughs rather than resolving her differences peacefully through the proper channels,” Windmoeller said.

The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain all three suspects who were arrested.

Vara-Lopez was released but Negrete-Zuniga and Castaneda-Ortiz were ordered detained pending trial by a judge following detention hearings.

A defense attorney for one of the defendants argued in court that the victim stopped paying rent and refused to leave the residence and that he was the instigator of the events.

Vara-Lopez, Negrete-Zuniga and Castaneda-Ortiz are all scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday for an arraignment hearing following a grand jury indictment.

A McHenry man suffered critical, life-threatening injuries after a car turned directly in front of his motorcycle, causing a crash that shut down Route 12 in Fox Lake for hours Monday evening.

The Fox Lake Police Department and Fox Lake Fire Protection District responded around 8:34 p.m. Monday to Route 12 and Grand Avenue in Fox Lake for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries.

Fox Lake Police Department Sgt. Shane Campion said officers arrived and found a two-vehicle crash involving a motorcycle.

The motorcycle operator had suffered critical injuries.

A good Samaritan assisted officers with providing first aid to the victim until paramedics arrived, Campion said.

A preliminary investigation showed the operator of the Kawasaki motorcycle, a 27-year-old McHenry man, was traveling northbound on Route 12.

Campion said the driver of a Hyundai SUV, a 72-year-old Round Lake woman, was traveling southbound on Route 12 at the same time.

The driver of the Hyundai attempted to make a left turn onto Grand Avenue and turned in front of the motorcycle as it was passing through the intersection.

The motorcycle struck the Hyundai, causing the operator to be thrown from the bike, Campion said.

The man was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the Hyundai was not injured and is cooperating with the investigation.

The Lake County Major Crash Assistance Team (MCAT) was activated and responded to the scene to conduct a crash investigation.

Campion said the intersection of Route 12 and Grand Avenue was completely shut down for the investigation.

It was reopened around 11:35 p.m. after the vehicles were towed from the scene and the scene crash reconstruction was complete.

No citations or charges have been announced against either driver yet.

The crash remains under investigation by the Fox Lake Police Department.

The county board on Tuesday voted to ban new data centers from being approved in unincorporated Lake County until May 2027, with one board member saying, “We choose our citizens.”

The Lake County Board approved the ordinance Tuesday morning amending Chapter 151 of the county’s Code of Ordinances, which establishes the moratorium and also creates a legal definition of a data center. The ordinance is in effect immediately.

Any data center proposed after Tuesday will not be considered by the county until the moratorium expires.

“Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide input on this important issue that is top of mind for many people in our communities,” Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart said.

“This is a critical step in making sure Lake County is prepared to address data centers responsibly by taking the time to do the research, listen to our communities and develop regulations that reflect Lake County’s priorities,” Hart said.

The moratorium is set to lift on May 11, 2027, but could be earlier if the county board adopts data center regulations before then.

The ordinance defines a data center as a facility, or part of a facility, that houses computer or network equipment, servers, appliances and the associated mechanical, electrical, cooling and backup power infrastructure used to collect, store, manage, process and transmit digital data.

The definition covers both standalone buildings and multi-building campuses and specifies that data centers are distinct from general industrial, office or warehouse uses.

The moratorium applies only to unincorporated Lake County, which falls under the county board’s zoning authority.

It does not affect data centers proposed or approved inside municipalities, including the T5 Data Center Campus in Grayslake that has drawn months of harsh opposition from residents.

Lake County has not received any proposals to develop a data center in its unincorporated areas, county officials said.

The county board began the process of pursuing the moratorium in June when it approved a resolution directing the Lake County Zoning Board of Appeals to hold a public hearing on the proposed text amendments.

The amendment process can take months so the county paired the resolution with a temporary administrative deferral allowing the Planning, Building and Development department to pause review of any data center applications for up to 120 days.

The deferral, which would have run through October 7, automatically ended with Tuesday’s vote and was replaced by the moratorium.

“Lake County residents made it clear that they want us to take a thoughtful and deliberate approach to data center development,” Lake County PBZ&E Committee Chair Marah Altenberg said.

“We’re grateful that residents took the time to provide their comments, and now it’s our duty to leave no stone unturned by asking the right questions, examining the potential impacts and considering all of the factors that will help us make the best decisions for our communities,” Altenberg said.

The zoning board of appeals held its public hearing on August 18 at the Lake County Central Permitting Facility in Libertyville.

Residents packed the meeting room and hallway and two hours of testimony was taken.

More than 1,000 additional comments were submitted through an online form. The zoning board voted 6-0 to recommend the amendments.

The county board’s Planning, Building, Zoning and Environment Committee unanimously recommended approval on Wednesday, which sent the measure to the full board for Tuesday’s vote.

County staff will use the time to develop definitions, zoning classifications, performance standards and review procedures for data centers.

District 16 Lake County Board Member Esiah A. Campos said the action provides an important opportunity for the county to strengthen its regulations and ensure residents have a meaningful voice in decisions that directly affect their communities.

“We are taking pressure from every side of this issue, but at the end of the day, we choose our citizens,” Campos said.

“People deserve to know what is being proposed in their own backyard before decisions are made not after. We need stronger regulations, greater transparency, and a process that informs and engages residents from the very beginning,” Campos said.

The board member said the rapid growth of data center development raises important questions about land use, energy and water demands, infrastructure, noise, environmental impacts and the character of surrounding communities.

“This moratorium gives us the time to put the right protections in place. Economic development is important, but it cannot come at the expense of transparency or public trust. Our citizens should never feel like they are the last to know about something that could fundamentally change the community where they live,” Campos said.

The vote comes after the T5 Data Center Campus in Grayslake, which the Grayslake Village Board approved last year following public hearings, has received intense scrutiny recently from residents.

The campus covers up to 472 acres and up to 10.1 million square feet across several buildings along Peterson Road between Alleghany Road and Route 83 with an electrical demand of approximately 1.55 gigawatts.

A lawsuit filed on July 31 by Lake County residents names the Village of Grayslake, T5 Data Centers, LLC and Alter Asset Management Company as defendants.

It asks the court to declare the village’s approvals invalid, void the development agreement between Grayslake and T5 and permanently bar the village from issuing further permits.

Grayslake granted its first building permit approval last week for the campus, allowing construction to begin immediately on an 800,000-square-foot building on the campus.

Village officials said the permit marks the start of an expected $18 billion private investment projected to generate $1.4 billion in property tax revenue over 20 years, which was secured without local tax incentives or TIF subsidies.

A woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries after she crashed her motorcycle and was ejected into some bushes in Algonquin Monday evening, police said.

The Algonquin Police Department and Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District responded around 5:08 p.m. Monday to the area of Algonquin Road and Compton Drive in Algonquin for a vehicle crash with injuries.

A passerby motorist called 911 to report finding the crash, according to Algonquin Police Department Sgt. Kory Koehler.

The caller reported the motorcycle rider was in bushes near the wrecked motorcycle, Koehler said.

Officers and fire department personnel responded to the scene and located the crash on Compton Drive between Algonquin Road and Magenta Lane.

Fire department radio traffic indicated the woman was barely breathing.

Paramedics transported her to Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital for treatment of her injuries, Koehler said. Her condition was unknown.

A medical helicopter was initially placed on standby but canceled after a decision was made to ground transport the victim instead, fire department radio traffic indicated.

It is unclear if the motorcycle hit anything or wiped out but the crash occurred in a sharp curve on Compton Drive.

The motorcycle came to rest on its side off the roadway.

Police officials initially said the crash was fatal but later said it was “possibly fatal” with serious injuries.

“Multiple lane closures should be expected for the next several hours. Please avoid the area,” the department said in an alert.

Compton Drive was shut down for nearly three hours during a crash investigation.

Investigators were seen taking photographs, marking the ground and taking measurements at the scene as part of the investigation.

Koehler said the circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation by the Algonquin Police Department.

Prosecutors say a man was driving intoxicated for the fifth time — at over three times the legal drinking limit — when he slammed into another car, causing it to drive into a pond, leaving a passenger unconscious, at the Costco in Lake Zurich.

Ennkbold Lkhamnorov, 55, of Glenview, was charged with aggravated driving under the influence fifth offense, aggravated driving under the influence while driver’s license revoked, driving while license revoked, driving under the influence of alcohol, obstructing identification and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

The Lake Zurich Police Department and Lake Zurich Fire Rescue Department responded around 1:30 p.m. Saturday to the area of Costco, 680 South Rand Road in Lake Zurich, for a vehicle crash with injuries.

Fire department radio traffic indicated one person was unconscious in a black Mercedes SUV.

Fire crews arrived and reported both vehicles had heavy damage. One vehicle drove off the roadway into a pond while the other remained on land.

Lake Zurich Deputy Police Colin Gaffney said a preliminary investigation showed a 2011 Mercedes SUV, driven by Lkhamnorov, was traveling westbound on the frontage road in front of Costco.

The Mercedes struck a 2020 Jeep, driven by a 29-year-old Waukegan woman, which was turning onto the frontage road from a parking aisle traffic lane.

The impact of the collision caused the Jeep to leave the roadway and come to rest partially submerged in a retention pond, Gaffney said.

A witness told Lake and McHenry County Scanner the driver of the Mercedes nearly hit another car just prior to the crash happening. She said her husband helped the woman out of the Jeep that was in the water.

Three ambulances were dispatched to the scene.

Gaffney said both drivers, along with an adult passenger in the Mercedes, were transported to local hospitals with moderate, non-life-threatening injuries.

Prosecutors said the Mercedes passenger was in and out of consciousness.

Lkhamnorov was arrested at the scene after prosecutors said he had an odor of alcohol on his breath.

He had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.286 at the hospital, which is over three times the legal limit, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Lkhamnorov gave officers a false name and date of birth. He has a revoked driver’s license and four prior violations of driving under the influence.

He was additionally wanted on two active warrants out of Cook County, Gaffney said.

Lkhamnorov was held at the Lake Zurich Police Department and transported to First Appearance Court on Sunday morning.

Lake County Judge Ari Fisz ordered Lkhamnorov held in the Lake County Jail while he awaits a detention hearing, which is set for Wednesday afternoon, after the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain him.

The crash remains under investigation by the Lake Zurich Police Department.

Former Chicago Bears player Matt Suhey, who helped the team win the 1985 NFL championship alongside Walter Payton, was found dead in his home in Deerfield Sunday afternoon.

Suhey, 68, was discovered unresponsive in his home in the 500 block of Carriage Way in Deerfield around 2 p.m. Sunday.

The Lake County Coroner’s Office said Suhey was pronounced dead at the scene around 2:21 p.m. by the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District.

The coroner’s office was notified by the Deerfield Police Department around 20 minutes later.

The death was unexpected to his teammates but coroner’s officials said there were no suspicious circumstances. They indicated it was possibly medical-related.

The Chicago Bears also confirmed Suhey’s death but did not release further details.

Suhey grew up in Pennsylvania and played college football at Penn State before the Bears selected him in the second round of the 1980 draft.

He played in every game as a rookie and went on to appear in 148 of a possible 152 games across a decade in Chicago, starting 100 of them and finishing with 828 carries for 2,946 yards and 20 touchdowns.

His role was primarily to clear the way for Walter Payton.

The two became close friends off the field and Payton was the godfather to Suhey’s youngest son, Scott.

Jarrett Payton said in a statement Monday that Suhey was his father’s closest friend and he became the “biggest father figure I had” after Walter died.

“When everything felt uncertain, he was there. My dad left him in charge and Matt never let that responsibility sit lightly. He protected our family. He looked after us. He made sure we were okay, year after year, without ever making it about himself,” Jarrett Payton said.

“Their friendship showed me what real friendship looks like. Not the easy kind. The kind that lasts when the lights go off, when the stadium is empty, when life gets heavy. Brian’s Song told the story of Piccolo and Sayers. Somebody needs to tell the story of 34 and 26. Two men who trusted each other completely. Two men who became brothers,” he added.

Suhey was the Bears’ second-leading rusher during the 1985 regular season. He ran for 471 yards as the team went 15-1.

He scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl XX on an 11-yard run in the first quarter and finished with 52 yards on 11 carries, along with a 24-yard reception as Chicago beat New England 46-10. His playing career ended in 1989.

Suhey traded at the Chicago Board of Trade during offseasons and became a full-time trader after retiring. He also owned a bottled water company.

A Lindenhurst man was charged with stealing almost $400 in merchandise from Gurnee Mills mall in Gurnee and then injuring a police officer while resisting arrest.

The Gurnee Police Department responded around 3:45 p.m. on August 17 to Kohl’s, 6120 Grand Avenue in Gurnee, for a report of a retail theft in progress.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Eryka Jones said officers arrived and encountered Edward W. Hill, 34, of Lindenhurst, exiting the store.

Hill had stolen luggage, jewelry and a vacuum worth $379.98, Jones said.

Hill proceeded past all points of sale without paying, Jones said.

Jones said officers attempted to arrest Hill but the man resisted arrest, causing an officer to suffer cuts to his hands and elbows and abrasions to his knees.

A criminal complaint filed in Lake County Circuit Court alleges Hill possessed two glass pipes with burnt residue and a chore boy.

Hill was charged with retail theft over $300, a Class 3 felony; resisting a peace officer causing injury, a Class 4 felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor.

Lake County Judge Randie Bruno released Hill on pre-trial conditions during a First Appearance Court hearing.

The charges are non-detainable under the Illinois SAFE-T Act. Bruno told Hill in court that despite him also being on conditional discharge when he committed the offense, she could not hold him in custody due to the law.

Court records show Hill had pleaded guilty in March to a case where he was charged with possessing a stolen vehicle and criminal trespass to vehicle in Gurnee, which occurred in February. He was sentenced to probation.

He also pleaded guilty at the same time to disorderly conduct in a Mundelein case.

Bruno ordered Hill to have no contact with any Kohl’s store or Gurnee Mills mall as part of his release conditions.

The judge also ordered Hill not to possess weapons and to abide by the conditions of his probation.

Hill is scheduled to appear in court again on September 23 for a status of preliminary hearing.

Police are investigating after a Flock Safety automated license plate reader camera was stolen in Highland Park amid recent nationwide backlash against Flock over privacy concerns.

The Highland Park Police Department made the discovery on August 7 involving its Flock camera located in front of Fidelity Investments, 1 Skokie Valley Road.

The automated license plate reader (ALPR) was discovered missing from the pole mount, according to a police report obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

Further investigation determined the camera was stolen by “unknown person(s),” the report said.

The last image captured on the camera was at 9:54 p.m. on July 31.

The report said that an area canvass for security cameras that may have captured the theft was unsuccessful.

The camera was located on the northeast corner of Lake Cook Road and Skokie Valley Road, where at least four other Flock cameras are in close proximity.

The report said photographs of the camera mount and a few of the last photographs taken by the camera were entered into evidence.

The camera itself was entered into a law enforcement database as stolen. It is believed to be the only camera stolen or damaged in Highland Park in at least the past year.

The report said a critical reach alert was issued to police agencies throughout the Chicagoland area.

The City of Highland Park said it uses the ALPR technology to help officers solve and prevent crimes in the community.

The technology, provided through agreements with Flock Safety and Axon Enterprises, alerts officers when a camera detects a license plate linked to crime as the vehicle travels through Highland Park.

“State law, the City’s internal policies, the City’s agreements with these providers, and the providers’ terms of use collectively provide for guardrails regarding the generation, storage, access, retention, and destruction of data collected and analyzed by ALPR technology,” the city said on its website.

The theft comes amid a growing national backlash against Flock over privacy and surveillance concerns.

More than 135,000 automated license plate reader cameras have been identified nationwide, and four of every five are made by Flock, according to crowdsourced data from the organization DeFlock.

Cameras have been stolen or cut down in several states in recent weeks, including in Illinois in DuPage County.

An audit by Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias found in August 2025 that Flock had allowed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to access Illinois cameras in violation of a 2023 state law, prompting the company to pause its pilot with federal agencies nationwide.

Holiday Hills Police Chief William C. Copp, who also worked part-time in Prairie Grove, was charged in June with official misconduct after prosecutors in McHenry County said he used Flock hundreds of times to track former romantic partners and others he knew.