McHenry County

In the fall of 2002, DNA tests exonerated Jimmy Ray Bromgard in the 1987 rape of an 8-year-old girl in Billings, Mont. His case was dismissed and he was freed from prison. "Mr. Bromgard has spent 15 years in prison for a crime that the state is now...

A state law passed after five Oswego teenagers died in an alcohol-related car crash last year has led to driver's-license suspensions for more than 3,000 underage drinkers this year, but experts give it mixed reviews because of disparities in enforcement....

When first-time buyer John Grooms went to arrange financing for his three-bedroom house in Island Lake, he tapped a source that is roaring back in popularity in the wake of the credit crisis: the Federal Housing Authority. Long an option for the down-...

A Crystal Lake woman was charged Thursday with providing alcohol to minors, including two teens who died in a crash last month after leaving her house. Jeffrey Mills, 17, had been drinking at a party hosted by Jessica Ochal, 21, at her home in the 4300...

A week before a state board considers proposals to build four new hospitals in the suburbs, the board's vice chairman has resigned, officials said Wednesday. Stuart Levine, a private investor who has been on the Illinois Health Facilities Planning...

Forty-three hours after Stanley Howard was arrested, Chicago police detectives got the evidence that would help them send Howard to Death Row: a confession. In seven double-spaced pages of questions and answers transcribed by a court reporter on Nov. 3,...

As reports of major crime fell for an unprecedented seventh straight year statewide, McHenry County recorded a sharp increase, particularly in violent crimes, according to state crime statistics released Sunday. Law-enforcement officials said the...

From his start as one of Gov. Richard Ogilvie's "whiz kids" to his membership on the Metra board and lucrative posts with the Illinois State Medical Society, Donald Udstuen has been a behind-the-scenes force in state Republican politics for more than...

The number of crimes reported in McHenry County increased slightly in 2000, according to state figures just released, continuing a decadelong rise that authorities say is inevitable with the population growth that has transformed the once-rural area. But...

The Illinois State Police used flawed population estimates last year that caused the agency to report inaccurate crime rates for dozens of communities statewide, officials acknowledged Tuesday. The flawed 1999 crime rates made some places--like those...

McHenry County pupils generally excelled in the third year of the Illinois Standards Achievement Test despite unprecedented growth that shifted many children into mobile classrooms or new schools with inexperienced teachers. Educators said they tried...

Settling into the witness chair of a Kane County courtroom, Stephen McKasson tutored jurors in a murder trial on the wonders of a rarely used divining tool: lip prints. The Illinois State Police crime lab examiner told them forensic science accepts...