Skip to main content

Advance McHenry County webpage now open to applicants

Written on .

Resume McHenry County Update!
Through our collaboration with McHenry County, we will continue to share important information on stimulus programs, COVID-19 updates, and where the county is opening up through Resume McHenry County Updates.
Please take a moment to scroll down to see new advancements this week as more and more are opening up in McHenry County. If MCEDC can be of any help, please call. Forward this email to your friends and family to help get the word out!

 

Advance McHenry County web page opens to applications

The Advance McHenry County webpage is open to educate the public about the program, and to receive funding applications from qualified agencies!
The page, which went live on Monday, can be found at www.mchenrycountyil.gov/advance.
Advance McHenry County, created by the McHenry County Board, is designed to put $59.7 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding to work in the community. Of the nearly $30 million set to be distributed in the first phase, $14 million will be allocated to environment and infrastructure projects, $8 million will be allocated to workforce development and jobs programs, and $3 million each will be set aside for special districts and non-profits. Funding recipients will be selected based on how they meet an established set of criteria.
You can visit the website for more information, or click here to watch a brief video by County Board Chairman Mike Buehler explaining the program.
The website does more than collect applications and allow applicants to submit questions – it also serves as an accountability and transparency portal to allow the public to track how the money is allocated.
McHenry County is hosting town-hall meetings for eligible groups to explain the program and get their questions answered. Two town-hall meetings for governments and not-for-profit agencies will be held at 3 and 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9, and two meetings for infrastructure and workforce applicants will be held at 3 and 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15. All of the meetings are being held at the McHenry County Mental Health Board, 620 Dakota St., Crystal Lake.
Attendees can choose which of the meetings they attend, but must register in advance – they can do so by clicking here. Attendance at one of the meetings is not a mandatory prerequisite to apply for Advance McHenry County funding.

 

CDC clearing way to approve COVID-19 vaccine for ages 5-11

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is poised this week to grant emergency-use authorization for children ages 5 to 11 to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
If approved, children would be able to start receiving the shot as early as next week.
Governor Pritzker announced that more than 2,200 locations in Illinois are already enrolled to provide the vaccine to kids in anticipation of approval being granted.
Several weeks ago, the CDC gave emergency-use authorization for COVID-19 booster shots to Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, and approved rules to allow people to get any of the three boosters, regardless of the vaccine they originally received.
Like the Pfizer vaccine, which was approved in September for booster doses, the CDC is recommending booster shots for higher-risk groups that include:
·    People 65 years and older;
·    Adults living in long-term care facilities;
·    Adults who work or live in high-risk settings; and
·    Adults who have underlying medical conditions.
You can find a list of places that offer the COVID-19 vaccine at www.vaccines.gov. If you haven’t received the vaccine at all, please consider doing so. Vaccinating is the best way to protect yourself – the unvaccinated, by far, make up the vast majority of COVID-19 hospitalizations.

 

McHenry county Moves 2050 website goes live

Transportation has a tremendous impact on McHenry County residents and businesses. It affects how people get to work, how they play and shop, and how businesses get the materials they need and get their goods to market.
No matter how you travel, and whether you live in a city, village or unincorporated area, the new McHenry County Moves 2050 plan is for you!
McHenry County Moves 2050 is a countywide, long-range transportation plan be in crafted by the McHenry County Division of Transportation to examine all the ways people and goods move in our region. The plan’s goal is to create an enhanced vision for transportation in our area, and identify new solutions that will provide a wide range of safe, equitable, sustainable, and convenient travel choices in and across the county.
Its new website, www.mchenrycountymoves2050.com, asks visitors to express their ideas and concerns through an engagement survey, and by showing ideas on an easy-to use map that allows users to pin them to specific areas. The DOT will be collecting public input through next summer, after which they will start developing a draft 2050 transportation plan.
You can click here to visit a user-friendly rundown of the proposed plan. You can sign up for email updates by visiting the website, and you can get the latest on the plan by following the DOT on Facebook.

 

Illinois OSHA releases updated business safety handbook

Illinois OSHA is promoting the recently updated Small Business Safety and Health Handbook.
The handbook, which can be found by clicking here, is designed to help small businesses identify and respond to workplace hazards in order to keep employees safe and healthy on the job.
Federal OSHA standards can be confusing and complex, but the Illinois On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Program can help make sense of them. This no-cost safety and health program caters to smaller businesses and helps employers learn about potential hazards at their workplace. It’s not an OSHA inspection – in fact, participants can qualify for a one-year exemption from routine OSHA inspections.
If you have questions about the program, you can learn more by clicking here, calling 800-972-4216, or by emailing dol.consultation@illinois.gov.

 

Light Up McHenry County contest is open!

Fall’s brilliant and wonderful colors are slowly giving way to bare trees, and sore backs from weekends of raking those colorful leaves up for curbside collection.
But here in McHenry County, the approach of winter’s cold means replacing those natural colors with some awesome man-made ones – and our friends at Visit McHenry County every year recognize the best of the best.
That’s right – it’s time for the second annual Light Up McHenry County holiday lights contest!
If you think your display has what it takes – if you took the time and effort to recreate the entire Isle of Misfit Toys and the elf who wants to be a dentist – then go for it!
The contest is free, and open to residences and businesses alike. Categories for residential displays include White Christmas (all-white lights), The Griswold (so many lights that you’re not sure how they didn’t trip the circuit breaker), Disco Fever (best light and music display), and Blow it Up (most inflatables).
Thank you to K-Adams Foto for the picture – you can visit Kelsey Adams’ website here, or check her work out on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

 

Holiday Walk returns to Downtown McHenry

With the lifting of COVID-19 capacity restrictions earlier this year, Resume McHenry County is featuring the return of its iconic and traditional attractions, and the founding of new ones.
McHenry’s shops will come to life with holiday magic during the Downtown McHenry Holiday Walk on Saturday, Nov. 20!
Visitors can enjoy the vibrant holiday displays, lights, carolers, decorations, a trolley, and much more – and of course, there will be store specials to be had for shoppers.
Santa Claus will flip the switch at 5 p.m. lighting up Veterans Memorial Park, and from 5 to 7 p.m., live mannequins will recreate your favorite holiday scenes in downtown store windows. And while there’s plenty to do for children and families, grown-ups have the Polar Express Pub Crawl from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tickets can be bought for drink specials and a chance to win raffle items.
The Holiday Walk also kicks off the Festival of Trees through Dec. 4. Downtown businesses decorate trees, and residents get to vote on which ones are the best by dropping off a non-perishable food item or toiletries under your favorite one. All items will be donated to Veterans Path to Hope (formerly TLS Veterans).
Visit the website of the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce to learn more about the festival.

 
We hope we got your attention. We need your help reaching more McHenry County residents and businesses to share this important information about the COVID-19 response and connect them with vital resources.
Please take these four steps:
1. Share/forward to your email/newsletter contacts.
2. Post information to your website.
3. Follow us on social media (see below); share our posts with your followers.
4. If you are not on the McHenry County Constant Contact list, please subscribe here

 

Follow McHenry County Government On Social Media

Staying connected and informed is more important now than ever! Follow McHenry County on social media for regular updates on COVID-19 in our region, resources to help you navigate the pandemic, safety tips and more!

 

What is Resume McHenry County?

Resume McHenry County is a collaborative initiative being implemented by McHenry County and the McHenry County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) in partnership with the McHenry County community, including cities and villages, businesses and residents. The goal is to ensure a successful reopening of our economy so that we can return to our lifestyles safely and responsibly.