Resume McHenry County – The McHenry County Fair is here!
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Resume McHenry County Update!
Through our collaboration with McHenry County, we will continue to share important information on stimulus programs, PPP loans, 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!
The McHenry County Fair is here!
You can’t keep a good fair down – while the COVID-19 pandemic robbed us of last year’s event, the McHenry County Fair is more than making up for lost time with five days of fun!
Doors opened at noon today with the raising of the American Flag over the grandstands, kicking off activities, rides, shows, music, 4-H exhibits, and many other attractions through Sunday evening. This year’s headline musical act is legendary rock band Kansas, which will be taking to the stage Saturday night.
You can purchase general admission tickets, as well as tickets to the concerts and other grandstand events, at the fairgrounds or online at www.mchenrycountyfair.com. In honor of the heroes of the pandemic, the fair is offering free admission on certain days to Armed Forces veterans (Wednesday, Aug. 4), first responders (Thursday, Aug. 5), and health care workers (Friday, Aug. 6).
A list of events can be found at the fair’s website, and don’t forget to like them on Facebook! It’s fun for the whole family and memories that last a lifetime.
COVID numbers rising locally and statewide
McHenry County and the entire Chicago area are now ranked at “substantial” risk of COVID-19 transmission, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC designates a “substantial” risk when between 50 and 99 new cases per 100,000 people are logged over a seven-day period. Almost all of southern Illinois has been designated as a “high” risk, meaning 100 or more cases per 100,000 people over seven days. A map of the latest transmission rates can be found here.
The CDC advises people in substantial or high-risk areas to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. At this time, the state has not re-implemented any of the restrictions that were allowed to expire when Illinois reached the fifth and final phase of the “Restore Illinois” plan in June.
The best way you can help fight the surge of the new Delta variant is to get vaccinated if you haven’t done so already. The COVID-19 vaccine is effective and is plentiful; most locations have stopped requiring appointments and now take walk-ins. Visit www.vaccines.gov for a comprehensive list of vaccination locations.
More than half of Illinois residents are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Masks now required at the DMV, state and federal buildings
While people with expired licenses or state ID cards now have until the end of the year to renew them, a visit to a state driver services facility will now require a mask.
The state, like the federal government, has imposed a mask mandate for all visitors to state facilities, regardless of vaccination status.
In order to address the extremely heavy volume of customers at license facilities, Secretary of State Jesse White announced last Friday that we would be expanding the appointment pilot program to most other locations in the Chicago area.
White also intends to make another 1 million Illinois residents eligible to renew their driver’s licenses and ID cards online, by phone or by mail. Letters will be mailed out starting in September to people who qualify.
Eviction/foreclosure moratoriums ended
The federal moratorium on evictions and foreclosures put in place last September to prevent homelessness as a result of COVID-19 hardship expired Saturday.
It appears unlikely at this time that Congress or the White House will act to extend the protections.
McHenry County renters and landlords who need assistance can apply for help through the McHenry County Emergency Utility and Rental Assistance Program. The online application portal can be found at www.McHenryRent.com. Renters who do not have Internet access can call the McHenry County Housing Authority at 815-338-7752, or Consumer Credit Counseling Services at 815-338-5757 for Spanish speakers. Applicants can qualify for up to 18 months of assistance with future bills, or up to 12 months of past-due payments, provided they meet the eligibility and income guidelines. Immigration status is not a factor and is not asked of applicants.
The moratorium is one of several COVID relief programs set to expire in the coming weeks.
Three federal unemployment programs that expanded unemployment eligibility, increased payments, and extended the duration of benefits, are set to expire on Sept. 6, and a freeze on federal student loan payments is scheduled to end on Sept. 30..
Festival season is still in full swing
Summer vacation time may be coming to an end, and our children will be returning to school in the coming weeks, but the summer festival season in McHenry County is still going strong!
We of course have the McHenry County Fair, which started today and took the lead spot in this week’s edition of the Resume McHenry County e-newsletter. But we also have the Blues Brews & BBQ festival in McHenry to look forward to, as well as the Lake in the Hills Summer Sunset Festival, and the Great Outdoors Beer Trail!
Our friends at Visit McHenry County, besides creating the awesome video at the top of this article, have a Festival Guide that they regularly update – you can click here to visit it and learn more about these bashes and others!
And because fun in McHenry County doesn’t end with the summer, be sure to click here to visit their Events calendar to learn about opportunities for great year-round entertainment!
Still lots of time for summer farming fun!
Festivals aren’t the only summer staple still going strong in McHenry County!
McHenry County is the place to go for agritourism – we have some of the best farmers markets, farm stands, and u-pick farms in the state. Whether you want fresh produce, a day of family-friendly fun, or your summer sunflower selfie, you can find it here!
And while we’re in no rush for summer to end, let’s remember that fall means apple picking, apple cider – and of course, in our extremely humble opinion, the best apple cider doughnuts around.
The Visit McHenry County website has everything you need to plan your summer farm fun.
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
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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!
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.
