What’s happening in McHenry County? You’ll want to find out!

MCC breaks ground on Foglia Center

McHenry County College celebrated Manufacturing Month in Illinois with a bang as officials broke ground last Wednesday on the Foglia Center for Advanced Technology and Innovation!

When completed, the 41,000-square-foot center will provide state-of-the art facilities to greatly expand MCC’s workforce training programs. Its offerings – HVAC, welding, machining, and engineering technology, just to name a few – are based on local economic development plans and input from area employers to meet their needs and help ensure that program graduates can find good-paying local jobs.

It also was one of the first projects awarded a grant through the Advance McHenry County program – the County Board earlier this year approved a $1.69 million award, which will cover at least half of the Foglia Center’s equipment costs.

Congratulations to MCC – we can’t wait to see this project take off!

Early voting expands in McHenry County

Ten additional early voting locations have opened across McHenry County for the Nov. 8 general election.

People registered to vote in McHenry County now have 11 sites to cast their ballots early, regardless of where in the county they live. A complete list of locations, and their dates and hours of operation, can be found by clicking here.

Click here to download an application if you wish to vote by mail; the deadline to request a ballot is Thursday, Nov. 3. Vote-by-mail ballots can be mailed in, delivered in person, or dropped off at any time at the secure ballot drop box in front of the County Administration Building. Four early voting locations have indoor drop boxes that are accessible during voting hours.

State law now gives voters the right to enroll in a permanent vote-by-mail program, meaning they can automatically receive mail-in ballots for elections until they choose not to, or become ineligible to vote in McHenry County. You can click here to sign up.

Neighbors in Need event a success

County government, not-for-profit agencies and faith groups came together last Friday to bring attention to the homeless in McHenry County and the resources available to them.

Nineteen area agencies participated in the Oct. 21 event at Willow Creek Church in Crystal Lake; the event coincided with the church’s weekly Community Resource Days offering the homeless food, medical help, supplies and other essentials.

About 200 people attended the event, 47 of whom were people experiencing homelessness who stopped by to receive assistance. Thank you to Willow Creek, the McHenry County Continuum of Care to End Homelessness, the McHenry County Community Development Department, and participating social service agencies, for putting this together.

Annual MCC Manufacturing Breakfast educates and motivates

The timing of the 12th annual McHenry County College Manufacturing Breakfast couldn’t have been more serendipitous; after all, later that morning, the college broke ground on the Fogila Center!

The expert panelists the college hosted dispelled so many notions about manufacturing – it’s clean, high tech, and a great alternative and lucrative career path for men and women! It encourages a strong culture of caring, as well as encourages curiosity in its employees.

Thank you to the panelists – Antunes Human Resources VP Carlos Corcelles, Jessup Manufacturing President Robert Jessup, and Joule Technologies President Don Wallin – for sharing that manufacturing is alive and well in McHenry County!

All three are members of the Manufacturing Pathways Consortium – click here to learn more about the organization and its mission to advance manufacturing and workforce development in McHenry County.

Window closing to take the McHenry County communications survey

Time is running out to weigh in on how McHenry County Government communicates with you.

How do you get your county news? You’re reading about some in this e-newsletter, for instance. Do you read local newspapers? Listen to local radio? Follow McHenry County on social media?

Do you have ideas on how County government can better communicate with you?

Click here or scan the QR code to be directed to a quick 5-minute survey. And click here to subscribe to county media channels to make sure you don’t miss important news and updates.

Enjoy Hikes and Hops while the weather’s still nice

Earlier this year, our good friends at Naturally McHenry County partnered with nine local breweries to create Hikes and Hops, which pairs them with nine beautiful walking paths.

Enjoy nature, then enjoy a locally brewed beer – what’s not to like, right?

While Hikes and Hops is an all-season event, it won’t be long before that nature walk you’ve been putting off will require a heavy jacket, gloves and snow boots. So if you’re looking to enjoy a walk and a pint during temperate weather, time’s running out!

Click here to check out the Hikes and Hops paths and participating breweries, and get walking!