The first time was the worst time. There I was, a young guy with a new driver's license, all excited about the weekend. I'd just registered for the Mid-American Canoe Race and found a local place that would rent me and my friend a boat. And that's w...

The Mid-American Canoe Race used to be a 17-mile jaunt on the Fox River, from South Elgin to Aurora. That was the route for more than 30 years. But work on the Main Street Bridge, and the portage stairs near the St. Charles Municipal Center that con...

The Chain O’ Lakes has reopened for boating after being closed for 19 days due to flooding, state officials said. With water levels on the Chain dipping below flood stage, the Fox Waterway Agency and Illinois Department of Natural Resources lifted b...

Last week’s flood-producing storm may delay the opening of Harold Hall Quarry Beach. The heavy rainfall washed sand in the basin around, leading to an uneven surface and varying depths, said Allison Niemela, executive director of the Batavia Park Di...

Gov. Pat Quinn’s decision to declare McHenry County a disaster area due to the flooding meant the state and county could start assessing the damage floodwater, a process that began Monday. At the same time, Algonquin Police Chief Russell Laine remin...

Storm-battered residents are casting a weary eye over the Fox River and Chain O’ Lakes in Lake County, which will continue to rise until they crest Monday, while the Des Plaines River reached its peak in that county early Friday. The Fox River near ...

People along Riverside Drive in South Elgin are being asked to evacuate because of the storm but so far that evacuation is not mandatory. According to the South Elgin Police Department, drivers are being asked to stay off Woodrow Avenue, Wilson Way...

It was during an autumn largemouth bass foray when I saw an angler break the law — the Illinois law, that is. I’d just caught my fourth bass of the session using a pre-rigged Carolina plastic worm. The other fella was using one of the now famous umb...

Amid the rain that fell during a heavy thunderstorm Wednesday, the stress was clear on the face of people filling sandbags at Fox Lake's street department. “It's going to be pretty bad,” Police Chief Mike Behan said as he wrapped a sandbag with wir...

Showers and thunderstorms — and possibly hail — are expected to continue overnight, with some areas seeing as many as 4 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. “We're already seeing the leading edge move in,” meteorologist Ed Fene...