McHenry County Blog

An email from Marengo’s Kristin Ottolino to her Citizens Alert Social Media Network:

To all concerned McHenry County citizens,

There have been two burglaries in Marengo last week. As the weather warms up, I’m sure we can expect them to be more frequent. Just below is the original email to our network from the Chief. Also, the Chief reminds us to secure our houses and businesses and as an added note, he reminds us about the check scam being perpetrated on our citizens. Please read details below.

Stay safe, stay vigilant,
Kristin Ottolino
rio.2001@hotmail.com
(815)568-1190

CC: Chief Joseph Hallman – Marengo Police Department
BCC: All members of: Citizens Alert Social Media Network
If you know of anyone that would like to be added to this list, please have them email me.
At any time, if you would like to be removed from this list, send me an email and I will remove you.

From: jhallman@cityofmarengo.com

Subject: Burglaries

Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:56:36 -0500

The home burglary took place on Sunset Drive in Marengo.

All,

We experienced two burglaries between April 18th and April 21st. The information is as follows:

Between April 18th – 21st Residence in the 600 block of Sunset Drive.

Entry was gained through an unlocked sliding glass door.

Various items were removed that were small and transportable.

April 20th during the early morning hours, person(s) entered the Tanika Food Mart (219 West Grant Highway) and removed liquor.

Intruders were gone upon police arrival.

Please remember to secure your house and business.

Also, we have seen an uptick in scams related to “checks” being mailed to individuals’ residences.

If you are not expecting some type of check, it is most likely a scam where the con artists want you to deposit the “check” into your account and send them some money (lesser amount) of cash (via wire).

The “checks” are not worth the paper they are printed upon.

It is difficult for law enforcement to make arrests on these types of scams since they usually originate in a different country.

If it sounds too good to be true…

Joseph M. Hallman
Marengo Chief of Police

Marengo High School

The Marengo High School auditorium is the location of a candidates’ night being sponsored by the Marengo Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday night, March 19th.

Those running for Alderman will present their cases for election or re-election.

It will atart at 6:30.

Kristin Ottolino of the Citizens Alert Social Media Network shares the following warning from the Marengo Police:

To All Concerned McHenry County Citizens,

The Marengo Chief of Police sent me this email this morning regarding a phone scam that recently targeted an elderly Marengo citizen. The email is, as always, attached just below.

Please do not fall prey to this type of scam. Remember …if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Stay safe, stay vigilant,
Kristin Ottolino

The Marengo Police Department recently took a report for an attempted fraudulent practice scam targeting an elderly Marengo resident.

This scam started with an unknown male subject calling the senior stating they had won several thousand dollars.

However, the resident first needed to obtain a “Green Dot” financial product for $250 as part of the transaction fee to obtain the winnings.

The subject stated they would be sending someone over, including the local police, to pick up the Green Dot product and drop off the prize money.

The Marengo Police Department was notified of the potential scam and investigated the incident.

The phone number originated from a Jamaican based company offering internet and VOIP services.

When police spoke with the caller, the individual stated they were with the Better Business Bureau.

Further discussion indicated the male caller had a foreign accent and was not familiar with the local geography even after stating he was located in Marengo.

This incident was an obvious scam targeting the elderly population.

Residents should be aware of these types of scams and should immediately contact their local law enforcement agency for follow up

The 500 block of Park in Marengo.

From Kristin Ottolino of the Citizens Alert Social Media Network:

“March 4th around 2:30 a.m. a female report that she was cleaning out her relative’s residence (500 block of Park Drive), which is in foreclosure when she witnessed a male park a “Penske” box truck in front of their residence and begin to approach the house.

“The driver made a phone call and then abruptly left in the truck.

“The reporting female was concerned that the house was being targeted for theft (possibly copper).

“The truck description is as follows: Penske box truck. Yellow in color bearing an Illinois registration of 1298888 – H.

“There is an ongoing investigation into this matter and anyone with information is encouraged to report similar circumstances to the Marengo Police Department.”

Joseph M. Hallman
Marengo Chief of Police

Marengo’s Citizen Alert Social Media leader Kristin Ottolino sends the following:

I received this (message below) from the Marengo Chief of Police today and told him I would forward this information to you. Again, please keep all valuables locked in the glove compartment of your car, or bring them in the house with you to avoid this from happening to you.

Stay safe, stay vigilant,

Kristin Ottolino

And from Marengo’s Police Chief comes the following:

Although this incident did not occur in your respective neighborhoods, please be aware of the following:

A vehicle window was smashed and a GPS unit was taken from the car sometime between Friday evening (25th) and Sunday morning (27th). The vehicle was parked in the City Lot near Route 23.

Please remember to remove any such items from your vehicles when parking them in order to remove the incentive from a would-be thief.

Joseph M. Hallman
Marengo Chief of Police

= = = = = =
If you would like to be included on the list email rio.2001@hotmail.com.

A message from Marengo’s Cristin Ottolino for her Citizens Alert Social Media Network:

To All Concerned McHenry County Citizens,

This morning I received a request from a member of our Citizen’s Alert network for information regarding the battery of an elderly man in Marengo. I inquired with the chief of Marengo as to what it what information he might be able to share regarding this incident. Chief Hallman graciously wrote back to our network with the following:

All,

Although not necessarily related to your particular neighborhood watch program, I am providing this information in an effort to provide some answers. I must remind everyone that this is an ongoing, active investigation and more information will be provided as it is developed.

Joseph M. Hallman, Chief of Police, Marengo
142 East Prairie Street, Marengo, IL 60152
Ofc: 815-568-7231 Fax: 815-568-5545
hallman@cityofmarengo.com

MARENGO POLICE DEPARTMENT NEWS RELEASE

On January 1st, 2013 at approximately 7:00 p.m. the Marengo Police Department responded to a possible battery which had recently occurred.

The alleged incident was precipitated by loud music emanating from a parked vehicle in the 100 Block of North Ford Street in Marengo.

North Front Street in Marengo.

The victim (67 year old white male) went to have the music turned down when the alleged incident took place.

The victim returned to his residence whereby MPD was summoned as well as the Marengo Rescue / Fire Department.

The victim was assessed, treated and transported to Centgra Hospital in Woodstock for further treatment.

During the subsequent investigation into the original call for service, a person of interest was developed and interviewed related to the vehicle in question.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information regarding this matter is encouraged to contact the Marengo Police Department at 815-568-7231 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-762-7867.

Don Lockhart

Marengo is one of two cities in McHenry County that have the aldermanic form of municipal government.

The terms that are expiring follow:Terms that are expiring are:

• Mayor – Donald B. Lockhart
• Clerk – Constance J. Boxleitner
• Ward 1 – Steven DiMaria
• Ward 2 – Corey Brackmann
• Ward 3 – Nicole DeBoer
• Ward 4 – Michael Secor

Here are the people who filed for those offices so far:

• Mayor – Donald B. Lockhart
• Clerk – Constance J. Boxleitner
• Ward 1 – Steven Mortensen
• Ward 2 – Chester Mazurkiewicz and Matt Keenum

Brackmann informs me he intends to run for re-election.

Filing is open until the close of business on December 26th.

Those thinking about running need to file a Statement of Economic Interest with the County Clerk and attach its receipt with a staple to one’s petitions and Statement of Candidacy. And, be sure to number the pages.

While I was waiting for the Marengo Settlers Days Parade I spotted the cap you see below:

This hat with a cross was waiting for the 2012 Marengo Settlers Days Parade.

From Marengo resident Kristin Ottolino:

Please help our local business owner find this man who burglarized burglarized the Full Moon Saloon located at 22418 W. Grant Highway (Route 20) in Marengo. The burglary took place at 2:04 a.m. Tuesday, November 6th.

The Full Moon Saloon closed at 1:00 a.m. on the night of November 6th, 2012. At 2:04 a.m., the surveillance cameras detected this man breaking in through a window using a tire iron, and just a few minutes later, exiting the building.

In just a matter of minutes, he managed to find the 85 lb safe, get back to the window, pull out a barstool to set down the safe, climbed out the window, then reached back in to grab the safe before leaving.

The speed at which this burglary occurred seems to imply he had found what he was looking for with the greatest of ease. This information reveals that he knew exactly what to look for and how to find it.

The vehicle used in this burglary appeared to be a small truck.

Stolen from the lounge was approximately $6,000 in cash other valuables.

The owner of the Full Moon gave me full permission to write to our network with this information and is asking for your help.

This owner believes this burglary was not an inside job, but rather “someone close to those who know the bar.”
She provided the photographs above from her surveillance cameras, and I assured her that our network of over 200 citizens in the Marengo area would look closely to see if this “not so masked” man could be identified.

This thug is approximately 5′ 8″ tall.

He wasn’t smart enough to cover his face well with his mask, so he could easily be identified if you know him.

Please note the third photograph down, you can clearly see a crook in this man’s nose.

Keep in mind, infrared camera photographs have a tendency to appear brighter in color, less shadows appear on the face than normal. Further research shows that the infrared makes the face younger in appearance than it actually may be.

Also, according to the detective working this case, another bar in Hebron was burglarized this week on December 12th.

The burglar wore the same mask, same coat, tire iron and basically identical face. Please share this photo with as many people as possible and perhaps we can get this burglar identified and get him stopped.

If anyone has any information regarding this individual or about the incident, please call the McHenry County CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 800-762-7867, or the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office at 815-338-2144, or email: tipline@co.mchenry.il.us. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest. CrimeStoppers does not use caller ID.

Mayor Don Lockhart is up for re-election.

With some contests showing up in Crystal Lake for City Council, I called Marengo to find out about the requirements for getting on the ballot.

For Mayor and Clerk its a minimum of 57 signatures and a maximum of 107, although I was advised that if one were running for Clerk a bit fewer than the 107 might be advisable because fewer people voted for Clerk last time around than for Mayor.

For the Alderman slots, however, you would not believe how few signatures are needed to get on the ballot.

Less than the ten for Precinct Committeeman.

There are four wards and the largest number of signatures required is 6. The ranges can be seen below:

• Ward 1: 5-55
• Ward 2: 6-56
• Ward 3 (on two-year and one four-year term): 4-54
• Ward 5: 5-55

So, if you hankering to get on the ballot in Marengo, no problem.

You can see the ward map here or below:

Marengo 2013 Ward Map.  C lick to enlarge.

Filing for municipal, park board, rescue squad, fire protection and other local tax districts is from December 17th-26th.