Going Green? Here's an A to Z List of What CAN Be Recycled in Kane County

Here are all the things you can recycle, where you can go to do it and links for additional information, all courtesy of Kane County.

Want to know what can and can't be recycled in Kane County? Then look no further than the countyofkane.org website. The following is your A to Z list, with links to additional information. American Flags Ace Hardware, 901 W. Wilson, Batavia, 630-879-1330, and the VFW at 645 S. River (Route 25), Batavia, 630-879-9630 have drop-boxes for old flags. Ammunition and Gunpowder Riverside Sports, 26 N. Bennett (Route 25), Geneva, 630-232-7047. Please call for hours. Appliances See the Electronics page for small appliances. For large household appliances/white goods like washing machines, dryers, dishwashers and for any Freon-containing appliances like refrigerators, and air-conditioners, call your waste hauler. Batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, 9V) Please…

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Kane Property Tax Bills Going Up 2.29% on Average; 1st Installment Due June 3

If you got an ouch for your federal income tax return this year, you've got a little more than a month to get ready for the next sting: your Kane County property tax bill.

If taxpayers revolted in the April 9 municipal elections, you wouldn't have noticed. There were a number of exceptions, but for the most part, incumbents won the day in school board, mayoral, park board and library board races. So if you didn't vote in those races, no griping is allowed on your tax bill. (OK, we'll allow some griping, since it's the usual result of those bills that arrive in the mail on or before May 1.) Kane County Treasurer David J. Rickert has sent out the annual press release announcing the "when" and some of the "what" of your upcoming bill. The first installment will be due June 3, and the second installment Sept. 3, 2013. For those keeping track, the net value of taxable real estate in Kane County is a little more …

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State of Disaster Declaration Speeds Flood Recovery for Kane County

More than 31,000 sandbags are distributed to citizen and communities from the north county line to Batavia.

Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen has signed off on a local disaster declaration—the first step in the process to get Kane County declared a federal disaster area. According to a Kane County press release, the sign-off opens up potential federal assistance to the citizens and municipalities affected by the flood. If federal assistance does become available for Kane County, residents federal assistance centers will be set up to aid those eligible for the assistance, Lauzen said. County officials continue to monitor the damage caused by flooding that has affected a large portion of Kane County. More than 4 inches of rain fell in less than a 24-hour period, causing the Fox River to rise 2 1/2 feet above flood stage. Much of the rain …

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Kane County Seniors Miss Out on Tax Benefit This Year

Due to lower assessed values of homes, some seniors will not get a tax break under the senior citizen assessment freeze exemption this year.

Some Kane County senior citizens are seeing their tax bills go up this year due to a decrease in property assessments, according a Daily Herald article.  As part of senior citizen assessment freeze exemption, which is meant to freeze the assessed value of a parcel once the owner turns 65 years old and help provide tax savings to the senior citizen, is that if house values decrease, the senior will not get a tax reduction in the first year after the lower assessment, according to the Daily Herald. Read more about the senior citizen assessment freeze exemption in the Daily Herald. 

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Strike Seems Likely for Judicial Center Security Guards

A strike was authorized weeks ago, and the two sides aren't much closer to a settlement, the Kane County Chronicle reports.

A strike was averted in early February, but it looks more and more like the security guards at the Kane County Judicial Center will go to the picket line, the Kane County Chronicle reports. The court security officers presented the county last with a five-day notice to strike back in the early days of February. But the negotiators met and felt they were making enough progress to postpone a walkout, according to an article in the Daily Herald. The security personnel have been working without a contract since 2008. Last week, the Policemen’s Benevolent Labor Committee rejected the "last, best" offer of Kane County put forward by Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez and the negotiating team. There are 32 security officers in the union, and it is …

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UPDATE: Could We See a Referendum to Eliminate Township Government?

Kane County officials are wondering about the potential impacts of a state bill that would allow the elimination of township government by local referendum.

A pending state bill that would give residents a chance to vote on the elimination of township government has ignited a number of questions from Kane County officials, The Beacon-News reports. According to the legislation, township functions—from road maintenance to senior services—would be shifted to county governments. Voters would have to give their thumbs up via referendum, and votes would be taken by individual service area rather than statewide. Kane County Supervisor of Assessments Mark Armstrong presented a report on the legislation Friday to the Kane County Legislative Committee. Many have argued that township government is an additional layer of taxation which duplicates some of the services provided by counties and …

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McHenry, Kane County Races Results

It's election night. Stay up to date on the latest results on Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Patch.

Like" Algonquin-LITH Patch on Facebook | Get election night "breaking news alerts" with our newsletter Above, you will find the unofficial election results from Kane County, which are pulled from the results page on the Kane County Clerk's election website.The Kane County results do not factor in the city of Aurora results, which are calculated separated and can be found here. We have included local races below in McHenry County as well as other races of interest. The election results are preliminary.  For results from congressional, state house and state senate races, visit here. Check back to algonquin.patch.com throughout the night for our latest in election coverage.  The results in this article are county-specific. Just because a …

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Rabies Registration for Unaltered Pets Go Up Dec. 1

The cost of the annual rabies registration for unaltered pets will increase to $25, up from $10. The cost of a three-year registration for unaltered pets will increase to $62.50, up from $25.

Kane County Hosts Free 'Recycling Extravaganza' Nov. 10

This one is pretty spectacular, because it includes everything from electronics to scrap metal, textiles, wheelchairs, document shredding, latex paint and polystyrene foam. It's all part of America Recycles Day.

Kane County is hosting a free residential recycling and document shredding event from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, in celebration of America Recycles Day, at 540 S. Randall Road in St. Charles. The county will be collecting for reuse or recycling: Confidential Document Destruction: We will have a free document shredding service truck on site for residential use (no businesses please). Bring up to five boxes of sensitive documents containing confidential information. Please do not bring periodicals, or other paper that does not need to be shredded and can go in your household recycling bin. All paper collected will be shredded on site and then taken for recycling. Latex Paint: Latex paint is non-toxic but difficult to dispose of (you…

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Democrat Coroner Candidate Endorses GOP's Lauzen for Kane County Board Chair

Under the category of "something you don't see every day," Democratic coroner candidate Tao Martinez supports Republican Chris Lauzen for Kane County Board chairman.

Under the news category of "man bites dog," the Democratic candidate for Kane County coroner on Monday sent a letter announcing his endorsement of the GOP's Chris Lauzen for County Board chairman. According to the letter to the editor submitted by Tao Martinez to local media, Martinez had announced his public support and endorsement of Lauzen on Oct. 18 during the Western Township Republican organization meeting in Blackberry Township. "I have been saying from the beginning of the campaign that there is not a Republican way, or Democrat way, to run the coroner's office. Just the professional way," Martinez' letter says. "I see Sen. Lauzen as a man with a great background to be chairman of the County Board. He has 20 years of legislative …

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