July 22, 2020
Dear Village Resident,
The first “Restore Illinois” plan divided the state into four regions, with progression through five stages of reopening. Under a new mitigation plan , Illinois is now separated into 11 smaller regions. The 11 regions are the existing emergency medical health regions in the state, which puts Spring Grove and McHenry County in with Lake County.

The new mitigation plan will enable the state to act in a more decisive, targeted way in addressing COVID-19 hot-spots without moving entire regions back to an earlier phase. All of Illinois is currently in Phase 4 of the original “Restore Illinois” plan, and the modified plan does not require any region to make any immediate changes.

The Governor’s new plan lists several factors that could move a region back to an earlier phase, namely if a region has a sustained increase in its seven-day rolling average positive test rate, coupled with either an increase in hospital admissions for COVID-19-like illnesses, or a specific reduction in hospital capacity.

A region could also be bumped back if it sees three consecutive days of its testing positivity case rate of 8% or more. It is important to note that although local governments are allowed to create their own locally-tailored reopening plans, these plans cannot be less restrictive than the State’s plan.

Stay well,
Mark Eisenberg
Spring Grove Village President
Winn Road Railroad Crossing
The Village is pleased to report the Winn Road railroad crossing is scheduled to be replaced in September. The exact date has not been determined and it is estimated that it will take five days to complete. Detour signs will be installed a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the work being started. This project is possible through the collaboration of the Wisconsin Southern Railroad, Village of Spring Grove, IDOT and McHenry County Department of Transportation.
2020 Green Guide
The 2020 Green Guide McHenry County Recycling Directory is available here ! Highlights for this edition include an article on a variety of apps you can use to donate or resell your items, recycling contamination, and more! Find out where you can recycle styrofoam, batteries, motor oil, light bulbs, paint and more. Pick up your copy of the green guide at the Municipal Centre or save the link for future use.
WLAC Fall Schedule
WLAC is ready for enrollment in all programs! They are following strict guidelines to keep our community happy and healthy. The Fall schedule will begin in August with classes in Tumbling, Gymnastics, Ninjas and Stealth. They also have spots open for CHEER! Contact them with questions at wlacfrontdesk@gmail.com or call 815-675-3005. Sorry, no drop-ins at this time.
Lead Safe Homes Program
The McHenry County Department of Planning and Development just launched a grant program for residential properties in McHenry County that aims to remediate lead-based paint hazards in pre-1978 residential homes. Program information and applications are available here .
Photo of the Week
Stargazer Dave Noskowica took this image of Comet Neowise over Spring Grove last Friday, July 17. It can still be viewed as it streaks across the evening sky for the rest of July! Dave says It’s best about an hour after dusk in the northeast sky. Look between the horizon and the Big Dipper. It’s just barley visible to the naked eye; binoculars work best. This picture was taken with a 30-second exposure to help make the comet more visible. Once it disappears from view, the comet will not be visible in Earth's skies for another 6,800 years, according to NASA. If you have a photo of Spring Grove you would like to share, email it here .
"It's Not Too Much to Mask" McHenry County
The It's Not Too Much To Mask campaign encourages and promotes mask wearing. To keep our county and state “open” and our economy moving forward, we must continue to do what we’ve been doing—physical distancing, frequently washing hands and wearing face coverings—so we don’t go backward. Wearing a mask (the proper way) is one of the best things we can do to prevent the spread of the virus. Show off your mask using hashtags #MaskOnMcHenryCounty and #ResumeMcHenryCounty and post to your social media channels!
Savage Race at Richardson Adventure Farm
Savage Race is about teamwork, friendship, and community. It’s also about smiling and having a lot of fun. Make the most out of your Savage experience by completing it with your friends and family. Savage Race takes place this Saturday, July 25. Visit savagerace.com to view more information and to register for the race.
COVID-19
We're glad to be in Phase 4 of Restore Illinois, but don't want to move backwards! Each of us needs to continue to take precautions to keep COVID-19 from spreading, so please:
  • stay at home if you don't feel well
  • wash hands frequently
  • wear face coverings that cover your nose and mouth in public places
  • social distance at least 6 feet from others.

View current stats on McHenry Count y COVID-19 cases. If you have health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 800-889-3931 or email questions here . The Village Municipal Centre is open with normal hours of 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. You are encouraged to conduct as much business as possible online . You can also drop off materials in the vestibule.
Blast from the Past
Spring Grove Baseball Team circa mid-late 1930s

Baseball was a popular game as far back as the Civil War although it looked a lot different than it does today. Spring Grove had baseball games probably starting in the late 1880s. In 1901, the local paper reported: "Some time ago the juveniles of this village thought that they could give their parents some pointers on base ball playing. So the venerable wended their way to the base ball grounds and proceeded to show the kids that they were much mistaken. Among the older boys were: Chas. Andrews, Jas. Westlake, George Gould, Andrew Neish, Mark Hoffman, Henry Jackson, Wm. Watts and Selim Pierce. Strange to say the juveniles are of the same opinion still but maybe they didn't have some fun."

Speaking of Wm. Watts, who was one of the "older boys", he would have been 47 in 1901. His father, also named William, and mother, Sarah came to this area in the 1850s and lived in a log cabin. He had a son named Ben, who's name you can see on the canvas canopy of the bar in the photo that is now The Grove Pub & Grill located at 2008 Main Street . Ben owned the bar for a while, probably from the mid 1930s - early 40s.

Tom Madden, who was born in 1903, lamented in his later years that when the Wieland Dairy in town started sending milk in tank cars to Chicago (probably in the mid 1920s), instead of bottling it here, Spring Grove started going downhill. "They took all the help to Chicago. We had a good baseball team and all but about 2 or 3 guys went to Chicago, as they worked for Wieland. I started playing when I was 14 years old with the town team. The others were all 17 - 20 years old. We played Johnsburg, McHenry, Elgin, Dundee, Greenwood, Richmond, Genoa City, etc."

Billy Klaus, who was born in Spring Grove in 1928, and his brother Bobby Klaus, went on to play major-league baseball. Billy played for the Red Sox in the summer of 1955 and finished second in the Rookie of the Year balloting!

The names of the players above are lost to history but they could be some of the "fellas" Tom Madden played with: Art & Harvey Huff, Clyde Bell, Vivian Esh, Vic Siegler, George Freund, Guy Winn, Ford Jackson, Pipe Huff, Leo Rauen and some others.
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