Welcome to Tri-Cities Central, a twice-weekly newsletter highlighting local happenings in Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles and surrounding communities.
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Local election resources
Illinois’ March 17 primary is coming up fast — and early voting is already underway.
This election will decide party nominees for major national and statewide offices (including governor and U.S. Senate), plus a long list of state legislative and local races.
The Chicago Tribune assembled a useful voter guide with all the key info, including Kane County resources for voter registration, early voting locations, sample ballots, and vote-by-mail applications and drop box locations.
Important change in 2026: Thanks to a new USPS policy, election officials are urging Illinois residents to return their mail-in ballots as early as possible to avoid postmark date issues.
In previous elections, the mail would be postmarked on the day you dropped it in the mailbox. But now, it will be postmarked on the day it's processed at the post office, which sometimes can be days later.
Kane County Connects issued the following guidance:
Recent changes by the U.S. Postal Service mean postmarks now reflect the date mail is processed, not the date it’s dropped off. To avoid any issues, voters are encouraged to return their completed vote by mail ballot as early as possible. For added assurance, take your ballot inside your local post office and ask for a hand-stamped postmark showing the date it was accepted.
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☑️ Road diet updates: Batavia officials are seeking IDOT approval for new “road diet” changes that would affect lanes, parking, and pedestrian crossings on Route 31 downtown — all aimed at slowing traffic and improving safety.
☑️ Daycare charges: St. Charles police charged a Sycamore daycare teacher after investigators said she gave chewable laxatives to three children ages 2 and under at a West Main Street facility in St. Charles.
☑️ Liquor store rejuvenation: Batavia officials are reviewing property improvements for 101 S. Batavia Avenue, a downtown building that was recently purchased with plans to become a dry-cleaning business after sitting vacant for several years.
☑️ STC seniors: St. Charles has reactivated its Senior Services Commission — inactive since 2007 — and is now accepting applications for nine volunteer members to help advise and strengthen local support for older residents.
☑️ New public officials: After months of back-and-forth, the Kane County Board voted to appoint interim members to fill the long-vacant District 2 and District 9 seats ahead of the March 17 primary election.
☑️ Hit & run investigation: Batavia police are asking for the public’s help identifying a silver Chevrolet Tahoe involved in a hit-and-run crash on northbound Kirk Road near Pine Street late last week.