I ran into a gentleman at the bar the other day who is involved in several local historical…read moresocieties and informed me of this farmhouse. With nothing to do on an early Sunday morning and with it being only about a mile and a half from my apartment, I figured why not? I am a huge history nerd after all. Hell, who am I kidding? I am a nerd in general. The small grounds and farmhouse look VERY out of place in it's location. It is nestled amongst the cookie cutter suburban housing that is typical of this area, along with cheesy condos and man made lakes. It would be about like opening up a Nieman Marcus chain in the middle of Englewood. The farmhouse was constructed in the mid 1800's and it was passed around to numerous private owners before being snatched up by the Hoffman Estates Historical Commission in the 1970's. This is a pretty typical scenario for houses like this. Private owners think it is oh so epic to live in a historical property until the harsh reality of the expense in keeping one up makes them eventually give up. I know a couple of people back home who purchased a similar house and the heating bills alone are a small fortune. That said, the architecture and layout is stunning, and somebody obviously parted with a great deal of coin to restore this place. Best I can tell, there is no regularly scheduled tours of the inside. The city does claim they host 4 events at the property per year, but there is no mention as to when said events occur. The historical commission itself holds their monthly meetings at the farmhouse, and also offer up the property for use for weddings and such. Directly behind the farmhouse is the Sunderlage Smokehouse, which actually predates the house itself by a couple of decades and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, being one of the only structures of it's type in Illinois. There is also the ancient Greeve Cemetery located nearby at Abbeywood and Liberty streets, but the gate is locked and it can only be accessed by appointment. If you are in the area and are into historical properties or urban exploration, it is worth it to stop by and check the place out.

Open Road Tolling really works!…read more.. Get the I-Pass, It'll save you money compared to the manual cash lane... Great idea all around, can you imagine how much traffic there'd be without Open Road Tolling??? Great work Illinois Tollway!

Considering the Toll system isn't even supposed to in EXISTENCE in this day and age (Free in '73…read more anyone?) they will not get a 5 star rating. It's continued existence makes me suspect corruption That said, open road tolling has largely improved the flow of traffic. The stretch between Rockford and Elgin I-90 is one of the best stretches of road maintained in this state during the winter. If you can't drive safely on Rockford-to-Elign I-90 during a blizzard, stay home :) I-90 help trucks are great for stranded motorists. On the minus side, daily commuters are brutalized by the daily tolls issued everyday. A real commuter can easily spend over $1000 a year to the tollbooths. And before one says, "well you choose to take the tollway" I know of no other realistic daily routes into Chicago. Never allow for the state to impose additional mileage fees unless you want to experience this.

One of my favorite local musicians now has a residency here sooo had to check this place out!…read moreNeedless to say, I was not alone - it was standing room only! The wonderful guys working the exchange setup a table for us, which is so sweet. Great service, will return just because of that! But alas I needed food - check! and a nice glass of champagne - check! Champagne is only by the bottle, but they have a great variety. The Prosecco by glass was good, but I wanted a little something more. The tequila and whiskey/bourbon selection is vast for a wine bar, I was wildly impressed considering I'm not actually a wine drinker. The flatbreads are huge and the charcuterie board was fantastic! Can't wait to come back

Had an event at the Wine Exchange recently and it well exceeded the expectations. From the planning…read morestages to the close everything was really spectacular. The food/drinks were AMAZING and staff exceptional too! The atmosphere is very cool, and guests were relaxed and enjoyed themselves. Thank you, Wine Exchange, for making our event turnkey and wonderful!

This is the best library I've been to so far in the Chicagoland area, for sure!!! It's huge! It's…read moreliterally two floors. There's soo many rooms that host events, crafts, exhibits, you name it! There's a huge parking out front & then across from street. There's a cafe here as well! It does have elevator. Right now is Dino exhibit and my one year old enjoyed it! There's so much for kids here including babies! Extremely baby friendly! We'll be back!

I love this library! Great for kids and great for studying. The river room is my favorite.read more

Their leaflet says, "Always will be Charming" ! agree its a charming little area 40 + miles west…read morefrom the city. It's a bit of a haul and round about, but I truly like the area and the surrounding burbs. (Aurora, Geneva, Glendale Heights, Addison etc) I would prefer to live in the city, but if that wasn't an option, I would probably pick what I affectionately call, " Sweet Chucks" . It would take a whole lot of bribery and coercing for J to go back. He and his buddies growing up fled to the city every chance they got. Pottawatomie is such a great park. Pretty decent selection of restaurants (Jalapeno Grill) Outdoor events (Pride of the Fox) Parades (Electric Parade, Memorial Day etc) Kane County Flea Market and a charming little DT area. Some of the bars DT are hit and miss, but that's everywhere. I appreciate that this suburb offers a lot to do for all of the seasons, where as so many suburbs are just cookie cutter,after cookie home with not a ton of things going on. This has an older charm mixed with a newer flair of things to do if it's not always convenient to go downtown Chicago.

We started a basement finishing project last winter working with the city (YES, we did pull…read morepermits!!) and they were the BEST! They were easy to work with, always on time, answered lots of questions, and so much more!! In this day and age when people shy away from working with the city they should work With St. Charles,IL!! They were great! We passed all our inspections and they were very helpful!! Thank you so much! AND WE KNOW OUR HOUSE IS UP TO CODE!

Wow! What a nice place to go for a walk and unwind. I am going to go here regularly from now on…read more Nice clean environment, lots of places to sit. Huge fountain, ( I would appreciate it more if there were not kids swimming in it!), but really nice overall.

How many times do I have to fill out the same paperwork for my spouses account? How many new people…read moredo I get to look at me as though I'm being shifty? What have I not done that I need to do to borrow books?

The ladies were so friendly with helping me get my taxes out. I had to fax quite a few things at…read morethe last minute. They're so kind. So glad to have it in my Del Webb neighborhood.