Naperville Sun – Page 12

Homeless man charged with committing six business burglaries in Naperville

September 17, 2025 at 10:38 a.m.

A homeless man has been charged with burglarizing four Naperville businesses — two of them twice — over a seven-week span, officials said.

What a different world it was in Naperville back in the 1890s. This is a view of downtown looking east from what was Naper Academy, located at Eagle Street and Van Buren Avenue, according to the Naperville Heritage Society, which has this photo in its archives. With clothes hanging in the breeze to dry and barns in so many back yards, Naperville really was a small farm community more than 130 years ago. The idea that it would one day not only be a Chicago suburb but the third largest city in the state would have been an inconceivable thought to the denizens back then. (Naperville Heritage Society)

The Way We Were: Naperville really was a small farm town back in the 1890s

September 12, 2025 at 9:30 a.m.

This photo offers a view of downtown Naperville looking east from what was Naper Academy at Eagle Street and Van Buren Avenue.

It's hard not to look at this photo and ask, why so glum? But as has been noted before, smiling in photographs was not something people did much of back in the day. This was taken on July 4, 1892, and captures a group attending a holiday picnic at Burlington Park in Naperville. A handwritten note that accompanies it indicates that W.G. Knoch, third from left, married Adolphine Boecker, fourth from right, and their son, Winfred "Win" George Knoch, would go on to be appointed a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, a job he held until his death in 1983. Three years before he died, he and his wife donated 13 acres of farmland to the Naperville Park District, the start of what we now know as Knoch Knolls Park. (Naperville Heritage Society)

The Way We Were: Serious faces bely what was likely a fun July 4 picnic in Naperville

September 4, 2025 at 1:56 p.m.

Photo from 1892 captures Naperville July 4 picnic-goers, two of whom have a big connection to Knoch Knolls Park.

Letters to the Editor: Women still fighting for equality, as D203 situation demonstrates; negotiating new deal with IMEA is the right way to go

August 29, 2025 at 7:45 a.m.

Letters to the editor submitted to the Naperville Sun.

Naperville residents receive college/university degrees, named to honor rolls and dean’s lists

August 28, 2025 at 10:33 a.m.

Naperville residents have completed college/university degrees or have been named to their school’s academic achievement lists.

Naperville man charged with armed carjacking, kidnapping, aggravated battery

August 27, 2025 at 7:11 p.m.

A Naperville man accused of armed carjacking and aggravated kidnapping in one case and attempted armed carjacking and aggravated battery in another has been arrested by Naperville police.

Man used hidden cameras to make videos in Naperville business restrooms, police say

August 27, 2025 at 2:01 p.m.

A Bolingbrook man accused of hiding two cameras in restrooms at a Naperville business has been arrested on felony unauthorized video recording charges.

Members of the Naperville Unit Education Association, the District 203 teachers union, rallied earlier this month to draw attention to the fact that they've been working without a contract since June 30. (Michelle Mullins/Naperville Sun)

Letters to the Editor: All District 203 teachers want is ‘fairness and respect’; pay raises for teachers will not bankrupt District 203

August 21, 2025 at 8:08 p.m.

Letters to the editor submitted to the Naperville Sun.

Letters to the Editor: Only smart move is for Naperville to extend IMEA contract; Trump’s tariffs on India amount to bullying a friend

August 15, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.

Letters to the editor submitted to the Naperville Sun.

Woolworth’s was once a shopping staple in downtown Naperville, operating a large location with its own parking lot on Jefferson Avenue. While there's no date included with this photo, which is part of the Naperville Heritage Society collection, it's a good bet it was taken sometime in the mid- to late-1960s based on the models of cars that can be seen. The F.W. Woolworth Co., which was launched in 1879, was known as a "five-and-dime," so-called for the cost of much of its merchandise when it first started out. A chain with stores all over the country, the last Woolworth location would close in 1997. (Naperville Heritage Society)

The Way We Were: If you remember Woolworth’s, you probably remember the store in downtown Naperville

August 15, 2025 at 9:22 a.m.

Woolworth’s was once a shopping staple in downtown Naperville, operating a large location with its own parking lot on Jefferson Avenue.

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