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Illinois · Chicago Metro · Collar County · #221 Most Populous County in the US
McHenry County, Illinois
Chicago's northernmost collar county - from Woodstock's Groundhog Day film fame and Crystal Lake's recreational namesake to Algonquin's Fox River communities, Huntley's rapidly growing southern tier, and the rural landscapes of McHenry County's agricultural and lake district interior. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for McHenry County residents.
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McHenry County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: McHenry County Sheriff’s Office – Woodstock, IL 60098. Confirm current phone via mchenrysheriff.org. The Sheriff’s office publishes a 175th-anniversary history booklet.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. McHenry County government relocated to a new campus on Route 47 in 1972.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-47/120 serve Woodstock, the county seat, about an hour northwest of downtown Chicago.
Notes: Woodstock was originally founded as Centerville in 1844, reflecting its central location within McHenry County; it was renamed Woodstock in 1845, incorporated as a village in 1852, and became a city in 1873. By 1855, its position on the Chicago & Northwestern rail line facilitated transport of grain, dairy, and pickles; by 1922, half the world’s typewriters were manufactured in Woodstock, home to the Oliver and Emerson Typewriter Companies.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: McHenry County Courthouse – current campus on Route 47, Woodstock, IL (government relocated here in 1972 after 115 years of using the historic 1857 courthouse on Woodstock Square).
Notes: The Old McHenry County Courthouse and Sheriff’s House on Woodstock Square have a genuinely dramatic preservation story: when county government vacated the buildings in 1972, they went up for auction to a group intending demolition for a parking lot (which also targeted the historic Woodstock Opera House); local residents Cliff and Bev Ganschow outbid them by just $500, saving the buildings from destruction. Both were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and are now collectively known as the Old Courthouse Center. Woodstock Square is genuinely famous as the primary filming location for the 1993 Bill Murray film “Groundhog Day” – an annual Groundhog Days festival celebrates the connection, and the town’s Classic Cinemas Woodstock Theatre houses the Harold Ramis Auditorium, honoring the film’s late director. The 1889 Woodstock Opera House is one of the oldest continuously operating theaters in the Midwest, where Orson Welles made his American professional directorial debut in 1934, and where Paul Newman, Tom Bosley, and Geraldine Page performed as members of the Woodstock Players in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: McHenry County Veterans Assistance Commission – confirm current contact via mchenrycountyil.gov.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Woodstock Public Library (Woodstock) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Old Courthouse Center (National Register of Historic Places), the Woodstock Opera House, Woodstock Square Historic District, and Groundhog Day filming sites (including “Gobbler’s Knob” and Wayne’s Lanes bowling alley, operating since 1941) are the county’s premier heritage and pop-culture attractions.
Notes: The genuine, beloved “Groundhog Day” filming legacy of Woodstock Square, alongside the dramatic $500 rescue of the historic courthouse from demolition, are among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: McHenry County Assessment Office – confirm current contact via mchenrycountyil.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current dedicated shelter contact via mchenrycountyil.gov; McHenry County Sheriff’s Office for animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: McHenry County Environmental Health – confirm current contact via mchenrycountyil.gov.
NOTES: McHenry County is the sixty-third county completed in Illinois’s Round 3 v2 redo, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine, beloved “Groundhog Day” filming legacy of Woodstock Square is among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About McHenry County
McHenry County is one of the six Chicago-area “collar counties” and the 221st most populous in the United States, covering 604 square miles of northern Illinois along the Wisconsin border.
Woodstock (population ~26,000, the county seat) is best known outside Illinois as the filming location for the 1993 film *Groundhog Day* – the downtown square, clock tower, and surrounding historic district stood in for Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, and Woodstock now celebrates an annual Groundhog Day festival drawing visitors from across the country. The historic Woodstock Opera House (1890) remains an active performing arts venue.
Crystal Lake (population ~40,000) is McHenry County’s largest city – named for the natural lake at its center, it is a regional commercial hub with Metra commuter rail service to Chicago’s Union Station and significant retail along Route 14.
Algonquin (population ~30,000) straddles the McHenry-Kane county line along the Fox River – a community defined by its riverside character and significant residential growth along the Randall Road commercial corridor.
Huntley (population ~27,000) is among Illinois’s fastest-growing communities, anchored by a large Del Webb active adult community (Sun City Huntley) that draws retirees and near-retirees from Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.
Lake in the Hills and Cary anchor the county’s southeastern residential tier with significant bedroom community development.
McHenry County’s interior – away from the population centers – is lake country: hundreds of glacial lakes dot the landscape, including Fox Lake, Channel Lake, and the chain of lakes connecting to the Fox River, providing recreational boating, fishing, and summer cottage communities that have anchored the county’s recreational economy for over a century.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Illinois assesses property at 33.33% of fair market value (one-third), with township assessors determining values for each of McHenry County’s townships. Illinois property taxes are among the highest effective rates in the nation.
The appeal process: File with the McHenry County Board of Review at 667 Ware Road, Room 106, Woodstock, IL 60098, phone 815-334-4290. The appeal window varies by township – typically after assessment notices are mailed in summer/fall. If dissatisfied, appeal to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) in Springfield.
IL estate tax: Illinois imposes an estate tax on estates above $4 million at rates up to 16% – one of the lower thresholds among states with estate taxes. No IL inheritance tax. Assets above $4M must navigate both Illinois and potentially federal estate tax.
OWNWELL CTA: McHenry County Board of Review – timing varies by township. Illinois one of highest effective property tax rates nationally. IL estate tax above $4M at up to 16%. No IL inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Recommended
McHenry County Board of Review - timing varies by township. Illinois one of highest effective property tax rates nationally. IL estate tax above $4M at up to 16%. No IL inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Circuit Court (Probate): The McHenry County Circuit Court – 22nd Judicial Circuit at 2200 N. Seminary Avenue, Woodstock, IL 60098, phone 815-334-4310, handles probate, estate administration, guardianships, and all civil and criminal matters.
Recorder of Deeds: The McHenry County Recorder of Deeds at 667 Ware Road, Woodstock, phone 815-334-4110, maintains real property records. Land records searchable online.
Senior Services
The McHenry County Senior Services Commission and the Senior Resource Center for McHenry County at 121 S. Virginia Street, Crystal Lake, IL 60014, phone 815-356-7457, serve the county’s senior population with in-home services, caregiver support, nutrition programs, and transportation. Northwestern Medicine and Centegra Health System provide healthcare across the county.
Recommended
Assisted living, memory care, and independent living across McHenry County - from Crystal Lake and Woodstock to Algonquin, Huntley, and the lake district communities.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
667 Ware Rd., Woodstock, IL 60098
(815) 334-4242
CIRCUIT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
2200 N. Seminary Ave., Woodstock, IL 60098
(815) 334-4370
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
667 Ware Rd., Woodstock, IL 60098
(815) 334-4242
Genealogy
County-level record sources
McHenry County Circuit Clerk (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The Old McHenry County Courthouse in Woodstock is a notable local historical landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated McHenry County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
McHenry County Circuit Clerk 2200 North Seminary Avenue, Room 353, Woodstock, IL 60098 (815) 334-4190
McHenry County is Illinois’ 6th-most-populous county, one of the “collar counties” surrounding Chicago, with a seat in Woodstock and largest city Crystal Lake. McHenry County is one of only 7 single-county judicial circuits in Illinois.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Illinois has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code and is not a community property state – it follows common law property principles. Illinois probate is governed by the Probate Act of 1975 (755 ILCS 5/). Two main paths:
Small Estate Affidavit – for estates where personal property (excluding real estate) is valued at $150,000 or less (raised from $100,000 effective August 15, 2025), with no unresolved debts or claims and no real estate involved. No formal court probate is required.
Formal Probate (Independent or Supervised Administration) – required when the estate doesn’t qualify for the small estate affidavit. Most Illinois probate cases proceed under Independent Administration, letting the estate representative act without prior court approval for most routine actions.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File the decedent’s original will (if one exists) with the McHenry County Circuit Clerk, where the decedent resided at death.
Petition the court to open the estate and appoint an executor (if there’s a will) or an administrator (if intestate).
The court issues Letters of Office (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) appointing the representative.
Publish notice to creditors and unknown heirs as required by Illinois law.
Under Independent Administration, the representative marshals assets, pays valid debts and taxes, and distributes the remaining estate without needing court approval for each step.
File a final accounting or closing documents to formally close the estate.
What it costs
Illinois imposes its own state estate tax on estates valued above $4 million, with rates up to 16%. There is no Illinois inheritance tax.
Filing fees vary by county – confirm current amounts with the McHenry County Circuit Clerk.
Most uncontested probate proceedings in Illinois can be completed within about a year.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
2200 N. Seminary Ave., Woodstock, IL 60098
(815) 338-2144
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Vital Records, Elections)
667 Ware Rd., Woodstock, IL 60098
(815) 334-4242
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
667 Ware Rd., Woodstock, IL 60098
(815) 334-4242
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
McHenry County Health Dept
(815) 334-4510
IL DCFS — Woodstock
(815) 337-7800
IL Medicaid
(800) 843-6154
Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital
nm.org/huntley
Centegra Health System (multiple McHenry County facilities)
nm.org (acquired by Northwestern Medicine)
Advocate Condell Medical Center (Libertyville — Lake County)
advocatehealth.com/condell
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: McHenry County Health Department – confirm current contact via mchenrycountyil.gov.
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