McHenry County College

WAIT (850 kHz) was an AM radio station licensed to Crystal Lake, Illinois, and serving the Chicago metropolitan area. It was licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as a Class D station and broadcast only during daytime hours, signing off at sunset to protect KOA in Denver, the clear-channel station on 850 kHz. The station had a highly directional pattern, with nulls to the northeast and southwest, to protect WGVS in Muskegon, Michigan, and KFUO in Clayton, Missouri. Because of its northwest suburban location and directional pattern, WAIT could be heard in Rockford, Illinois, and Janesville, Wisconsin, in addition to the Chicago media market.

WZSR (105.5 FM, "Star 105.5") is a radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format. Licensed to Woodstock, Illinois, United States, it serves Chicago's northwest suburbs. The station is owned by Connoisseur Media. WZSR's studios are located behind McHenry County College in Crystal Lake.

Ridgefield is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. Ridgefield is 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Crystal Lake. It was named a CDP before the 2020 census, at which time it had a population of 210.Ridgefield hosts a small number of antique shops in a small crossroads business district. Ridgefield also has a large grain storage facility and a retail hardware store. Metra commuter trains pass through Ridgefield on their way to Chicago from Woodstock, Illinois without stopping, though there are currently shelved plans to build a station here.

WNVR (1030 kHz, "Polskie Radio Chicago") is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Vernon Hills, Illinois, and serving the Chicago metropolitan area. WNVR is one of eight stations owned by Polnet Communications. It simulcasts a Polish language radio format with sister station WRDZ (1300 AM). The studios and offices are located at 3656 W. Belmont Ave. in Chicago. By day, WNVR is powered at 10,000 watts. Because 1030 AM is a clear channel frequency reserved for Class A station WBZ in Boston, WNVR must avoid interference. During critical hours, the power is reduced to 3,200 watts and at night it runs only 120 watts. It uses a directional antenna with a four-tower array. The transmitter site is off Illinois Route 176, west of Crystal Lake, Illinois. Programming is also heard on 70-watt FM translator W296DA at 107.1 MHz in Vernon Hills.

The Village of Lakewood is a village in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. It was incorporated as a village on July 10, 1933. Per the 2020 census, the population was 4,283. Although commonly referred to as Lakewood, the town's proper name is preceded by 'The Village of'.

The George Stickney House or simply Stickney House or Stickney Mansion is located in rural McHenry County, Illinois, in the small village of Bull Valley. The Stickney House is currently the Bull Valley Police Headquarters since 1985. The structure has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979. The house is widely considered bizarre due to its design, which was based, in part, on George and Sylvia Stickney's belief in Spiritualism. This house continues to be the subject of several ghostlore stories.

Faith Lutheran High School, commonly referred to as Faith or FLHS, was a private high school located in Crystal Lake, Illinois. It was affiliated with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and served students of McHenry County, Illinois. The school opened in 2004 and closed in 2019. The school's colors were black and red and its mascot was the Saints.

Crystal Lake is a city in McHenry County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Named after a lake 1.6 miles (2.6 km) southwest of the city's downtown, Crystal Lake is 45 miles northwest of Chicago. The population is 40,269 as of the 2020 Census, a 1.2% decrease from 2010. Crystal Lake is the largest city in McHenry County, part of the Chicago metropolitan area.

Crystal Lake Central High School, often referred to as "Central" or "CLC," is the oldest of the three high schools in Crystal Lake, Illinois, United States.

Dorr Township is located in McHenry County, Illinois. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,752 and it contained 8,929 housing units. Dorr Township changed its name from Centre Township on December 28, 1850.

Crystal Lake South High School, often referred to as "South" or "CLS," is one of three high schools in Crystal Lake, Illinois, and currently has a body of roughly 1916 students. As Crystal Lake's second oldest school, it was constructed from 1976 to 1978 and opened in September 1978 after Crystal Lake Community High School, now Crystal Lake Central High School, split into two schools due to the pressures of the population growth in the communities it served, Crystal Lake, a part of Lake in the Hills and a small portion of Algonquin. South graduated its first class in 1979 - this class consisted of approximately 250 seniors who were transferred from Crystal Lake Central High School. South graduated its first class who attended all four years in 1982. After the community's school split, the South Gators and Central Tigers became rivals in the Fox Valley Conference. Though recently, focus of rivalry has primarily shifted to the Cary-Grove High School Trojans and the Prairie Ridge Wolves due to vastly increased competition in football games between the two schools. However, an underlying tone of competition still vibrates between the two Crystal Lake schools. The city of Crystal Lake has grown rapidly since South first opened it doors. The school reached its structural capacity in 2002. A new addition opened for the 2003-2004 school year, with several dozen new classrooms. However, due to the phenomenal growth of the city, the addition was already insufficient by the 2005-2006 school year (the graduating class of 2004 consisted of 366 students, class of 2006 had 435 students, and the class of 2009 contained approximately 540 students). The final phase of the 2003-2004 additions was opened in the 2006-2007 school year. The "Lower level" under C-Hall added 10 classrooms and over 100 lockers. In 2018, the Lower Level was renovated and reopened as a separate school, due to shrinking population in Crystal Lake.Crystal Lake South High School's mascot is the "Gator". This mascot was chosen in 1976 by a poll of students who would attend South when it first opened. South was sued by the University of Florida (CLS allegedly used their logo without permission to sell it on merchandise) and the logo was changed. From this, arose a contest; graduates, current students, and the community got to design and enter logo's to be voted upon for the new one. The new logo was chosen and was used in place of the old one beginning in the 2011-2012 school year. During the summer of 2016, the entrance to the school was rebuilt, and a bronze gator statue was placed outside of the school. In 2017, the baseball team won the IHSA Class 4A baseball state championship.