Aledo IL

09/07/2026

SOFT OPENING: Judy tells Aledo visitors to her Galesburg restaurant that she plans a soft opening of her new Aledo restaurant on Wednesday. The official opening date is Sept. 18.

08/31/2026

Moving right along at the old Northside school.

08/31/2026

SIGN OF THE TIMES: It's beginning to look a lot like a Judy’s Family Cafe in Aledo IL. The signs are going up in advance of the Sept. 18 opening date.

08/29/2026

DIRT ROAD: Welcome to the dirtiest street in Aledo. It will be gone by Monday. IYKYK! No need to drive down this block until after the weekend.

08/29/2026

IT'S COMINGGGGG: The new Secretary of State's DMV office is much closer to opening in uptown Aledo. Stay tuned!

08/19/2026

Got good stuff? The Pickers might be interested. Soon!

Aledo, we want you to get picked!

American Pickers is coming to town this September, and they’re looking for unique collections, antiques, rare finds and the stories behind them.

Have a collection you think they should see? Contact the showrunners at (646) 493-2184 or [email protected] for a chance to be featured on the History Channel!

Who knows? Your collection could be featured on American Pickers! 👀

08/16/2026

RECORD RAINFALL: Are you bailing out your basement? Is your yard swamped? Dealing with sewage backup? Is the grass in your yard getting way long? Welcome to Aledo's record-breaking rainfall, from what we can determine.

Unofficial tallies from precipitation apps for specific locations in Aledo have determined that we have received a deluge-whopping 9.46 inches of rain over the four-day period from Wednesday through Saturday. Apparently, Aledo has never experienced rainfall like this ever before.

Last week's rainfall totals as reported in Aledo:
-- Wednesday: 2.28 inches
-- Thursday: 2.21 inches
-- Friday: 1.44 inches
-- Saturday: 3.53 inches

According to official historical climate data recorded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) with the weather observation station here, Aledo has never officially recorded 9.5 inches or more of rain in a four-day period since official record-keeping began in 1901. To put that threshold into perspective:

-- Frequency benchmark: According to NOAA Atlas 14 precipitation frequency estimates, a four-day rainfall total reaching 8.85 to 9.50 inches in Mercer County constitutes a 100-year to 200-year extreme precipitation event. Read that again! One to two centuries! Estimates say that a four-day precipitation event exceeding 5.5 inches occurs on average once every 25 to 50 years, while totals reaching 6.34 inches or more represent roughly a 100-year recurrence interval.

-- Wettest historical periods: Even during major historical regional flooding events — such as the Great Flood of 1993, when Aledo set a seasonal record with 32.41 inches of rain over the summer — the highest multiday localized rainfall totals during that flood over four consecutive days peaked well below the 9.5-inch threshold.

According to NCEI official historical climate records logged with the National Weather Service (NWS), the official record four-day rainfall total for Aledo at station USC00110072 is about 6.25 inches, set during late June 1998. Last week's rains eclipsed that total by 3.21 inches. Keep in mind that the numbers we're reporting aren't official from any reporting station, just what we have been able to gather from apps that use precipitation modeling to calculate rainfall amounts.

Here are a couple of key historical context and climate benchmarks for the area:

-- Single-day record: Aledo's maximum recorded single-day precipitation stands at 4.85 inches, set on Aug. 10, 1981.

-- 24-hour to 48-hour extremes: Outside of localized cloudbursts, multiday severe rainfall events rarely sustain maximum intensity over consecutive 24-hour periods in Mercer County. Most major precipitation events drop bulk accumulations within a 24-to-36-hour window. That's why last week's rainfall was significant for the area.

This historical peak underscores why a four-day accumulation of 9.5 inches has never been officially recorded in Aledo. It significantly exceeds the area's 200-year maximum precipitation frequency threshold. You'll most likely never experience rainfall like this ever again in your lifetime.

So, how are you dealing with the rain? If there is enough reported damage (keep in mind that many area roads are closed because of water runoff, too), state and federal aid may be needed. Start documenting below.

08/07/2026

FLAPJACK FLAP: The owner of Judy’s Family Cafe, Jingjie "Judy" Wang, has announced that her third location -- and the first outside of Galesburg -- finally will open in Aledo on Sept. 18.

Wang, known for her viral social media videos for Judy's Pancakes, closed her Miguel's Grill & Bar business in the old Hardee's location on Illinois 17 at the end of last year to convert it to her Judy's-themed restaurant.

At the time, it was announced that she had planned to reopen the site as Judy's by May, however, there has been little activity inside the building since it became vacant last year. City officials were supposed to have met with Wang on July 15 to discuss her plans for the location.

Recently, work began on the exterior and interior of the building that sits at 1600 SE Third St. across the parking lot from Mercer Market on Aledo's east side. The Miguel's logos on the building have been painted over in preparation for the new Judy's location.

In another recent social media post, it was announced that hiring is under way for the new restaurant. Persons interested in working at the new business are asked to send a resume or brief introduction via email to [email protected].

Miguel's was named after an uncle of a manager who was connected to the restaurant and apparently had close family and business ties with Wang. The former Los Charros Mexican restaurant was purchased in January 2023 by Wang, who ran it as Miguel's Grill & Bar until Dec. 28. Los Charros had operated in Aledo for 15 years until it closed at the end of 2022. Hardee's, which was the first occupant of the building, closed in 2003. Until Los Charros opened, the building had hosted another restaurant or two that had gone out of business.

Wang was born in Beijing, China, and moved to Galesburg in 2017 as a single mother of two children to work at a Chinese buffet restaurant. She then waitressed at a breakfast restaurant before launching Judy’s Family Cafe to support her family. Her claim to fame comes via her viral social media posts that attract visitors from around the country.

Wang and her Galesburg neighbor, social media and content creator Victor Dantas, produce her famous comedy-style collaborative marketing videos together on TikTok, Instagram and other social media channels. She also has affiliate or paid status with brands such as Adobe Acrobat and appears in social media ads featuring their products.

She recently began selling and marketing Judy's Pancake batter mix in stores such as Hy-Vee as she yearns to become the queen known as: "I'm Judy. I have the best pancakes. Come for breakfast, stay for dinner."

The new Aledo restaurant is supposed to offer an all-day menu. Yes, that means pancakes for dinner.

07/17/2026

SOS OFFICE COMING SOON? The Aledo City Council has an agenda item for Monday night regarding approving a parking arrangement with the state Secretary of State's office for a new office to replace the former office that was closed. Our guess is if it involves parking, the new office will be located uptown.

07/14/2026

SPIGOTS AWAY -- BOIL ORDER LIFTED: Citywide Water Boil Order LIFTED, Effective Immediately. The City of Aledo is lifting the Water Boil Order effective immediately after the successful repair and testing of the water system. Residents and businesses can resume normal water use with the lifting of this order. Thank you for your patience as our water teams worked swiftly to resolve the issue. For questions or concerns, please contact City Hall at 309-582-7241.