05/10/2025
EDITORIAL: We Stand With Our Neighborhoods, and So Should SunBerry and McHenry County
By the Editor | McHenry County Independent
Most days we are just a news aggregator but today we share an Editorial.
There is a difference between opposing a business and defending your neighborhood. Right now, in McHenry County, that line is being tested.
A proposal has surfaced to build a slaughterhouse on Greenwood Road in Woodstock, directly adjacent to long-established neighborhoods in Wonder Lake. The business behind the proposal is SunBerry Orchard and Pastures, a name that they have worked to have represent something wholesome: family outings, fruit picking, open-air markets, and old-world charm.
We are not here to criticize the company itself. In fact, it is precisely because of its reputation that this proposal feels so out of step. The decision conflicts with the brand SunBerry has worked hard to build.
You cannot promote family values and community warmth while ignoring the families and communities living right next door. That contradiction cannot be overlooked.
This is not a case involving a distant processing plant tucked away in an industrial zone. This is a slaughterhouse bordering homes, front yards, swing sets, and backyard gatherings. It brings animal transport, noise, waste, and the visible realities of meat processing into a peaceful residential environment. It is doing so by choice, not because of necessity.
That is where this proposal loses our support. SunBerry has access to farmland and the open space needed to manage livestock processing on-site. There is no need to move this activity and animals to slaughter within steps of neighborhoods where families live and raise their children.
To be absolutely clear, this is not an anti-business movement. It is a pro-neighborhood stance. Growth should be pursued in a way that honors the people already living in the area. Businesses should not ignore the concerns of neighbors or disrupt the peace of communities they do not live in themselves.
Branding matters. Ask families from McHenry to Mundelein why they support SunBerry. They will likely say it feels real, authentic, kind, safe, and community-centered. However, if this project moves forward, that image will begin to crack. Future customers will have to ask themselves a simple but serious question:
If SunBerry didn’t listen to the families here, why would they care about mine?
The McHenry County Board must also be held to this same standard. These officials were elected to represent the people who live in this county. Their responsibility is to put local communities first, not to side quietly with a business proposal that may benefit a few while negatively impacting many.
If the Board approves this project without fully considering its effect on the people living around it, they will be making a statement about whose voices truly matter. Right now, there is still time to make the right decision. They can choose to lead with integrity and ensure that future development respects both property and people.
We call on SunBerry Orchard and the McHenry County Board to listen. Listen to the families who are raising their children nearby. Listen to the residents who have built their lives around these quiet streets. Listen to the people who want to support local businesses, but not at the cost of their homes and health.
There is still time to choose a better path.
We are counting on both SunBerry and the County Board to honor what they claim to stand for:
Put families and community first.
—
McHenry County Independent
Editor
