Riley O'Neil has logged more hours behind a microphone than any other Rockford radio personality, starting out with his hiring at WROK in February of 1983. He’s also the longest-tenured morning show host in WROK's 100-year history, with 22 years as the host of the WROK Morning Show. He’s a multi award-winning commercial producer, voice-over artist, and much sought after product and service endorser for multiple local businesses. In addition to hosting the WROK Morning Show with Joe Dredge, Riley also writes for 1440WROK.com, covering everything from Illinois' best local restaurants, to some of the wildest and funniest things Illinois residents have gotten themselves into, and everything in-between.
Riley O'Neil
Illinois Coyotes: Here’s Why You’re Seeing More Of Them Right Now
Some people in Northern Illinois have been saying that they're seeing quite a few stray dogs lately, and while that may be true, many of those "stray dogs" are turning out to be coyotes. Coyotes have been very visible over the last couple of weeks, and they'll continue keeping a high profile throughout this entire month, at least. Here's why.
Illinois Gets A Great Look At A Meteor Shower This Weekend
Keep your fingers crossed for clear skies over the next few nights, because if we luck out and have little to no cloud cover in the skies you should get a really great look at what some astronomy experts are saying could be the best meteor shower of the year.
Illinois’ Hot Summer: Here’s What The Weather Experts Are Saying
Okay, it's Illinois in the summertime, so we know we're in for at least some amount of serious heat during the months of June, July, and August. The weather experts out there are weighing in with their thoughts, and all we can say is get ready, it's going to be a hot one.
Illinois’ REAL ID Deadline Is One Year Away: Here Are The Details
The pandemic caused all sorts of things to be delayed, and the switch over to REAL ID is certainly one of those things. The deadline kept getting pushed back, and now you have until May of 2025 to decide whether or not REAL ID is something you need and/or want.
How Starved Rock Got Its Name Is Horrifying, Should We Change It?
Despite some recent demands that Illinois' Starved Rock State Park change its name because of potential offense to some Native American groups, it doesn't look like that's going to be happening any time soon. However, when you consider the horrifying reason Starved Rock got that name, you might feel differently.
Illinois, Check Your Wallet: Those $1 Bills May Be Worth $150,000
It seems as though an error in the printing process has made some one-dollar bills worth thousands more than their face value. I wouldn't waste your time with this if it were only a few dollar bills, so it might pay to check through your cash because there are literally millions of them out there.
Love Mexican Food? Food Website Calls This Place Illinois’ Best
Mexican food has never been more popular or more available to everyone who loves it. With so much great Mexican traditional cuisine out there, trying to pick the best is like trying to pick a favorite child. No matter how tough it is to pick a number-one, a website recently made the case for one particular spot.
Food Study Slaps Illinoisans As Being America’s Worst Tippers
I don't think that it's incorrect to say that tipping culture in the United States has pretty much gotten out of control, with tips being suggested or demanded in all sorts of scenarios that we never tipped for before. However, there's a difference between out of control tipping and deserved or earned tipping. What are we not getting in Illinois?
10 Illinois High Schools On List Of 50 Best High Schools In U.S.
Of all the states, only New York has more high schools on the "best in the country list" than Illinois does. New York has 11, and Illinois has 10.
Here’s How Old Illinois Kids Have To Be To Be Left Home Alone
All kids are different, and so are the states that they live in when it comes to the age that it's okay to leave a kid home by themselves. Here in Illinois...well, let's put it this way: Kevin McAllister's parents in the movie Home Alone would probably be in an Illinois jail for leaving him behind when they went to Paris.