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
Road Study Calls This The #1 Problem With Illinois Drivers
There are some really, really bad drivers in the state of Illinois, and you've probably seen many of them up close and personal. Of all the things you see Illinois drivers doing wrong on the roads, a study says that one particular thing is the biggest problem of all.
Illinois City Nicknames: How Many Places Do You Recognize?
Most of us are familiar with at least some of the nicknames for Rockford. You've got The Forest City, Screw City, The Fastener Capital Of The World, Reaper City, Illinois' 2nd City, and maybe even Furniture City. But, beyond Rockford, how many of these Illinois spots can you figure out by their nicknames?
Tens Of Millions Of Migrating Birds Are Crossing Illinois Now
The annual spring migration of birds is quite a big deal, but I didn't realize just how many migrating birds cross over Illinois when it happens. In just the past couple of days, over 10 million birds have flown through Illinois' skies on their way to their summer homes, and more are going to be crossing the Land of Lincoln this week.
Illinois Cicadas: What Eats Them, And What If Your Dog Does?
There's been a long build up to this once-in-every-220-years cicada emergence, and it will all start taking place within the next couple of weeks. With somewhere around a trillion cicadas popping out of the ground, maybe you've wondered what creatures will eat these big, loud bugs, and will you need to rush your dog to the vet if it happens in your yard.
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.