Afternoon News Update: Friday August 29
- Prosecutors have filed new charges in a deadly hit and run last December on East State street. 22-year-old Tyler McCullough, who police allege was the driver, now faces two felony counts of hit and run and failure to report an accident. Police originally arrested 49-year-told Dean McCullough. Our partners at Eyewitness news are seeking clarification if police believe Dean McCullough was in the SUV at the time.
- A Stateline area man convicted of a Rockford murder has been sentenced to 55 years in prison without parole. A sentencing hearing was held today for Lorenzo Kent after his 1st degree murder conviction in April. Police believe Kent shot and killed 30 year-old Donmarquis Jackson in May 2013.
- Rock Valley College has now teamed up with a Wisconsin trucking company to create a new program that aims to alleviate the lack of qualified truck drivers in the Stateline area. The partnership includes joint recruiting and marketing efforts between the two agencies to bring jobs to local residents. Students who graduate will receive a Class A Commercial Driver's License.
- There will be several street closures in Rockford during the annual Labor Day parade this Monday. The parade will form at 7th street & railroad, proceed north on 7th St. to East State St, west on State St. to Wyman St. and then proceed south before ending at the Davis Park entrance. Street closures will begin one hour before the parade and smaller streets that intersect the route will also be closed during that time period.
- The Illinois Toll way is expecting a recording number of vehicles during this Labor Day weekend. 7.2 million Vehicles are expected to travel the Toll way from today through Tuesday. Projected travel for the coming holiday weekend is up 2 percent over last year and about 1.5 percent over the previous high of approximately 7.1 million vehicles in 2011.
- A new Illinois law will help those who wait until the last few days to renew their vehicle registration. Secretary of State Jesse White says you can now go on the Secretary of State website and pay for it, get a receipt, and use the receipt if they are stopped by a law enforcement officer. The receipt will indicate the registration is paid for on-line but the new license plate sticker just hasn’t yet arrived in the mail.
- All lanes of a road heading into Chicago's O'Hare Airport have reopened following an early morning crash. At least 15 people were hurt when a shuttle bus struck a concrete barrier on a busy roadway. The wreck caused a huge traffic jam and some travelers desperate to catch holiday weekend flights had to walk to the terminal.
- The Illinois Department of Transportation says it will suspend non-emergency roadwork over the Labor Day weekend to help reduce congestion. Thousands of motorists are expected to hit the roads in Illinois during the three-day holiday weekend. The state agency also is giving advance notice of lane closures that will remain in place.
- The candidates for Illinois governor are sharpening their attacks on each other as they head into the Labor Day weekend. Republican Bruce Rauner yesterday called Governor Pat Quinn's efforts to address improper political hiring "a charade." Quinn fired back that the wealthy Rauner wants to impose a tax on some services while decreasing taxes on income and investments.
More From WROK 1440 AM / 96.1 FM
