Afternoon News Update: Monday December 15
- A former Illinois governor has a new home. Rod Blagojevich who has been incarcerated in a Denver suburb for three years has moved from the low security institution to a prison camp nearby. This facility has more freedom of movement and does not have any fencing. He has been awaiting news of his appeal since last December. His release is scheduled for 2024.
- Illinois officials have awarded $2 million for fixes to a Winnebago County road near a new industrial park. The Department of Transportation is awarding the money to finance improvements including turn lanes and lighting on Baxter Road. The county is seeking $4.7 million for upgrades that would help develop the Rock39 Industrial Park in Cherry Valley Township.
- Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says Governor Pat Quinn should appoint someone to fill the vacancy in the comptroller's office until January 12th when the current term ends. She says Bruce Rauner should appoint someone after he's sworn in next month. Madigan's legal view is that voters should elect a comptroller in 2016, but that would require action by lawmakers in Springfield.
- The Illinois Tollway is offering free coffee at the Belvidere Oasis tomorrow as it completes two years of work on I-90. As a thank you to customers for enduring the long construction between Rockford and Chicago, all customers will receive a free small coffee from McDonald’s from 6am to 6pm.
- Gas prices are not only falling, but they are falling at a historic rate according to GasBuddy.com. Its survey of 139 gas stations in Rockford found that average retail gasoline prices have fallen 15.0 cents per gallon in the past week. This brings the average $2.61 per gallon. This compares with the national average that has fallen 8.3 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.57 per gallon.
- A woman has overdosed in the parking lot of a Rockford drug rehab center. Officers found the woman who allegedly took dozens of pills in the parking lot of the Rosecrance rehab center on Harrison. She was treated at the scene, and police say she is in a local hospital.
- A Rockford police officer unintentionally helps stop a home invasion. Police say the officer was patrolling in the 800 block of Linden Avenue around 3:00 am Sunday morning. Three armed male suspects were robbing a home, saw the cop, and left the scene. The officer later tried stopping the SUV the suspects were in but they took off. The cop found a television set that the three men had allegedly stolen from the home. No one was injured.
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