Afternoon News Update: Wednesday September 24
- The Rockford School District will spend nearly $670,000 to tear down its former administration building and help clear the way for a $22 million downtown sports complex. The school board voted Tuesday on the agreement with the city of Rockford. The district will demolish its 130-year-old former headquarters and give the one acre lot to the city.
- State authorities have penalized 26 Rockford businesses for selling alcohol to minors. The Illinois Liquor Control Commission on Tuesday released the results of a hearing held last week. The commission found the businesses served alcohol to individuals under 21 in May or June. Five of the businesses had previously been cited for the violation in the last three years.
- A Loves Park man has been sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to drug delivery charges. Officials say 43-year old Zlotko Kasapovic delivered a substance containing cocaine to an informant back in February.
- The Rock County Coroner's Office says the body found in a burned car in Janesville is that of an adult female. An autopsy is expected to be done today. The burned car was found yesterday at a dead end in a remote part of Janesville.
- The Janesville School District is teaching its staff how to treat victims in medical emergency situations, including school shootings. 1,200 school officials will receive training in tourniquet application. The school district has teamed up with the Janesville fire and police departments, as well as Mercy Health System, to provide about 900 kits to local schools that can aid in an active shooter situation. The school official says the kit, which can be used by anyone, would also be helpful in the event of a tornado or explosion.
- Governor Pat Quinn has agreed to delay the layoffs of dozens of employees at the Illinois Department of Transportation. About 60 IDOT "staff assistants" are seeking a court hearing as they try to keep their jobs. Eliminating the positions was part of a reform Quinn announced following a report about improper hiring at the agency.
- A former Illinois health department official faces more than four years in prison after pleading guilty in a bribery and kickback scheme. Roxanne Jackson of Olympia Fields entered her plea on Tuesday after charges were filed a day earlier. She'll be sentenced in January. The health department's former chief of staff has also pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
- A man wanted by Rockford Police for assault charges has been taken into custody in Wisconsin. 43-year old Donald Berry was caught today after a resident in Waukesha County spotted him in his neighbor's yard. The manhunt started Monday. There's been no word yet if Berry will be extradited back to Illinois.
- The Belvidere Teacher's Association and the school district failed to reach a contract agreement after three hours of negotiations. The main sticking points are salary and class size. As part of the package, the board offered a guaranteed pay increase of 11.85% over three years. If no resolution is reached, teachers could vote to strike beginning October 16th.
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