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Unemployment in 12 Illinois metro areas including Rockford declined for the fifth consecutive month. A steep drops was also seen in the Rockford area where unemployment fell from 11.4 percent a year earlier to 9.4 percent. Officials say many employers will be adding seasonal workers in the next few months ... Read More ...

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 ... Read More ...

The former Dixon bookkeeper sent to prison for stealing nearly $54 million doesn’t think her pension should be part of her court-ordered restitution. Rita Crundwell is asking federal prosecutors to exempt around $90,000 from the $44 million she still owes Dixon ... Read More ...

Businesses wanting to grow or sell medical marijuana in Illinois have until three o'clock today to get their applications in to state agencies. Illinois expects to grant up to 21 permits for cultivation centers and up to 60 permits for dispensaries ... Read More ...

A Stateline area school district is facing the prospect of a teachers strike in a few weeks. Belvidere teachers have filed a strike notice but are still negotiating with the school board. They have bargaining sessions scheduled next week and in earlier October ... Read More ...

Health officials have announced the state's first deaths this year from West Nile virus. Both victims were in Chicago -- a woman in her 70s and one in her 80s. There have been 15 human cases of West Nile statewide so far. It killed 11 people in the state last year ... Read More ...

A former McHenry County sheriff's deputy who investigated child pornography cases has been sentenced in Rockford to 50 years in federal prison for sex crimes against a child. Thirty-nine-year-old Gregory Pyle admitted taking a boy across state lines to have sex and post the photos online ... Read More ...

A legislative panel said that it wants more time to decide whether rules written by the Department of Natural Resources to govern fracking in Illinois can take effect. Opponents fear it will cause pollution and health problems. The industry insists the method is safe and will bring a badly needed economic boost to southern Illinois ... Read More ...

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