Afternoon News Update: February 20

Update: An Amber Alert that was issued by police in suburban Chicago has been cancelled. 5-year-old Drake Whitaker has been found in Skokie. The boy was found unharmed just after 2pm inside the same vehicle in a residential area. There has been no word on who stole the car. We’ll update as the story develops.
An Amber Alert has been issued by police in suburban Chicago. Authorities say 5-year-old Drake Whitaker was sleeping in the back of a white 2012 Audi Q5 when someone stole the car. It happened earlier today in Park Ridge at around noon. Officials say the boy is 3’6, weighs almost 40 pounds, has blonde hair and blue-green eyes. He was last seen wearing a black coat.
A vacant building in downtown Rockford could be close to getting a major face lift. According to the Rockford Register Star, a Wisconsin based company is close to an agreement with the city to turn the Amerock building into a $50 million hotel and convention center. A proposed development agreement to renovate the 13-story building is expected to go before the Rockford City Council in March.
For the third time this year, A Rockford District 205 student has been diagnosed with whooping cough. The student was removed from Carlson Elementary School and is being treated at home. Whooping cough or pertussis is treatable with antibiotics, but is highly contagious. The disease can be easily spread from person to person through coughing and sneezing.
Mother Nature has been throwing the Stateline area plenty of curveballs this winter. The latest go around will bring us rain with possible thunderstorms, snow, fog, and possible flooding. High winds are the biggest concern, however, as gusts could approach up to 50mph tonight. The Stateline area will be under a high wind warning from 5pm until 11pm tonight.
Icy roads in Leaf River sent an Ogle County school bus off the road. It happened this morning in the 6000 block of Lightsville Road. Students were transferred to another bus and no one was injured.

Categories: News