Afternoon News Update: July 24
- Governor Pat Quinn has announced plans for $572,000 for northern Illinois construction projects. Work will be done at three of the IDOT maintenance facilities The projects are part of Quinn’s $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now program.
- A longtime Winnebago County Sheriff deputy chief is retiring. Deputy Chief Dominic Iasparro is stepping down after more than four decades working in local law enforcement. His career started in 1971 with the Rockford Police Department. Iasparro worked through the ranks before moving over to the Sheriff's Department in 2006 to serve as its Deputy Chief. His last day is September 2.
- Park and Ride facilities are coming soon to the Interstate 90 toll way on the stretch between Rockford and Chicago. A new agreement approved earlier this month by Pace, will allow the company to design and build commuter lots at Randall road, route 25 and Barrington Road. The new facilities will initially provide space for 225 vehicles at each station, with the possibility of up to 450 in the future.
- The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has scheduled a public meeting for the preferred interchange for the interstate 39/90 and 43 interchange in the Stateline community of Beloit. The public is encouraged to attend the meeting on Tuesday August 5th at the Beloit Public Library.
- A Chicago attorney has been confirmed as the United States' ambassador to the Czech Republic. The U.S. Senate confirmed Andrew Schapiro as ambassador on Wednesday. Schapiro graduated from high school in suburban Chicago and is currently a partner at an international law firm in downtown Chicago.
- University of Illinois trustees are expected to agree to increase the budget for renovating the State Farm Center in Champaign by $4.5 million. Trustees are also expected to agree to a raise for head basketball coach John Groce, when they meet Thursday in Chicago. Work on the arena has started and is expected to be finished in late 2016.
- A year-long investigation is landing a Boone County woman in jail on homicide charges. Police arrested 46-year-old Debra Schlaiss at her Poplar Grove home yesterday. It comes nearly a year after Belvidere police found 29-year-old Trevor Burke dead from a drug overdose at a house on 5th avenue. Schlaiss is charged with drug induced homicide, and delivery of a controlled substance.
- Two men are in the hospital this morning after a shooting last night on Rockford's southeast side. Details are still limited as to what happened, but police say the shooting happened in the 4500 block of Governors Drive. Anyone with information is asked to call Rockford Police.
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