Afternoon news update: June1, 2015

Rockford police are looking for two vehicles involved in a shooting Sunday night in the 11-hundred block of 11^th avenue. Police found multiple shell casings. They're looking for a green Chevy Suburban and a gray Chevy Impala. And police want to know who’s behind a near fatal shooting on Woodlawn avenue. A 29-year old Hispanic man is in critical condition after suffering several gunshot wounds.
A new analysis says Wisconsin nursing homes rate higher overall in quality than the national average. The study by the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation says 55 percent of the 388 nursing homes in Wisconsin received the two highest ratings from the federal government. That compares with a national average of 42 percent. The flip side is that 27 percent of nursing homes in Wisconsin have the lowest ratings, compared with 36 percent nationally.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund will induct 13 Illinois veterans, including a Loves Park native, in its In Memory Honor Roll for 2015. In Memory honors those who died as a result of the Vietnam War, but whose deaths do not fit the Department of Defense criteria for inclusion upon the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The name of David W, Jones of Loves Park will be included, along with 12 other Illinois veterans and 166 Vietnam veterans in total. The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, June 20th.
There were a couple of winners after a Rockford store sold a $150,000 winning ticket for Friday night's Lucky Day Lotto drawing; the winning ticket was purchased at Stop 'N Shop at 2501 North Huffman Boulevard. The retailer will receive a bonus of $1,500, 1% of the prize amount, for selling the ticket. The winner, of course, wins the $150,000 jackpot.
Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly could expect a barrage of advertising against them any time now. Gov. Bruce Rauner would not address the possibility Sunday evening, saying, "I'm not going to speculate,"adding, "We do need to get our message out to the people." He did point out that reporters have been slow to become interested in the advertising funded by the state's Democratic organizations, largely controlled by House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago). Rauner used an end-of-session news conference to vilify Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) "When did he start working on those ads?" Cullerton asked during a news conference Sunday. "Nothing could be more damaging to the prospects of compromise than deploying these Washington, D.C., campaign tactics!" The reason for all of the angst? The lack of a balanced budget, and the lack of Rauner wins in the legislature. "Some of the items on the Turnaround Agenda, we all thought, had less support than we thought in the first place," Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) admitted of Rauner's anti-labor agenda. While Rauner called the 2015 spring session "stunningly disappointing," it's not over. Madigan has called his troops back in Thursday, and Cullerton has done the same for June 9. It's not a "special session", and lawmakers will not be eligible to collect mileage reimbursement or their $111 per diem. Madigan, using the phrase "continuous session" to describe the summer, said his biggest problem with Rauner is that the governor takes his arguments to an "extreme" when "moderation" is necessary.
Make plans for that long awaited road trip. GasBuddy says that retail gasoline prices in Rockford have fallen almost two cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.70/gal Sunday, less than the national average of $2.75/gal. Triple- A says the recent uptick in prices is only temporary due to maintenance issues at local refineries.
The Rockford police has a list of criminals, all under the age of 19, they believe are responsible for a string of city-wide incidents involving middle aged to elderly women. Police have arrested nine on that list. The crimes happened between May 20th and May 28^th.

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