Afternoon News Update: March 13

A Cherry Valley woman has died from a probable heroin overdose. The incident happened early this morning in Rockford at the Days Inn on Lyford Road. Paramedics tried to keep the 20-year-old woman alive, but she died on the way to the hospital. Once the drug is confirmed of killing the woman, it’ll be Winnebago County’s 10^th heroin-related death of 2014.
The name of the man who was found dead in a Rochelle stream has been released. Officials have identified the victim as 32-year-old Phillip Rainwater of Rochelle. Authorities say there are no signs of foul play. Rainwater was pronounced dead at the scene on Monday in Kyte Creek.
Rescue Crews in Machesney Park had to extricate a woman from her car after a rollover accident. It happened just before midnight Wednesday in the 4700 block of Pine-Al Drive. There is no word yet on the victim’s name or her condition.
A longtime city worker in Woodstock has been accused of stealing a ton of road salt. City officials say Dale Behm is also accused of taking two snow plow skids that belonged to the city. The man was fired last week after 36 years and faces a felony theft charge.
The latest scam to hit the Stateline area involves Verizon customers. Officials say scammers are using Caller ID and look-alike websites to dupe Verizon users. They say it starts with a recorded message from Verizon’s “Technical Support” stating that the customer is eligible to receive a voucher. The user then redeems it, but has to give away personal information like their Verizon ID and Social Security Number.
Primary day is less than a week off and the four Republicans who want to challenge Pat Quinn are meeting for one last television debate. WTTW in Chicago is hosting the Thursday night forum featuring Dan Rutherford, Bruce Rauner, Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard.
Illinois officials say unemployment has dropped in 11 of the states’ 12 metro areas. Unemployment in the Rockford area decreased from 13 percent to 12.9 percent. Authorities say that’s not necessarily a good thing as 700 jobs were lost throughout the course of the year, accounting for the change. Overall, the statewide unemployment rate currently sits at 8.7 percent.
Gov. Pat Quinn is getting help from actor Martin Sheen as he makes his push to raise Illinois' minimum wage. The two appeared today at a Chicago church and said that raising Illinois $8.25 rate is a moral issue. These two have recent history when Sheen lobbied Quinn to sign legislation abolishing the death penalty in 2011. Quinn later honored him by proclaiming a Sheen Day.
Interest payments on Illinois' late bills cost the state $318 million last year. That’s enough to cover the annual budget of the State Police. The state auditor's overview of Illinois' finances shows that interest payments from fiscal year 2013 were more than double the previous year.

Categories: News