Afternoon News Update: Monday February 2

Yesterday’s snowfall could cost Rockford nearly a half a million dollars. Officials say the city had all 24 plows on the road and shifts ran for 12 hours. With all of the city-wide snow-removal and 2,000-3,000 tons of salt used on city streets, the expected cost is at $500,000.
The Winnebago County Coroner's Office has identified the victim in a weekend murder on Rockford’s East side.18-year-old Jaylin Shaw was pronounced dead at a local hospital from a gunshot wound to the head. Our partners at Eyewitness News confirm, that the incident took place in the 1700 block of Log Cabin overnight on Sunday.
Governor Bruce Rauner will propose limiting the power of government unions in his State of the State speech this week. One change he favors would be to follow federal rules that allow workers to bargain over hours and assignments but not over wages and pensions. The governor says he isn't proposing to cut workers' salaries.
The first federal inmates at the Thomson Correctional Center in northwest Illinois could move in next month. More than 100 people are now working at the prison, mostly people who transferred from other federal prisons to train hundreds of new employees.
Some Illinois lawmakers say they will push to cap severance payouts at the state's community colleges and make it easier for the public to review such agreements. The issue is front and center after trustees at the College of DuPage in the Chicago suburbs approved a $762,000 buyout package for the school's president. That's more than three times his base salary.
Illinois officials are warning parents and providers that the state has run out of money for a subsidized day care program. The Department of Human Services is short about $300 million to fund the program through June 30th. Department officials say payment delays are expected to "get progressively longer" and services may be cut.
After enjoying weeks of falling gas prices, Stateline prices are back on the rise. Gasbuddy is reporting that the average price of gas went up 10 cents in the last week. That brings the average price of gas in Rockford to $2.07 per gallon. Nationally, prices held somewhat steady, rising just under 3 cents per gallon with an average price of $2.05 per gallon.
Yesterday’s blizzard forced the Dixon Correctional Center to go into a Level 1 Lockdown. Officials say a substantial amount of correctional officers called out due to weather-related issues both Sunday and today. The reduction in staff caused the warden to issue the lockdown, which restricts inmate movements.
The Cook County jail in Chicago is also on lockdown because so many staff members couldn't make it through Sunday's blizzard to work. More than a third of the jail staff didn't report for work as a storm dropped more than a foot-and-a-half of snow. Lockdowns usually happen only after a jail disturbance.
A published report is stating that Illinois' delayed medical marijuana program already has cost the state more than $1.8 million in start-up costs. The Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday that most of the money is for computer software. Former Gov. Pat Quinn promised to issue the licenses by the end of last year, but failed to do so. Gov. Bruce Rauner says he wants a review of the process before proceeding. Illinois has already collected more than $5 million in fees from applicants.
A 74-year-old Harvard woman has fallen victim to a phone scam, costing her thousands of dollars. According to police, the resident received a phone call from a person claiming to be an FBI agent. The person involved in the phone scam told the Harvard resident that she had won a large amount of money and a new car. The incident is under investigation.
Yesterday’s blizzard is being called the fifth-largest to hit Chicago since the city began keeping records. The National Weather Service says 19.3 inches of snow fell at O'Hare Airport. Chicago's biggest storm was 23 inches in 1967. Rockford saw just under a foot of snow which ranks as #10 out of all snowfall events for Rockford. The 10.5 inches recorded yesterday ranked #2 for the date and #3 for any February day in Rockford.
Chicago’s aviation department says about 1,000 more flights have been canceled at Chicago's two airports as the city digs out from the major storm.
Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville says spring enrollment is setting a record. The university says it has more than 10,000 full-time students and the total number on campus is over 13,000. That's the most in the school's 58-year history.

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