Afternoon News Update: Thursday February 19
- Belvidere's Superintendent is not moving to Iowa. Dr. Michael Houselog is remaining in the district after not being picked during the final interview process in the school district near Des Moines, Iowa. Houselog has been a superintendent in Belvidere since 2007.
- Lawmakers say they want to increase the share of clean energy purchased in Illinois. State Representative Elaine Nekritz says the bill introduced today calls for increasing state renewable energy standards to 35 percent by 2030. The current standard is 20 percent by 2025. Nekritz says it could mean thousands of new jobs for Illinois.
- The executive director of Get Covered Illinois is resigning. Jennifer Koehler was a key leader in the state's health insurance enrollment efforts over the past two years. Koehler says she's leaving the job to pursue other professional opportunities.
A state representative from Chicago says it was unfair for Little League to strip the Jackie Robinson West team of its national title. Monique Davis has introduced a resolution in Springfield calling on Little League to reinstate the championship and hold all teams to the same standard. Jackie Robinson West was penalized for using ineligible players.
- President Barack Obama is in Chicago to designate the Pullman National Monument. It honors the historic South Side neighborhood where African-American railroad workers won a significant labor agreement in the 1930s. The president says protecting places of beauty and historical significance is an American ideal.
- Rockford City Market will be moving its hours back by 30 minutes to stay open later in 2015.In previous years the market was open every Friday from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 pm, but the new hours will be from 3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The City Market begins this year on Friday, May 22nd and lasts through Friday, October 2nd. The market will shorten its hours by 60 minutes following Labor Day, opening at 3:30 p.m. and closing at 7:30 p.m. City Market is an annual Rockford tradition located on Market St. and Water St. in downtown Rockford.
- Nearly 24 hours after he gave his budget address to the Illinois General Assembly, Gov. Bruce Rauner was in Ogle County this morning. The governor began a tour of the Hormel Foods Plant in Rochelle. He told the gathering there he wants to lower their taxes and improve schools. Rauner is calling for drastic spending cuts in order to balance the state's budget.
- A federal judge has denied a request from rooftop clubs overlooking Chicago's Wrigley Field to temporarily halt installation of signs they say will block their view and violate a contract they have with the Cubs. The presiding judge ruled that the "vague possibility" the rooftops could be injured wasn't enough to grant a restraining order. Cubs' lawyers said the team has the right to install the signs.
- Quadruple homicide defendant 22-year-old Calvin Carter pled not guilty to a 132-count bill of indictment today at the Winnebago County Criminal Justice Center.Carter is accused in the Dec. 20 shooting deaths of 24-year-old Demontae Rhodes, 24-year-old Martia Flint, and her two sons. Carter is believed to have been a former boyfriend of Flint, a dental assistant who had rekindled a long-term relationship with Rhodes.
- In a meeting this afternoon with state lawmakers, the Illinois Department of Transportation gave an update to the Amtrak project that would connect Chicago to Rockford. According to state officials, the rail to Rockford and other communities is not dead, but they are taking a step back to look at all projects." Last spring, former Governor Pat Quinn approved the $223 million rail project that would used existing Union Pacific Lines with stops in Elgin, Huntley, Belvidere and ultimately ending in Rockford.
- Harsh weather helped fuel a house fire in Machesney Park. Firefighters say their hoses were freezing as they tried to put out a fire on Tara Drive. The homeowner was outside when the fire broke out. He says he was using a wood burning stove inside, but it's not clear if that started the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
- The Belvidere Chrysler Plant is looking to hire 20 skilled electricians to join the trades team. To be qualified for the role, applicants must have 8 years of electrical experience in a manufacturing environment. The plant is also looking for 25 summer vacation replacement roles to support assembly and stamping production.
- Governor Scott Walker is proposing that state employees be offered $2,000 a year to opt out of state health insurance coverage. A study by Deloitte Consulting says the incentive could generate $18 million in savings if enough employees take the offer. The state health insurance plan covers roughly 62,000 employees and their families.
- Chicago has broken a weather record on this bitterly cold day. The National Weather Service says the temperature dipped to eight-below zero at O'Hare Airport, making this the coldest February 19th. The previous low mark was in 1936. The wind chill approached minus-30.
- Chicago is getting its first national park. President Barack Obama will be in his hometown later in the day to talk about the designation for the Pullman District on the South Side. It's where African-American railroad workers won a historic labor agreement in the early 1900s.
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