Afternoon News Update: Tuesday November 18
- A Rockford man was sentenced to 57 years in prison today in connection will an assault and home invasion earlier this year. 18-year-old Coreyon Brown was handed down the sentence in court after pleading guilty to two counts out of 17 against him, which include 1st degree murder and unlawful restraint. Brown and his accomplice allegedly broke into a home and assaulted a man and his wife. 1440 WROK will bring you the latest as soon as it develops.
- CherryVale Mall is among a list of retailers opening its doors on Thanksgiving. The mall will open at 6pm. Not all of the stores inside the mall will be open at 6pm Thursday evening. However, all stores will open by 10am Friday morning.
- Rockford officials are working to establish an online tool for managing the area's homeless population by helping identify available housing. Rockford Human Services Director George Davis says the city is working with providers of services for the homeless to create the web-based coordinated intake system. The tool is expected to launch in January.
- The Stateline area is experiencing record cold temperatures in this current arctic blast. The last time it was this cold in November was 63 years ago in 1951. Warming centers are officially open through the region with multiple locations in Winnebago and Boone Counties.
- Toll rates for commercial truck drivers on the rise for the first time since 2005. The Illinois Tollway is issuing a 40 percent increase beginning on January 1 and an additional ten percent increase every year until 2018.
- The Illinois Department of Corrections has released a report detailing a Dixon prison warden's attempts to inform officials about a sex offender living in her home. Nedra Chandler resigned in September from the Dixon Correctional Center. Corrections officers began investigating earlier that month when police arrested a registered sex offender living at her Sterling home. Sauk Valley Media reports that Chandler identified Robert Swon as her former foster child. He pleaded guilty to child-pornography offenses in 2009.
- A Rockford man has been sentenced to 14 years behind bars on drug charges. 44-year-old Michael Craig pled guilty to running a heroin trafficking organization from 2010-2012. The co-defendants have since pled guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin. All of them are already serving time in federal prison.
- The inmate population at the Winnebago County jail has recently hit a four year low. Officials say there are 765 inmates being held at the jail, a significant drop from 1,170 from May of 2012. Among the initiatives enacted to help reduce the population includes the "fast track review" program. It allows prosecutors to clear cases with guilty pleas and remove inmates from the jail.
- Rockford's busiest maternity ward just got bigger. SwedishAmerican hospital unveiled its new mother/baby unit. The brand new, 3,000 square foot space is now totally separate from the labor and delivery floor. It boasts 25 private rooms for new moms and comfortable sleeping arrangements for family members.
- Governor-elect Bruce Rauner is launching a website that will allow individuals to apply for jobs in his administration. Visitors to MakeIllinoisGreat.com also can submit ideas to improve the state. The Republican defeated Democratic Governor Pat Quinn in the November 4th election.
- Wisconsin would join five other states that impose special fees on electric and hybrid vehicles if the proposed $50 annual charge put forward by the Department of Transportation becomes law. The proposal must win approval in the Legislature and be signed by Gov. Scott Walker before becoming law. The new fee would take effect in 2016.
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