Afternoon News Update: Wednesday February 18
- A Rockford woman faces several charges after she rammed a Rockford Police Department squad car twice with the car she was driving. Police charged 21-year-old Julia Jensen of Rockford with domestic battery and aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol among other charges. The incident took place last night at the Way Low gas station in Rockford. Officials say, a man had called police saying his girlfriend was intoxicated and struck him in the head while she was driving. When the officer arrived, Jensen's Toyota Camry struck a parked car, then rammed the front of the squad car, backed up, then rammed it a second time. The squad car had to be towed away after the incident, but the officer was not injured.
- Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner is calling for deep spending cuts to address a state budget billions in the red without raising taxes. Rauner delivered his first budget address this afternoon and proclaimed that Illinois has been living beyond its means. He says lawmakers must be willing to make unpopular decisions to make up for a more than $6 billion budget hole next year. Find the full text of the budget address on our website, 1440wrok.com.
- Federal officials say 347,300 Illinois residents signed up for private health insurance under President Barack Obama's law before Sunday's deadline. Get Covered Illinois officials say it shows the state's enrollment campaign was "incredibly successful."
- A traffic crash yesterday evening on Interstate 88 has sent several people to the hospital and slowed traffic in that area for hours. State police said the accident happened around 4:30 p.m. on I-88 Westbound at mile marker 95 in DeKalb County. According to troopers, a tractor trailer driver failed to slow down and struck two cars. The truck and one of the cars went off the road and into a ditch. The driver in the car was seriously hurt, according to troopers.
- Eight arrests were made last night after Rockford Police conducted an undercover prostitution detail targeting Internet-based prostitution operations. Those taken into custody ranged in age between 22 and 52 years old. During the detail, officers established fictitious Internet-based advertisements for prostitution, which generated contacts with men seeking to engage in prostitution.
- The United States Army visited Freeport High School yesterday and performed a Humvee demonstration for students. The visit was part of a recruitment outreach by the Army to educate students on the mechanical opportunities that are offered by the military.It helped students get an idea of the variety of options they would have, should they choose to pursue a career with the Armed Forces.
- A Belvidere man convicted in a deadly drunk driving crash has been sentenced 15 years in prison. 31-year-old Dennis Mikosz was convicted of taking the life of a woman while fleeing from the police near Mulford and Garrett Lane in August of 2013. The chase began when he chose to flee police before crashing into Michelle Parker's car and killed her.
- Much of Illinois will be under a wind chill advisory for another 24 hours. An arctic cold front has sent temperatures plunging to the low single-digits in northern parts of the state and wind chills overnight could sink to minus-30.
- University of Illinois at Springfield faculty members have formed a union. The Illinois Federation of Teachers announced Tuesday that the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board certified the unit last week. The union says the effort will bring more stability, which means higher retention rates and more experience in the classroom.
- The Salvation Army says its red kettle campaign collected more than $2 million in donations in northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana during the holidays. Salvation Army's metropolitan division includes Chicago, Rockford and northwest Indiana. The division says it provided 168,000 food baskets during the holiday season and 131,000 toys.
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